Strabo of Amasia (Στράβων ὁ Ἀμασεύς) was a Greek geographer, historian, and philosopher born around 64/63 BCE in Pontus and living until at least 23 CE [1][2][3]. Born into a prominent family, he received an extensive education, studying under figures like the geographer Tyrannion and the Peripatetic philosopher Xenarchus in Rome, and was influenced by Stoicism [1][2][3]. He traveled widely across the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt, utilizing the library at Alexandria, and wrote during the pivotal transition from the Roman Republic to the Empire under Augustus [1][2][3].

His major surviving work is the Geographica (Γεωγραφικά), a 17-book descriptive geography of the Roman world [1][2][3]. He also composed the Historical Sketches (Ἱστορικὰ Ὑπομνήματα) in 47 books, continuing Polybius’s history, though it is now lost except for fragments [1][2][3].

Strabo’s significance rests on the Geographica, which synthesizes earlier Greek geographical knowledge with his own observations and contemporary Roman sources [1][3]. Blending history, ethnography, and myth, it served as a valuable resource for Roman administration and later geographers, providing an indispensable historical record of the ancient Mediterranean world [1][3].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: [Strabo](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/strabo/) 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: [Strabo](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Strabo) 3. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: [Strabo](https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6085)