Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography

• Samuel Butler, Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography, Everyman's Library #451, J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London, 1928. (This is the 9th reprint on an edition first printed in 1907.) Retrieved on 2021-02-10.

• Multiple editions of this work are available, and they are not the same; for example:

  • An Atlas of Antient Geography, Longmans, Green, and Co., London, 1871. "New edition, edited by the author's son." Maps engraved by Sidney Hall and Edward Weller.
  • An Atlas of Antient Geography, Carey, Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia, 1834. "Stereotyped by J. Howe."

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Owing to the weak state of the Author's eyes, some trifling inaccuracies escaped him when examining the Maps, even with double magnifiers; such as Nogara for Nagara, Motilo for Matilo, Melilaea for Melitaea, &c. The student is requested to excuse these, which can heurdly in any instance occasion him a moment's difficulty, and in all cases may be corrected by the Index subjoined, which, where it differs from the maps, will be found the more accurate of the two.

The quantity of the places mentioned has been ascertained, as far as was in the Author's power, with great labor, by reference to the actual authorities, either Greek prose writers, (who often, by the help of a long vowel, a diphthong, or even an accent, afford a clue to this,) or to the Greek and Latin poets, without at all trusting to the attempts at marking the quantity in more recent works, experience having shown that they are extremely erroneous.

The Author does not flatter himself that he has altogether succeeded in this extremely difficult point, though he has taken great pains with it. In some instances, where there are no means of ascertaining the quantity by poetic usage, custom, derivation, or any authentic source, and in cases where the syllable is known to be common, or is obviously long, the quantity is not marked.

It is certain that the Antients in very many cases had no settled rules for the quantity of proper names. Even in the very best writers we have singular anomalies in the most common, such as Ăpūlia, and Āpūlia, and Appŭlus, in Horace; Sīcănĭus and Sĭcānius, Sĭcŭlus and Sīcĕlĭdes, Sīdōnius and Sīdŏnĭus, Ītalus and Ĭtalus, in Virgil; to say notliing of innumerable instances in other writers. So that they seem in many cases to have reserved to themselves the power of making those vowels which are generally called doubtful, either long or short in the same word, as suited their purpose. Hence we have Bătăvi and Batāvi, Brĭtanni and Brītones, &c. &c.

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