Pisias, a citizen city in western Greece, Marcia (now Marseille), became a major trading country in the western Mediterranean and its favorable position along the south bank, resulting in Gaul (France). He is regarded as a skilled navigator, astronomer and sailor. His description of the voyage was called Peri tou Okeanou, which recorded a sea trip to Britain, the North Sea and the northeast coast of Europe. These mysterious northern lands are the source of tin, amber and gold in the Mediterranean. It was written in Greek around 325 BC, which is probably the earliest record about the British Isles and its inhabitants. Importantly, it also contains attractive evidence that Pythias may have reached the northernmost tip of Iceland and the Arctic Ocean. These lands were occupied by a giant race called Hyperboreans in Greek mythology. Unfortunately, there are few details about this voyage, because this paper has not been preserved. Although it was widely known in ancient times, only its fragments were preserved, extracted or explained in the works of other classical writers.
Unlike many works focusing on navigation at that time, On the Sea is not regarded as periplus, or at least not as a typical periplus. These are basically logbooks or guidebooks. They contain a lot of practical information, such as the distance between major coastal landmarks or astronomical observations to help navigation at sea. In contrast, in the ocean, although it does cover this kind of information, it is much bigger and more ambitious. It is the first-hand information of Teia Pi's voyage, and contains a lot of observational data of astronomy, geography, biology, oceanography and ethnology. In fact, many modern scholars believe that this is a document of great scientific and anthropological significance.
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Several writers attribute the voyage of Pythias to us. It is worth noting that these people include Timaeus, Eratosthenes, Pliny Sr, Dior Dorus West Gullers, strabo and Polybius. However, the last two writers openly opposed the idea of sailing. For example, the geographer Strappo (63 BC-24 AD) claimed in his famous book Geography that Pi Teia was the "worst liar" and most of his works were just "fabrications" (Rothman, 24 years old). However, Strebo is the main source of Pisias. He quoted the Greek explorer's words many times in Geography magazine, although most of them were presented in a way of defaming Pythias and doubting the validity of his voyage.
It is the first-hand information of Pythias' voyage, and contains a lot of observational data of astronomy, geography, biology, oceanography and ethnology.
Many scholars believe that Strappo's severe criticism originated from the works of Polybius (200 BC-65438 BC+065438 BC+08 BC). Polybius, a Greek historian in the 2nd century, spoke louder when he condemned Pythia. Polybius's History (Volume 34) only exists in fragments, which is a debate on Pythias. The hostility of these two writers to Pythias is strange. In fact, it may originate from what British archaeologist Barry Cunliffe called "professional jealousy" (Cunliffe, 173).
In contrast, other classic writers have a good impression on Pythias and accept On the Sea as an effective narrative. One of the most important is the historian Timaios (345 BC-250 BC), who wrote a long paper on the history of Sicily and the Western Mediterranean. He probably has a book on the ocean, which has been quoted many times in his own works. Alexander Eratosthenes (276 BC-276 BC 194 BC), a famous geographer and chief librarian of Cyrene, also quoted Petraeus in a paper, which, like the ocean, has been lost, but it has been widely circulated in the ancient world.
Many scholars believe that Pliny, a Roman historian and writer (AD 23-AD 79), got most of the information about Piaget from Timio. Like Timius, he quoted the ocean many times in his book Natural History, and often added "According to Pi Teia …" or "Written by Pi Teia of Masalia …" The Greek historian Dior Dorus West Gullers (about 90 BC-30 BC), who wrote his great history during the period of Augustus.
navigate by water/air
Based on these (and other) scattered fragments, modern scholars try to piece together all aspects of this voyage, although many details are still speculative. For example, there has never been any degree of certainty about the type of ship that Pythias might use. In fact, some historians-including Cunliffe-suggested that he go hiking in most places or use Celtic swamp-style boat crossings. However, if Pythias is indeed a businessman, he may also sail in Holcas. These are Greek cargo ships, strong, well-made and large in water. They are mainly used to transport goods. Usually flat-bottomed, round hull, mainly driven by sails, which is very different from the smoother and more famous Greek warship triremes.
Equally speculative is his exact route. However, it is generally believed that Petraeus sailed from Masalia and then sailed westward, crossing the Pillar of Hercules (now the Strait of Gibraltar). He sailed into the Atlantic Ocean, sailed north along the west coasts of Spain and France, and probably landed in Brittany. From there, he crossed the English Channel and arrived at a place he called "Beleon", which modern scholars think is Cornwall. It was here that he witnessed British residents mining tin to trade with Gaul and the Mediterranean. Pliny quoted Timio as saying, "There is an island called Mystis. Where can I find tin when I sail from England for six days? " . The British crossed the island in a wicker boat sewn with animal skins "(Cunliffe, 75 years old). The exact location of the island is unknown, but many parties have proposed to name it Mount St. Michael in Cornwall, Mount Barton Peninsula in Devon or Isle of Wight.
