Gale - Science and Its Times Vol 01 (2000 BC to AD 699).pdf

Ultima Thule, Brettanike, and the
Voyage of Pytheas of Massalia
Overview
For centuries, “ultima Thule” has been synonymous
with the ends of the earth. Pytheas of Massalia
(fl. c. 325 B.C.) first used “Thule” to refer to
the northernmost land he visited during his
North Atlantic voyage. Seneca (4 B.C.-A.D. 65)
later dubbed it “ultima (‘farthest’) Thule.” Though
its precise location remains unknown, it seems
certain Pytheas ventured at least as far as 62°N.
He was also the first to circumnavigate Britain
and to record accurate geographic and ethnographic
information about northwestern Europe.
Background
Greek awareness of Brettanike (Britain) and sub-
Arctic Europe was reflected in its mythology.
The mystical river Eridanus was originally
thought to flow north through western Europe
and was associated with the production of
amber. Homer’s (fl. c. 850 B.C.) Illiad makes references
to the land of the Laestrygones where
the paths of day and night lie close together as
well as the Cimmerians who lived at the ocean’s
edge in cold and gloom.
A clearer picture of the North Atlantic lands
did not begin to emerge until the seventh century
B.C., when Greek colonists penetrated the
western Mediterranean and began trading with
Tartessos (modern Seville, Spain). Tartessian
merchants had long since established trade
routes with Brittany and Cornwall for tin and
Ireland for gold and copper. The Greeks more
fully exploited their connections with Tartessos
when the Phocaean port of Massalia (modern
Marseilles, France) was founded about 600 B.C.
There is also evidence that a Phocaean by the
name of Midacritus journeyed as far north as
Brittany and returned with a load of tin.
Greek access to the Atlantic was severed
around 500 B.C. when the Phoenicians drove
them from Spain and destroyed Tartessos. The
Carthaginians henceforth controlled the Pillars
of Heracles (Straits of Gibraltar) from their
colony of Gades (founded c. 1100 B.C.). Massalia
still maintained control of the coast as far south
as Emporion (Ampurias, 75 miles or 121 km
northeast of present-day Barcelona, Spain), but
their only means of obtaining Atlantic tin and
copper was by caravan through Gaul.
Pytheas was the next Greek to sail the Atlantic.
Though the exact date of his voyage remains
in doubt, it is possible to make an approximate
determination. It appears he used a reference
work dating to 350 B.C. Further,
Dicaearchus of Messene (fl. 326-296 B.C.) referenced
Pytheas’s treatise. Thus, the voyage must
have occurred sometime between 350 and 290
B.C. In addition, Carthage strictly monitored traffic
through the Pillars. Therefore, it is commonly
believed Pytheas could only have sailed into the
Atlantic while Carthage was distracted by its war
with Syracuse during the years 310 to 306 B.C.
This dating assumes Pytheas was the leader,
or at least a member, of a Massaliote expedition.
An alternative hypothesis suggests that he traveled
as a passenger on native vessels engaged in
regular shipping runs, possibly having traveled
by land to Brittany before securing such passage.
Though this obviates the need for explaining
how a Greek vessel could have breached the
Phoenician blockade, it seems rather implausible
and has few supporters.
The expedition was likely conducted under
official auspices for the purpose of obtaining information
to enhance Massaliote commerce. Tradition
has it that Pytheas was an exceptional astronomer
and geographer, having accurately established
the latitude of Massalia. Thus, he would
have been a valuable member on such a venture.
Impact
Pytheas described his voyage of exploration in
On the Ocean (Peri Okeanou). This was a general
treatise of geography on the “Outer Ocean.” Unfortunately,
the work is no longer extant. What
is known of it has been gleaned from later commentaries.
From these scattered sources, his
route and discoveries have been reconstructed.
After passing through the Pillars of Heracles,
Pytheas sailed northwest past Gades. He then
rounded the headland at Cape St. Vincent, Portugal,
and steered a northerly course along the
coast. Passing the northwestern tip of Iberia,
Pytheas followed the coastline east into the Bay
of Biscay. When the coast again turned north, he
determined his position to be only 400 miles
(644 km) from Massalia and at the same latitude.
He thus discovered Iberia to be a peninsula.
S C I E N C E A N D I T S T I M E S V O L U M E 1
Exploration
& Discovery
2000 B.C.
to A.D. 699
25