Spaces, Cities, and Homelands

Abstract This chapter examines how Appian conceptualizes and uses places and spaces in the Roman History. It begins by studying the sightseeing behaviour of Pompeius Magnus in Asia Minor. Pompeius shares, to an extent, Appian’s interest in cataloguing the exotic, but Appian’s parallel portrayal of Mithradates VI, dynamic while Pompeius is dawdling, shows that Appian’s sense for what is important designedly varies at points from that of the individuals in the History. Mithradates further exemplifies Appian’s interest in the command of space; a theme which Appian goes on to explore with the decline of Sextus Pompeius through Civil Wars book 5. The chapter concludes by arguing that Appian’s superior viewpoint to his characters is key to interpreting important moments in the History (such as Cornificius’ misadventures in Sicily), and that important concepts—above all, ‘fatherland’ and ‘city’—reveal themselves to be significantly fluid as the work progresses, especially under the stimulus of civil war.