Written by Julia Schulz

Biography

Dionysius Periegetes (see fig. 1¹), also known as Dionysius of Alexandria, was a Greek geographer and author born in ca. 75 CE.²

He is the author of the Orbis descriptio (“Description of the known world”) which was written ca. 124 CE³ and defines the habitable world in Greek hexameter verse. The work was used as a schoolbook in ancient times but nowadays is only attested in manuscripts or from references of other authors.⁴ The oldest preserved manuscript can be dated to the 10^th century and was drawn up in South Italy and later made its way to the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.⁵

---

His mention of Syene

Dionysius mentions Syene while detailing the flow of the Nile. He describes how the river is called Siris by Ethiopians but Nile by the residents of Syene:

“Lang durch Libya her schlingt erst er sich gegen den Aufgang, ‘Siris’ den Äthiopen genannt, doch Syenes Bewohner gaben ihm, wo er den Lauf umwendet, den Namen des Neilos; (…) ”⁶

He furthermore uses Syene to define the shape and limits of the Egyptian country which he specifies as triangular with Syene at its peak.⁷ Dionysius highlights Syene’s position at the southern border of Egypt like other ancient travelers before and after him did⁸:

“(…) seine Gestalt läuft nach drei Seiten zusammen zum Dreieck: breit am nördlichen Ufer und spitz zu gegen die Lichtbahn, wo es sich dehnt bis zum steil aufragenden Felsen Syenes, rings auf jeglicher Seite durch schirmende Berge befestigt, zwischen denen herab des Neilos herrlicher Strom läuft.”⁹

---