What did pytheas of massalia do?
Pytheas, (flourished 300 bc, Massalia, Gaul), navigator, geographer, astronomer, and the first Greek to visit and describe the British Isles and the Atlantic coast of Europe. Though his principal work, On the Ocean, is lost, something is known of his ventures through the Greek historian Polybius (c.
Did Pytheas go to Iceland?
Written in Greek sometime around 325 BCE, it is perhaps the earliest documented description of the British Isles and its inhabitants. Significantly, it also contains tantalizing evidence that Pytheas may have reached as far north as Iceland and the Arctic Ocean.
When did Pytheas visit Britain?
Pytheas of Massalia explored the shores of Britain and Scandinavia. Pytheas is known to have traveled around the entire island of Britain in the mid 4th century BC; however, it is still unclear exactly how much time it took to do this, and how much of his journey was spent on the land itself versus how much was by sail …
What country did Pytheas sail for?
From Cornwall, Pytheas sailed north through the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland all the way to the northern tip of Scotland, probably going as far as the Orkney Islands. Along the way, he stopped and traveled for short distances inland and described the customs of the inhabitants.
How did pytheas contribution to oceanography?
Pytheas introduced the idea of distant Thule to the geographic imagination, and his account of the tides is the earliest one known that suggests the moon as their cause.
Did Vikings ever meet Greeks?
But for the Byzantine Greeks in the south of Europe, these northmen, who became ol were known as the Varangians, and never caused a problem. On the contrary, they were sought after as fighters for the Emperor’s Guard.
Did the Greeks discover Britain?
320–306 BC) was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France)….Pytheas.
| Pytheas of Massalia | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Earliest Greek voyage to Britain, the Baltic, and the Arctic Circle for which there is a record, author of Periplus. |