Analyze the effects of wider travel on the literature and popular culture of the Hellenistic world

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The periplus became a popular literary form in the Hellenistic Age, when other ways of life became evident and curiosity about them was piqued. Some of these works of travel literature were pragmatic in nature and were commissioned by rulers to function as a survey of newly conquered territories. There were also travel tips by merchants regarding routes to travel between markets and recommendations for safety in travel. One distinction that made these works more accessible and lively is that they were written as firsthand accounts. Alexander's admiral Nearchus surveyed the coast along Persia to India, and later wrote his travel accounts and included his impressions of India. He described whales and elephants to an audience that had never seen these creatures. A merchant's report of his encounters in Africa along the Red Sea described the people he encountered, who were completely foreign to the Greeks. He also proceeded to expand his travels and describe luxury goods and their production. A sailor in Marseilles described the western European coast and his travels to England, which he called Albion. These accounts helped put the Hellenistic world into perspective by showing just how big and different the world was. By demonstrating the possibility of interactions, these travelogues provoked a greater interest in the cultures from other areas.