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The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek (Hardcover)

by Barry Cunliffe (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Allen Lane (15 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0713995092
  • ISBN-13: 978-0713995091
  • Product Dimensions: 22.2 x 14.5 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 536,957 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #69 in  Books > History > Archaeology > By Period > Classical Greek & Roman

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Product Description

Review

An absorbing work of scholarly detection reconstructs an ancient mariner's transoceanic voyage. Pytheas, a Greek from the colony of Massalia (now Marseilles), set off sometime around 330 b.c.<\h> to explore the Atlantic coast of Europe. Or so other ancient commentators tell us; the explorer's own memoir, On the Ocean, was lost long ago, so all we know of him comes from footnotes in the works of historians such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder. Cunliffe (European Archaeology/Oxford Univ.) gathers what can be reasonably asserted about the life and accomplishments of Pytheas, concluding that by following the path of migrating birds, his subject could easily have traveled all the way to Iceland, "the place where the sun lies down," as one ancient calls it. This narrative is fleshed out with a sequence of learned but lightly spun discourses on such matters as ancient navigation and science, trade relations among the Greek colonies of the Mediterranean and the Halstatt culture of west-central Europe, the tin-mining industry in Celtic Britain, Etruscan material culture, and the history of island-hopping. Through these discussions, the author demonstrates that everyone in the ancient world was pretty much aware of everyone else, merrily borrowing and adapting ideas and artifacts. (Cunliffe, for instance, connects a motif in Breton stelae to Greek temple columns.) He also capably defends his assertion that Pytheas was "first and foremost a scientist drawn to the edges of the world in search of firm answers to the uncertainties and doubts raised by earlier writers such as the cautious Herodotus." In the absence of solid evidence, firm answers are in short supply here. Still, the shrewd guesswork and engaging story are a pleasure to follow. (Kirkus Reviews)


Product Description

Some 2,300 or more years ago an amazing expedition, headed by Pytheas, set out from the Greek colony of Massalia (Marseilles) to explore the terrifying, fabled lands of northern Europe: a mysterious, largely conjectural zone which, according to Greek science, was too cold to sustain human life. Pytheas was the Ancient World's Columbus. He was the first literate man ever to visit the British Isles, the German coast and the Hebrides, even travelling on to Iceland and the edge of the ice-pack. Even more startingly, thre was no follow-up to his journey. Britain remained without further explorers until Julius Caesar and his legions landed there 300 years later. Barry Cunliffe knows perhaps more than anyone about the world through which Pytheas travelled and, like a detective, he here pieces together how Pytheas viewed his world. All our knowledge of the journey is indirect (Pytheas' own account was destroyed, probably in the burning of the Great Library at Alexandria) but, through sifting the archaeological and written records, Cunliffe re-creates this staggering journey. Like those of a space-probe flying past some far distant planet, the signals Pytheas sends back to our own time, however, faint and confused, represent and far limit of literate human experience in the northern world. This book allows us to sense some of his dazed astonishment, huddled in his skin-boat, gazing at the geography in which we now live and at the legendary "Ultima Thule" - the Arctic Ocean.
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A short, succinct, and totally satisfying read, 7 Jan 2002
By A Customer
I had no idea who Pytheas was before reading this book, and had never heard of his fascinating foray into the waters of northern Europe in the fourth century BC. Little is apparently known of his character, but details of his voyage have been preserved in the writings of later Greek and Roman scholars. Barry Cunliffe has done a seminal job of reconstructing the possible route of Pytheas' journey while providing, en route, fascinating insights into the political and economic world of the Mediterranean, and accounts of settlements, shipping, and the trade in tin and amber in the northern reaches of Europe. The author writes with admirable directness and a deep enthusiasm for the subject. He manages to capture the sense of wonder and discovery that Pytheas must have felt as he journeyed into uncharted waters, but without romanticing the lives of the people who lived there. In an age when we are used to reading accounts of journeys away from Europe to more exotic places, it is fascinating to read an account that makes one realise how mysterious Britain and the northern shores of Europe seemed to the civilised inhabitants of the warm waters of the Mediterranean.

In addition to the clarity of Cunliffe's writing, a special word should be said about the maps that grace the book. These maps complement the text perfectly, providing just enough detail to make sense of some of the geographical references referred to by the author. The maps are drawn in a deceptively simple style, complete with busy oceans, approximate coastlines, and relevant pictorial details in the corners. To indulge in the wilder flights of imagination Cunliffe warns against, the reader is tempted to imagine that Pytheas himself might have been able to recognise and make sense of these cartographical sketches. I bought this book having read a favourable review in the newspaper, and I am pleased I did. This is a book to be enjoyed by anyone with a sense of curiosity and is comparable, in its own way, to Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea".

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The story of Pytheas captures ones imagination!, 8 Jan 2002
The story about the adventurous Greek who travelled beyond the borders of the known world is a story that easily captures the imagination. It is therefore a very exciting subject that Barry Cunliffe has chosen for his book. So it is not surprising that it indeed is a very good and interesting book, well worth reading. However I find it a bit disappointing that it is mostly about the world Pytheas lived in, what is known about the countries he travelled in and seafaring and navigation in the ancient world. The background information seems like a larger part of the book than the actual voyage. So there is not much about his actual journey. This can of course be explained by the lack of sources and Cunliffe has indeed read the available sources thoroughly and discusses them in detail. He also accounts for the archaeological remains in the areas and vividly describes what Pytheas might have seen and experienced during his voyage.

It is a book packed with facts and knowledge about northern Europe, trading, seafaring, travelling and navigation during the fourth century BC. But the best parts, in my opinion, are when Cunliffe seems to leave the facts behind and allows himself to speculate about where Pytheas might have landed, what he might have seen and done during his extraordinary voyage.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable book, 15 Feb 2005
This review is from: The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek (Paperback)
After a deep study at this book, I got a very realistic image of how the west known world looked like during the fifth BC and first AD centuries. Following the paths of Pytheas the Massaliot, Barry Cunliffe gives us the opportunity to be his travelmates. Moreover, he goes much further by describing the "barbarians" life and by investigating their relationships with the well known ancient world. Finally, thanks to Barry Cunliffe, one of the most remarkable scientific explorers of the ancient world, Pytheas, is revived out of the obscurity he was the last two milleniums.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just Odysseus....
Pythias the Greek lived in Marseilles around 330BC. Marseilles was a trading port and Pythias no doubt had connections with the trading community if he wasn't a trader himself... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tilly1912

2.0 out of 5 stars superficial
Just a bit too speculative and not erudite enough - a mediocre effort to earn from the renewed interest in the Classical world.
I put it down halfway.
Published on 17 Feb 2004 by Pim Bussink

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