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Euthymenes

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Also known as Euthymenes of Massalia

Euthymenes of Massalia (; Euthymenēs ho Massaliōtēs; fl. early sixth century BCE) was a Greek explorer from Massalia (modern Marseille), who explored the coast of West Africa as far, apparently, as a great river, of which the outflow made the sea at its mouth fresh or brackish.

Key facts

Person.name
Euthymenes
Person.image
Euthymènes.jpg
Person.image_caption
The statue of Euthymenes (by Auguste Ottin) on the façade of the Palais de la Bourse, Marseille
Person.birth_place
Massilia (Marseille)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Place of birth
Marseille
Occupation
explorer
Languages spoken
Ancient Greek
Image
Euthymènes.jpg
Show 7 more facts
date of birth
0600-01-01
writing language
Ancient Greek
name in native language
Εὐθυμένης ὁ Μασσαλιώτης
Commons category
Euthymenes
date of death
0600-00-00
described by source
Pauly–Wissowa
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

2 sections
Contents
  • Notes
  • References

Euthymenes of Massalia (; Euthymenēs ho Massaliōtēs; fl. early sixth century BCE) was a Greek explorer from Massalia (modern Marseille), who explored the coast of West Africa as far, apparently, as a great river, of which the outflow made the sea at its mouth fresh or brackish.

His published accounts have not survived, but seem to have been known, at least at secondhand, by Plutarch, who writes "Euthymenes the Massilian concludes that the Nile is filled by Oceanus and that sea which is outward from it, the latter being naturally sweet." Euthymenes thought that this river was the Nile, but the river in question may have been the Senegal.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Euthymenes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.