New Horizons on Land and at Sea

• Main Author: Schulz, Raimund J.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University PressNew York 2024
• Subjects: Norway; Traveller; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197668023.003.0005; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/58153923/oso-9780197668023-chapter-5.pdf

Abstract The wealth of data on remote lands and people supplied by long-distance travel demanded new models for describing the world. In combination with political and commercial interests, these models accelerated the gains in knowledge made by Greek conquerors and seafarers. Against this backdrop, Pytheas of Massalia sailed to the North Atlantic in the fourth century bce. This was not just an individual ‘scientific’ enterprise but also a commercial venture to secure his hometown access to tin and amber in the North and Baltic Seas. He was probably the first Mediterranean traveller to visit Iceland and Norway. In the meantime, Alexander the Great marched across the Caucasus following his victory over Darius III, leading his army as far as India. One of his aims was to reach the edges of the world and clear up geographical questions that had preoccupied scholars like Aristotle.