Pytheas of Massalia

                                              Pytheas of Massalia

Pytheas of Massalia (the modern Marseille) is famous as an explorer who from 325 BCE undertook epic journeys of discovery in to the Atlantic world. Little was known in the Greek world at this time about the lands of northern Europe and Pytheas was the first to journey in to these areas and provide detailed information about what he witnessed there. Though his book which he called ‘On the Ocean ‘(Peri tou Okeanou) has not survived in to the modern era it was extensively quoted by ancient authors who used it for its details and general information. Though a major part of his book has been lost scholars are confident that they can accurately recreate his overall journey’s through the northern world. This is mainly due to the fact that Pytheas was extensively quoted by important writers such as Strabo, Diodorus, Pliny the Elder and Eratosthenes in later centuries. Pytheas travelled through Northern Europe until he reached the far north encountering ice flows before eventually reaching the Baltic Sea in the later 320’s.

                                       Pytheas journey round Scotland

Pytheas travelled extensively in what is now Scotland and he was the first to describe areas of the modern country. In particular its northern promontory which he called the ‘Orcas’ from which the modern name of the Orkney Islands is derived. Pytheas wrote that he reached a land called ‘Thule’ which he described as six days sailing north of the island of Berrice which is thought by historians to be the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. From here it would have been six days sailing to Norway which is considered to be the mostly likely location of ‘Thule’ though there has been frequent disputes about its actual location. The method of Pytheas travel is not clear but could have been a Greek trading ship. He is thought to have travelled up the west coast of modern Scotland before travelling past the Outer Hebrides. Stopping at certain points along the coast Pytheas used a device known as gnomon to calculate the latitudes of these locations. After reaching the Orkney Islands Pytheas is thought to have finally left the sight of land to sail in to the North Sea where as noted above he may eventually have reached Norway. Some modern authors have speculated that by what he describes in his writings he in fact sailed on to Iceland. Where ever it was Pytheas witnessed what he described as the ‘Congealed Sea’ which could have been the Arctic Ocean. He also noted the near continuous daylight found in these regions.

                                            The Legacy of Pytheas

Historians of ancient history generally accept that Pytheas did in fact undertake his extraordinary voyages of discovery from 325 BCE onwards. However there is also much debate over where his voyages took him particularly after he sailed northwards beyond the Orkney Islands. Though historians are reliant on other ancient writers for quotations from his book, the ‘ On the Ocean’. Much information can be derived from it which now would be completely unknown. Pytheas’s biggest legacy was in providing detail and observations of the northern world to the Greek world he came from and where his book was available in its major libraries such as Alexandria and Pergamon.