Hyperborea: Mythical Land That Fascinated Writers of the Ancient World | Ancient Origins
The mythical Greek land of Hyperborea and where it’s located have fascinated ancient historians and poets, like Herodotus, Pliny the Elder and Pindar, for ages.
dhwty July 01 / 2020 Getting your audio player ready... Hyperborea is a location in Greek mythology. The inhabitants of this mythical land are known as Hyperboreans, whom the ancient Greeks believed enjoyed extremely long lives. Hyperborea is mentioned by a number of Greek and Roman writers, including Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, and Pindar. Although Hyperborea is a mythical land, there has been speculation over the ages that it is a real place on earth. This has led to a number of theories about its exact location. In addition, attempts have been made to connect the Hyperboreans with real, historical peoples.The name ‘Hyperborea’ may be translated to mean ‘Beyond the North Wind’, which is an indication of where the ancient Greeks thought this land was located. According to Greek mythology, the North Wind, personified by the god Boreas, lived in Thrace. Therefore, Hyperborea would logically be placed to the north of Thrace. Hyperborea, however, was one of the terrae incognitae (Latin for ‘unknown lands’) of the ancient Greeks and Romans. These were regions which have neither been mapped nor documented. In other words, Hyperborea might very well be a place that exists only in myth. And many of the stories told about Hyperborea and the Hyperboreans are quite unbelievable.Hyperborea Mentioned Repeatedly by HerodotusOne of the ancient writers who mentions Hyperborea many times in his work is the Greek historian Herodotus. The so-called ‘father of history’ wrote about the Hyperborea in Book IV of his Histories. In one part of this book, Herodotus writes:“Aristeas the son of Caystrobus, who came from Proconnesus, claimed in a poem that he visited the Issedones in a state of inspiration by Apollo, that beyond the Issedones lived a one-eyed race called the Arimaspians, beyond them there is the land of the gold-guarding griffins, and beyond them the Hyperboreans, all the way to the sea. All these people, from the Arimaspians on, except the Hyperboreans, are constantly attacking their neighbors.”Ancient north pole map of mythical lands including the central continent of Hyperborea. (Abraham Ortelius / Public domain)Herodotus seems to be skeptical about the existence of Hyperborea, but nevertheless informs his readers that this mythical land has been mentioned by two of ancient Greece’s most revered poets, Hesiod and Homer:“None of the tribes living there, including the Scythians, have anything to say about the Hyperboreans. Perhaps the Issedones do, but I do not think so, because if they did the Scythians would have stories about them too, just as they do about the one-eyed people. Hesiod, however, has mentioned the Hyperboreans, and so has Homer in the Epigoni (if indeed Homer is the author of this poem).”Herodotus then points out that most of the stories about Hyperborea are told by the inhabitants of the sacred island of Delos, “The overwhelming majority of the stories about the Hyperboreans come from Delos.” The historian goes on to relate some of the tales about the Hyperboreans, in which Delos, as one might expect, plays a prominent role. One of these, for instance, relates to the way sacred objects were transported from Hyperborea to Delos:“The Delians say that sacred objects are tied up inside a bundle of wheat straws and are transported from the Hyperboreans first to Scythia, then westward as far as possible – that is, to the Adriatic – through a chain of successive neighbouring tribes, then south to Dodona (which is the first Greek community to receive them), then to the Gulf of Malia, where they cross over to Euboea, where they are passed from town to town until they reach Carystus, at which stage Andros is omitted, because the Carystians are the ones taking them to Tenos, and from Tenos the objects are conveyed to Delos. So this is how these sacred objects are said to reach Delos.”The next story provided by Herodotus explains why the sacred objects were delivered in such a manner. According to the historian, the first time the sacred objects were sent to Delos, they were carried by two Hyperborean women, Hyperoche and Laodice (according to the Delians). The women were accompanied by five Hyperborean men who protected them and served as their escorts. These envoys, however, never returned home, causing the rest of the Hyperboreans to worry that the people they sent to deliver sacred objects in the future would not come back either. Therefore, they devised the method in which the objects were passed from one group of people to another, until they arrived in Delos.Herodotus states that Hyperoche and Laodice accomplished their mission, and stayed in Delos, rather than returning home. After their deaths, the women were worshipped by the Delians and commemorated in a special ritual:“Now, the death of the young women who came from the Hyperboreans is commemorated on Delos by a hair-cutting ritual performed by the girls and boys of the island. Before they get married, the girls cut off a lock of hair, wind it arou...