The Island Erytheia: A Clash of Disciplines. Pamina Fernández Camacho, (Phd) Universidad de Cádiz/ Universidad de Almería, Spain Abstract: “Classical Studies”, or the study of Classical τntiquity, is an ample category covering several disciplinesμ philology, history, archaeology. They all have to work with written sources at some point, but they rarely do it in a coordinated way. More often than not, material remains or topographical studies don´t play a role in philological interpretations, while archaeologists and historians don´t see the need for a philological reading of texts written by ancient authors, considering them mere tools to confirm their own conclusions or even deceptions to be discredited. This lack of organization is, as we will argue here, at the root of continued misconceptions like those which surround the identity and location of the island of Erytheia, which can be solved by an interdisciplinary approach. Key Words: Philology. Archaeology. History. Greek and Latin literature. Topography. First of all, I must confess that I am a philologist. I´m not an archaeologist or a historian, though I have read works produced in these fields, because anyone studying Antiquity reaches a point, sooner or later, when they cannot ignore those closely related disciplines anymore. Or so, at least, is how it should be. I have been studying, among other things, matters related to the geography of the Far West of the ancient world (SW of Spain), where “Erytheia” is a much-mentioned place name in all periods from Hesiod to Stephanos Byzantios 1 . The more this place name came up in my research, the more I felt like I had to do a proper study of what it meant and where it was located, because the sources on the subject were confusing. Studying the ancient sources was the easiest part –for that is what philologists do bestέ “Erytheia” was a mythical location (its name is related to the word ἐ ȡȣșȡȩȢ, meaning “red” 2 ), home to the three-headed monster Geryon, owner of a magnificent herd of cattle, and the adversary of Herakles in the Tenth Labour performed by the hero in the service of king Euristheus 3 . In the Greek mindset, such a monster would naturally live at the edges of the world, far away from “civilization” 4 . This 1 Hes.Th. 290, Stesich. Fr. 7 SLG (= Str 3.5.4); Hdt. 4.8., Ps.-Scym.150-162, Apollod.2.5.10, Str.3.5.4, Mela 3.47, Plin.4.120, Aristid.Or.40.12, D.P. 452. Avien.ora.309-314, St. Byz., s.v. Ἀ ijȡοįȚıȚȐȢ. 2 Cf. Pliny the Elder´s etymology in 4.120: Plin.4.120: Erythea dicta est, quoniam Tyri aborigines earum orti ab Erythro mari ferebantur. About the meaning of this red colour in connexion to myth, cf. SERGENT (2006: 120), BALLABRIGA (1986: 50-51). 3 A complete account of the myth can be found in D.H.1.39-44, Apollod.2.5.10 or D.S.4.17-25. Hesiod´s version is more synthetic. 4 Examples of mythical monsters located at the shores of the Ocean can be found in Od.16.150-151, Hes.Th.215- 216, 274-276, 290, 308-309, 325-327, 333-335, 517-518; Fr. 360.