The Mediterranean . . .
The geopolitics of the Roman Republic and early Empire in the first century BCE were defined by the Mediterranean Sea. The sea was a means of transport, trade, diplomacy, conflict and conquest, and was the heart of the area.
As nations rose and increased their scope of influence, rivalries developed and often led to conflict which reached across the Mediterranean, and sometimes played out on it.
The seat of power . . .
Occupying a tiny area in comparison to the extent of the Roman-dominated world, the seven hills of Rome within the Servian walls is at the heart of diplomacy and power – and corruption, political ambition, and intrigue.
Cosa . . .
Cosa (the modern town is called Ansedonia) was the commercial seat of the Sestius family. Sitting atop a coastal promontory, Cosa was a hill-town with a harbour and port at the base of the cliffs. Famous for exporting wine, fish sauce and oil, it also had an extensive fishery and is connected with Rome to the south by the Via Aurelia
Tomis coastline . . .
The yellow is the modern city while Tomis is depicted with an unbroken blue line, though I must point out that these boundaries of the ancient town are not confirmed definitely but strongly suggested by the work of a military diver and archaeologist, Constantin Scarlat. The change over the years has been huge, with vast amounts of the ancient town now underwater, and an enormous industrial port now dominating.
What drawing the map showed is why Tomis was always an important harbour, with a curving shoreline that was protected by a jutting peninsula.
Tomis street plan . . .
So much is unknown about the Tomis of Ovid’s time, but I still needed a town in which my characters could move around – and so I created this Tomis. Already in existence for hundreds of years before Ovid, Tomis was a Greek foundation so I gave it an outline and the amenities that every town would have had at the time. But I am pretty sure that the only thing on this map that has been confirmed by archaeology is the town wall.
