Robert Wilkinson
Trojan War and the Mediterranean Sea, 1798
9 x 11 in
23 x 28 cm
23 x 28 cm
MED2374
Belli Trojana Map of the Mediterranean Sea during the ancient period illustrating the Trojan War. This unusual map was issued in Wilkinson’s classical atlas and focuses on the Theatre...
Belli Trojana
Map of the Mediterranean Sea during the ancient period illustrating the Trojan War.
This unusual map was issued in Wilkinson’s classical atlas and focuses on the Theatre of the Trojan War and its aftermath based on information gleaned from classical sources. It shows speculative locations for ancient sites such as Sparta, Troy and Carthage as well as the final destination of Aeneas which would become ancient Rome, although that city is not marked yet. A particularly noticeable feature are the routes taken by Ulysses, his son Telemachus and Aeneas after the Fall of Troy. Each of these is labelled on the Mediterranean. The main sources of information would have been Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid.
Although the map is dated 1798, examples have been noted in atlases as early as 1796 and later, including several editions in the early 19th century. This particularly example has a variant title. The other examples we have been able to track down call this map “Bellum Trojanum” while this map bears the title “Belli Trojana” or “Of (About) the Trojan War.”
Original colour. [MED2374]
Map of the Mediterranean Sea during the ancient period illustrating the Trojan War.
This unusual map was issued in Wilkinson’s classical atlas and focuses on the Theatre of the Trojan War and its aftermath based on information gleaned from classical sources. It shows speculative locations for ancient sites such as Sparta, Troy and Carthage as well as the final destination of Aeneas which would become ancient Rome, although that city is not marked yet. A particularly noticeable feature are the routes taken by Ulysses, his son Telemachus and Aeneas after the Fall of Troy. Each of these is labelled on the Mediterranean. The main sources of information would have been Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid.
Although the map is dated 1798, examples have been noted in atlases as early as 1796 and later, including several editions in the early 19th century. This particularly example has a variant title. The other examples we have been able to track down call this map “Bellum Trojanum” while this map bears the title “Belli Trojana” or “Of (About) the Trojan War.”
Original colour. [MED2374]
