Pytheas
Greek explorer who first described the Arctic and midnight sun.
Pytheas of Massalia was a Greek geographer, explorer, and astronomer from the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France). He is known for a voyage of exploration to Northern Europe around 325 BC, during which he became the first known Greek scientific visitor to describe the Arctic, polar ice, the midnight sun, and the Celtic and Germanic tribes. His account of the voyage, widely known in antiquity, has not survived and is known only through later writings.
- born
- c. 350 BC
- field
- Geography, exploration, astronomy
- nationality
- Greek (from Massalia)
- known_for
- First Greek to describe the Arctic, polar ice, midnight sun, and the moon's role in tides; introduced the idea of Thule
Lore & Background
The start of Pytheas's voyage is unknown. Some historians speculated he traveled overland to avoid a Carthaginian blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, while others note that Massaliotes may have been free to operate due to amicable terms with Carthage. Strabo reported that Pytheas said he 'travelled over the whole of Britain that was accessible.' Pytheas gave a perimeter for Britain of more than 40,000 stadia, which Strabo considered outrageously high. Diodorus Siculus gave a similar number (42,500 stadia), and Pliny reported the circuitus as 4,875 Roman miles. Explorer Fridtjof Nansen later suggested these figures may have resulted from Timaeus converting days' sail to stadia at a standard rate.
Reader's Guide
Pytheas's significance lies in his pioneering exploration of Northern Europe and his contributions to geographic and astronomical knowledge. He was the first documented Mediterranean mariner to reach the British Isles and the first Greek to describe the Arctic, polar ice, and the midnight sun. His account of the tides is the earliest known to suggest the moon as their cause. He introduced the idea of distant Thule to the geographic imagination. Though his original work, 'On the Ocean,' has not survived, fragments quoted by later authors preserve his observations. His reports were controversial in antiquity—Strabo and Polybius doubted them—but modern scholarship recognizes the accuracy of many of his descriptions. The dating of his voyage is established by the fact that his discoveries were unknown to Aristotle but were controverted by Aristotle's student Dicaearchus, placing the journey in the 320s BC or shortly thereafter.
Did You Know?
- Pytheas was the first known Greek scientific visitor to describe the Arctic, polar ice, and the midnight sun.
- His account of the tides is the earliest known to suggest the moon as their cause.
- The exact date of his voyage is uncertain, but it likely occurred in the 320s BC, after Aristotle and before Dicaearchus.
- His original work, 'On the Ocean,' has not survived; only fragments quoted by later authors remain.
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