1st Edition

Pytheas of Massalia Texts, Translation, and Commentary

By Lionel Scott Copyright 2022
224 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

224 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

224 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Pytheas of Massalia (Marseille), mariner, explorer, geographer and astronomer, made a pioneering voyage into the then unknown Atlantic around 325 BC, reaching Britain and the Baltic; this book collects and translates the references to him and his book (which is lost), and discusses and explains them. The Greeks of Pytheas' time knew virtually nothing of northern Europe beyond the... Read more

List of maps

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations, citations

Distances and timings

Mini-Biographies

Introduction: Pytheas and his book

The background to Pytheas' voyage

1 Massilia, trading city

2 Knowledge of the north; tin and amber

3 Early voyages

4 The astronomy background

5 Carthage and passage through Gibraltar

6 Pytheas sets off

The Fragments

F1 Aetius III 17.3

F2 Cleomedes I 4 197-231

F3 Cosmas Indopleustes 2.80

F4 Diodorus Siculus 5.21.3-4

F5 Diodorus Siculus 5.22.1-4

F6 Diodorus Siculus 5.23.1, 4

F7 Geminos 6.7-9

F8 Hipparchos Commentary on the Phaenomena of Aratos and Eudoxos 1.4.1

F9 Marcianus of Heracleia Epitome of the Periplus of the Inner Sea by Menippos 1.2Menippus

F10 Martianus Capella De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii 6.595

F11 Martianus Capella De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii 6.608-9

F12 Mela 3.47-50

F13 Mela 3.54-7

F14 Pliny NH 1.2, 1.4, 1.37

F15 Pliny NH 2.186-7

F16 Pliny NH 2.217

F17 Pliny NH 4.94-7

F18 Pliny NH 4.102

F19 Pliny NH 4.103-4

F20 Pliny NH 6.219

F21 Pliny NH 37.35-6

F22 Schol in Ap Rh 4.761-5a

F23 Steph Byz sv ᾿Ωστίωνες ≈ Aelius Herodianus De Pros Cath 3.1.19

F24 Strabo 1.4.2

F25 Strabo 1.4.3-4

F26 Strabo 1.4.5

F27 Strabo 2.1.12

F28 Strabo 2.1.18

F29 Strabo 2.3.5

F30 Strabo 2.4.1-2 = Polyb 34.5.1-13

F31 Strabo 2.5.7-8

F32 Strabo 2.5.41

F33 Strabo 2.5.43

F34 Strabo 3.2.11

F35 Strabo 3.4.4

F36 Strabo 4.2.1

F37 Strabo 4.4.1

F38 Strabo 4.5.5

F39 Strabo 7.3.1

Appendices

Appendix 1 The alleged Massiliot Periplus

Appendix 2 Pytheas' contributions to astronomy

Appendix 3 The word for 'hour'

Appendix 4 Pytheas' amber island(s), with a Note on Germany and Scythia

Appendix 5 The Ost- tribe(s)

Appendix 6 Thule and the frozen sea

Appendix 7 Strabo's view of western Europe

Coda

Concordance

Bibliography

List of passages cited

Index

Biography

Dr Lionel Scott is a classically educated retired barrister, whose publications include Were There Polis Navies in Archaic Greece?, BAR Int Series 899 (2000) 93-115, and Historical Commentary on Herodotus Book VI (2005).

"Because of the way it challenges some accepted deductions about Pytheas and his voyage, and because it is very well produced, Scott’s edition is a welcome addition to the studies on the Greek explorer." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review