Pytheas of Massalia

<p>Pytheas of Massalia (Marseille), mariner, explorer, geographer and astronomer, made a pioneering voyage into the then unknown Atlantic around 325 BC, reaching Britain and the Baltic; this book collects and translates the references to him and his book (which is lost), and discusses and explains them. </p><p>The Greeks of Pytheas' time knew virtually nothing of northern Europe beyond the often-fantastical stories of traders, and Pytheas was the first person to provide factual, first-hand information on this region. His journey covered Iberia, France, Britain, from where he travelled so far north that he encountered ice floes; he then reached the Baltic. It was he who recorded Thule, and his astronomy enabled him to locate it on the Arctic Circle. Two thirds of our references to Pytheas come from Pliny and Strabo; their methods of work, as well as the perils of manuscript transmission, are explored in this volume. Scott also includes discussions and appendices on these areas to enable the scope of available references to be understood as a whole. There are some details of Pytheas' voyage that are lost, but the book offers balanced reasons for proposing how we may reasonably fill them in.</p><p>The breadth of Pytheas' achievements and the areas and topics his work covers mean that he has a wide range of appeal within classical studies and ancient history. This volume provides an invaluable resource to undergraduate and postgraduate students of early geography and astronomy, and Greece’s knowledge of and relationship to the rest of Europe in this period.</p> <p>List of maps; Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations, citations; Distances and timings; Mini-Biographies; Introduction: Pytheas and his book; <b>The background to Pytheas' voyage; </b>1 Massilia, trading city; 2 Knowledge of the north; tin and amber; 3 Early voyages; 4 The astronomy background; 5 Carthage and passage through Gibraltar; 6 Pytheas sets off; <b>The Fragments; </b>F1 Aetius III 17.3; F2 Cleomedes I 4 197-231; F3 Cosmas Indopleustes 2.80; F4 Diodorus Siculus 5.21.3-4; F5 Diodorus Siculus 5.22.1-4; F6 Diodorus Siculus 5.23.1, 4; F7 Geminos 6.7-9; F8 Hipparchos <i>Commentary on the</i> Phaenomena <i>of Aratos and Eudoxos</i> 1.4.1; F9 Marcianus of Heracleia <i>Epitome of the Periplus of the Inner Sea by Menippos</i> 1.2Menippus; F10 Martianus Capella <i>De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii</i> 6.595; F11 Martianus Capella <i>De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii</i> 6.608-9; F12 Mela 3.47-50; F13 Mela 3.54-7; F14 Pliny <i>NH</i> 1.2, 1.4, 1.37; F15 Pliny <i>NH</i> 2.186-7; F16 Pliny <i>NH</i> 2.217; F17 Pliny <i>NH</i> 4.94-7; F18 Pliny <i>NH</i> 4.102; F19 Pliny <i>NH</i> 4.103-4; F20 Pliny <i>NH</i> 6.219; F21 Pliny <i>NH</i> 37.35-6; F22 Schol in Ap Rh 4.761-5a; F23 Steph Byz sv ᾿Ωστίωνες ≈ Aelius Herodianus <i>De Pros Cath</i> 3.1.19; F24 Strabo 1.4.2; F25 Strabo 1.4.3-4; F26 Strabo 1.4.5; F27 Strabo 2.1.12; F28 Strabo 2.1.18; F29 Strabo 2.3.5; F30 Strabo 2.4.1-2 = Polyb 34.5.1-13; F31 Strabo 2.5.7-8; F32 Strabo 2.5.41; F33 Strabo 2.5.43; F34 Strabo 3.2.11; F35 Strabo 3.4.4; F36 Strabo 4.2.1; F37 Strabo 4.4.1; F38 Strabo 4.5.5; F39 Strabo 7.3.1; <b>Appendices; </b>Appendix 1 The alleged Massiliot <i>Periplus; </i>Appendix 2 Pytheas' contributions to astronomy; Appendix 3 The word for 'hour'; Appendix 4 Pytheas' amber island(s), with a Note on Germany and Scythia; Appendix 5 The Ost- tribe(s); Appendix 6 Thule and the frozen sea; Appendix 7 Strabo's view of western Europe; Coda; Concordance; Bibliography; List of passages cited; Index</p>