The Concept of the Border in the Greek Texts of the Classical and Subsequent Period

Abstract

In establishing and clarifying the boundaries of the settlement of the Kartvelian tribes and political entities on the territory of historical Georgia, in a stretch of about two thousand years of ancient civilization, the data preserved in the Greek texts plays an important role.

When using the information preserved in the works of different genres and purposes, the researcher faces a number of problems. One of the most important is to find out what the author means by a particular term.

This work is aimed at defining the concept of “border” in the ancient Greek literature of classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. The study of the works of many authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Polybius, Strabo, Plutarch, Claudius Ptolemy, et. al.) of the mentioned period revealed:

a) The border in Greek texts is expressed by the term: „ὅρоς“ (“Horos”) and its derivative forms;
b) The border is the dividing line between ethnic groups, countries, states and parts of the world/continents;
c) The authors give preference to borders passing along natural boundaries (rivers, mountain systems, seas, lakes, straits), which is a reflection of their contemporary views and which must undoubtedly be based on archaic traditions;
d) Where there were no natural separators, artificial barriers (trenches, fortifications, etc.) or special stone pillars with appropriate inscriptions were used as boundary markers;
e) It was very important to establish exact boundaries, since their absence led to territorial disputes between neighbors;
f) The ancient Greeks showed proper respect for the border.