Measuring and Mapping Space at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

Nestled among manses on the Upper East Side, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World may be small, but its current exhibition contains the whole world. Measuring and Mapping Space focuses on Greco-Roman geography and its Renaissance revival, demonstrating through maps, kraters, books, and coins how Greek and Romans from Herodotus to Hadrian imagined and represented the physical world. Nifty details abound --- did you know that Roman coins have been found in the Mekong River? --- and the mix of precision and fantasy that characterizes ancient geography makes you long for the days when you knew exactly how many stadia you had to travel before battling griffins.