 Pytheas: Early, Early, Early Arctic Explorer Ancient records suggest that the Greek navigator Pytheas visited the Arctic about 2,330 years ago. He sailed through the "Pillars of Hercules" (Gibralter) to Scotland, then north - seeking a legendary land called Thule where the sun shone all night long. Pytheas claimed to have reached Thule (probably around Iceland), and described it as a place where there was no longer proper land, or sea, or air, but rather a kind of substance made from all of those things that you could neither walk or sail upon - a kind of "sea-lungs" in which earth, sea, and the elements were held in suspension. Pythias' original journals disappeared with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, but mariners in his time apparently did not let the fear of "falling off the edge of the world" restrict their voyages. Contrary to stories of the Dark Ages, the idea that the Earth was round was common knowledge to ancient scholars. This was very advanced thinking - 2,000 years before Columbus set out to prove the same theory!
Click pictures for more information and credits. Library: Exploration, Countries/Places, Arctic Links: Cold Places, Arctic Arctic Maps & Weather Reports Sunrise & Sunset Links and Guide ) |
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DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central. |
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ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic. |
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ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature... |
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ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots". |
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GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? |
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