Periplous thinking: Herodotus’ Libyan logos and the Greek Mediterranean

The article presents an analysis of Herodotus’ Libyan logos and aims to reconstruct a fundamental spatial model based on the Mediterranean Sea. The analysis will demonstrate that Herodotus presents the Mediterranean coastline as a dynamic and fruitful ground for constant interactions between different ethnic groups and characterizes it as a lively network of cultural exchanges and influences. The article offers to read Herodotus’ descriptions of foreign lands through a Mediterranean perspective, which can better capture his spatial representations than polarizing paradigms, such as Europe–Asia, Greeks–barbarians, of previous scholarship.