Diodorus Siculus called the British Island "Pleutin's Nia" and its residents were "Pleutin's Nia". Scholars believe that these two words may originally come from Pythias, from the same branch of Celtic, P-Celtic. This is also the spelling used by Strabo when referring to this island. In contrast, many later writers used B- Celtic spelling to represent the word "Britannia". Diodorus Siculus described the British Island as "densely populated and extremely cold" (Cunliffe, 108). He described the Tani people in Preite as a tribal people ruled by "many kings and nobles" (Cunliffe, 108). He pointed out that they lived in "reed or wood" houses and described them as living on agricultural products (Cunliffe, 108). "
After observing the residents of Cornwall and southwest England, Pisces is likely to go north along the Welsh coast. It is possible for him to land on the Isle of Man before sailing on the west coast of Scotland and sail between the outer Hebrides and the inner Hebrides. According to various sources, he landed many times; In fact, Strappo quoted Pythias as saying that he "traveled all over the Encyclopedia Britannica", but added in a unique way that such a feat was obviously absurd (Rothman, 48). Pythias also made some latitude readings with his sundial. This is a kind of equipment similar to modern golf club, which aims to measure the sun shadow at different latitudes and calculate a person's position. Pliny mentioned that the Okada Islands are in the north of the British Island, which most scholars think is the Orkney Islands today, although the exact figures given by Pliny are not consistent with the actual figures. From there,
According to Strappo, Pythias sailed for six days, and then he met a place he called Thule, which some scholars thought was Iceland. Whether Pisias really landed in Iceland is controversial, and this prospect has divided scholars for decades. Some people admit that Thule is Iceland, while others think it refers to Norway. The Canadian explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson has made extensive explorations in the Arctic in his book The Ultimate Map, and he thinks that the possibility of Pisias' arrival in Iceland is quite credible. It is here, or somewhere in these northern climates, that Pietia witnessed a completely strange phenomenon for Mediterranean residents. Travelers in high latitudes experienced almost continuous sunshine in summer months. Pliny comments:
Finally, Thule, as I said, when the sun passes through Cancer, there is no night on the winter solstice and no day on the winter solstice. Some people think this is true for six months in a row (Rothman, 92).
Pythias further pointed out that a day's voyage from Thule to the north brought a person to the "frozen ocean", which scholars believe is used to describe the frozen Arctic Ocean. At this point, it is likely that fog, biting cold and thick ice floes prevented further northward driving. Nevertheless, one of the most mysterious passages in The Sea mentions this place. Strappo quoted Pythias as saying that this high north latitude is a place:
The earth, water and air do not exist alone, but are a condensate of all these, just like a sea lung, in which the earth, ocean and everything are suspended, thus forming a bond (Rothman, 125).
The confusing term "sea lung" has long been the source of many speculations by modern scholars. It is not entirely clear what Pythias refers to when using this term. The most reasonable explanation is that Pythias used a Greek term to describe a phenomenon, that is, "pancake ice", which he had never seen before and had no term. This explanation was adopted by most modern researchers. Pancake ice is round and floats on the water. The sea lung is another term for the jellyfish, which Aristotle pointed out in his part about animals. It is also round, floating on or close to the water. Many scholars believe that when trying to describe this phenomenon, Petraeus simply returned to the word "sea lung", which may be the most similar to this strange sight.
Returning from Thule, Pi Teia probably sailed along the east coast of England, bypassing the Kent Peninsula, which he called "Kandy", thus realizing the voyage around the island. But there is evidence that Petraeus did not turn west to go home, but sailed east and sailed along the northern coast of Europe. Pliny argued that he met a Germanic Gutong who lived on the bank of a big estuary. He also boarded an island (probably Helgolan Island) famous for its rich amber. In fact, sailing along this part of Europe may be due to the desire to discover the source of amber, which is quite attractive to the Greeks. Some people think that from here on, Teia continued to enter the Baltic Sea.
The legacy of Pisias
Pisias apparently wrote on the ocean sometime after returning to Masalia. Of course, you may never know the exact time. Conliffe suspected that it must have been written before 320 BC, because it was first quoted by Didac, a classical writer and Aristotle's student, shortly after this date. Later, it was widely spread. Obviously, it was studied, analyzed and debated for at least the next two centuries. For a long time, the works of Tacitus and Julius Caesar may be the only source of information about the northern latitude in Britain and the ocean. There is no doubt that there are copies of it and Alexander in Pegmont's big library. For example, it may be in the latter, and Eratosthenes obtained a copy of it. However, for centuries, perhaps due to the negligence of good intentions, deliberate destruction (for example, the library in Alexandria experienced a series of devastating fires), or some combination of these factors, it disappeared in the ocean, followed by one of the most important discoveries in classical ancient times.
As for Pythias himself, scholars know almost nothing about him. Except for a very brief introduction in Polybius's works, he contemptuously called him a "private citizen" and a "poor man" (Rothman, 48). Modern historians have nothing specific to describe his character, appearance or even his sailing motives. Such a description, if it exists, can only be inferred from scattered fragments of his works or articles about him by others. However, what these reveal is that a person is not only proficient in navigation and ocean, but also has a broad curiosity, which transcends the boundaries of his Mediterranean world.
It is this curiosity that is vividly reflected in On the Sea. In fact, although Strappo and Polybius raised exaggerated objections, On the Ocean is by no means a document full of logical impossibility and absurd stories. The surviving fragments point to a calm and objective description, which contains valuable information for modern scholars and scientists. These include the discussion of the influence of the moon on tides, the description of the midnight sun, the accurate measurement of latitude and the ethnographic description of indigenous people. All these represent a person, and at least one scholar insists that "it can be distinguished from other explorers and travelers in ancient times: a scientist who traveled purely for research reasons … became the first person to regard the whole ocean as his own field of endeavor" (Lola, 63).
Today, few historians and scholars doubt the authenticity of his voyage. Although the debate about where he actually went and other details of his voyage continues, the fact that he made such a voyage is rarely disputed. If this voyage is initially regarded as an economic adventure, as some people have suggested, it will soon become, because the debris scattered on the ocean proves that there are more. In fact, it has become a real exploration journey, trying to understand and gain knowledge about the world through direct observation. By doing so, Pi Teia played an important role in uncovering the mystery of these strange northern lands, which were so prominent in the Greek imagination. In addition, for the modern world, he provides a glimpse of the world we have lost now, although it is fragmented.