Voyage of Hanno the Navigator (Ὁ περίπλους Ἁννῶνος τοῦ Ναυάρχου)

Life No biographical details survive for the anonymous Greek translator of the Periplus of Hanno. The text is a Greek adaptation of a Punic inscription that recorded the expedition of the Carthaginian magistrate and explorer Hanno, who navigated the Atlantic coast of Africa in the 6th or 5th century BCE [1][2][3]. The original was displayed in the temple of Ba'al Hammon in Carthage [1][4]. The work's existence demonstrates cultural transmission between the Punic and Greek worlds.

Works * Periplus of Hanno (Περίπλους Ἁννῶνος) – A concise prose account of a Carthaginian voyage along northwestern Africa, representing the sole surviving work of this tradition [1][2][4].

Significance The Periplus is a historical document of primary importance, offering a rare firsthand glimpse into Carthaginian maritime exploration and Atlantic colonization [1][2]. Its descriptions of indigenous peoples, wildlife, and volcanic phenomena have provoked extensive scholarly analysis regarding their identification and the journey's southern limit [1][2][4]. As a Greek translation of a lost Punic original, it is crucial evidence for cross-cultural knowledge exchange and a definitive example of the ancient periplus genre [1].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (The Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-geometry/#PeriHan 2. Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hanno-Carthaginian-explorer 3. World History Encyclopedia (World History Foundation): https://www.worldhistory.org/Hanno/ 4. ToposText (Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation): https://topostext.org/work/206