Pytheas
Sign in to savePytheas of Massalia (; Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης Pythéās ho Massaliōtēs; Latin: Pytheas Massiliensis; born 350 BC, 320–306 BC) was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France). He made a voyage of exploration to Northern Europe in about 325 BC, but his account of it, known widely in antiquity, has not survived and is now known only through the writings of others.
AI overview
Pytheas was a Greek explorer and astronomer from Massalia (modern Marseille) who undertook a voyage to Northern Europe around 325 BC and became well-known in ancient times for his account of the journey. Although his original writings have been lost, his exploration remains historically important because it is preserved through references and quotations in the works of other ancient authors.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 0349-00-00
- Died
- 0284-00-00
- Works
- 4
Top works
- Pytheae Massiliensis fragmenta
- Über das Weltmeer
- L'oceano
- On the ocean
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 43
- Total plays
- 90
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Pytheas">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Key facts
- Scientist.name
- Pytheas of Massalia
- Scientist.image
- Parisinus gr 1397 f.162 pytheas of massalia from Strabo 7.3.1.jpg
- Scientist.image_size
Article
25 sectionsContents
- Record
- Surviving fragments
- Dating the voyage
- Circumstances of the voyage
- Voyage to Britain
- The "circumnavigation"
- Name and description of the British
- The three corners of Britain: Kantion, Belerion and Orkas
- The tin trade
- Scotland
- Thule
- Encounter with drift ice
- Discovery of the Baltic
- Voyage to the Don
- Measurements of latitude
- Latitude by the altitude of the Sun
- Latitude by the elevation of the north pole
- Location of the Arctic Circle
- Latitude by length of longest day, and by Sun's elevation on shortest day
- On the tides
- Literary influence
- See also
- Notes
- Bibliography
- External links
Pytheas of Massalia (; Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης Pythéās ho Massaliōtēs; Latin: Pytheas Massiliensis; born 350 BC, 320–306 BC) was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France). He made a voyage of exploration to Northern Europe in about 325 BC, but his account of it, known widely in antiquity, has not survived and is now known only through the writings of others.
On this voyage, he circumnavigated and visited a considerable part of the British Isles. He was the first known Greek scientific visitor to see and describe the Arctic, polar ice, and the Celtic and Germanic tribes. He is also the first person on record to describe the midnight sun. The theoretical existence of some Northern phenomena that he described, such as a frigid zone, and temperate zones where the nights are very short in summer and the sun does not set at the summer solstice, was already known. Similarly, reports of a country of perpetual snow and darkness (the country of the Hyperboreans) had reached the Mediterranean some centuries before.