Galen’s Travels

Abstract

Galen traveled widely in the eastern provinces of the Roman empire, from Macedonia to Syria and Egypt, and scattered through his works are recollections of places he had visited. Some of these recollections provide unnoticed information about well-known sites such as Sardis, or help with the location of obscure ones such as Astraia in Macedonia. He also shows a detailed knowledge of Rome and of Campania. With this cosmopolitan outlook he combines a mild indifference to debated issues of his time such as linguistic purity and inter-city rivalry.