Description
The Environs of Athens for the Anacharsis is a work by M. Barbie du Bocage, a French writer and geographer. The book was first published in 1789 and focuses on the landscapes, historical sites, and general geography of Athens and its surrounding areas. This work is considered important because it provides a detailed description of the environment around Athens during the late 18th century, which would have been of interest to people in the Enlightenment period who were fascinated by ancient Greek culture and history.
The book from which we have taken this Old Map of Athens specifically presents a vision of the places that would have been familiar to the ancient Greek philosopher Anacharsis, who was a Scythian philosopher in the 6th century BC and is often depicted as an outsider looking at Greek civilization. Du Bocage’s work blends geographical and historical knowledge, painting a picture of Athens that is informed by both the classical past and the present (at the time of publication). It was popular during the time because it catered to a growing interest in the classical world, the ruins of ancient Greece, and the idea of the picturesque.
