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8 - Pytheas of Massalia

from Part II - Classical Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2024

D. Graham J. Shipley
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
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Summary

This chapter presents new, annotated translations of the testimonia and fragments of Pytheas of Massalia (active c.330–c.320 BC), arranged as 32 extracts. (Translations of passages from Strabo are adapted with permission from the work of D. W. Roller.) The chapter introduction observes the difficulty of assessing Pytheas accurately, given the dominance of Strabo’s testimony, to which alone we owe our knowledge of the criticisms of the Massaliote by Polybios, perhaps arising from class prejudice; but defends his reputation, as recent scholarship has tended to do, and relates him to contemporary activity in Aristotle’s Peripatos (Lyceum). Although Pytheas owed much to earlier Massaliote voyagers, he is an important and original figure, particularly for his application of mathematical astronomy to questions of latitude and the tides. A new map shows the key points in his travels around northern Atlantic coasts and the British Isles, including the possible locations of Thule.

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Chapter
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Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
Selected Texts in Translation
, pp. 231 - 246
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Pytheas of Massalia
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009194211.013
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  • Pytheas of Massalia
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009194211.013
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Pytheas of Massalia
  • D. Graham J. Shipley, University of Leicester
  • Book: Geographers of the Ancient Greek World
  • Online publication: 25 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009194211.013
Available formats
×