The Periplus of the Mediterranean

Abstract

The first reference to the Maltese Islands (Malta and Gozo) occurs in a passage of the Periplus - (an account of a coasting voyage) - of the Inner Sea. This coastal survey bears the name of Skylax of Caryanda\ perhaps the namesake of the navigator who sailed for Darius the Great over the North Indian Ocean; but the author is usually dubbed Pseudo- Skylax to distinguish him from the old Indian voyager. From internal evidence scholars conclude that the Periplus must have been written in the middle of the fourth century B.C.