The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek

by Barry Cunliffe

Around 330 B.C., a remarkable man named Pytheas set out from the Greek colony of Massalia (now Marseille) to explore the fabled, terrifying lands of northern Europe―a mysterious, largely conjectural zone that, according to Greek science, was too cold to sustain human life and yet was somehow, they knew, the source of precious commodities such as tin, amber, and gold. Whether Pytheas headed an expedition or traveled alone, he was the first literate man to visit the British Isles and the coasts of France and Denmark, and there is convincing evidence that he traveled on to Iceland and the edge of the ice-pack―an astonishing voyage at the time. Pytheas's own account of the journey, titled On the Ocean and published in about 320 B.C., has not survived, though it echoes in the works of ancient historians like Herodotus and Strabo. Their allusions to his voyage represent the beginnings of European history and underscore how much of a pioneer Pytheas was, for Britain remained without further explorers until Julius Caesar and his legions landed there almost 300 years later. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe knows perhaps more than anyone about the world through which Pytheas traveled, and he has sifted the archaeological and written records to re-create this staggering journey. Beginning with an invaluable pocket history of early Mediterranean civilization, Cunliffe illuminates what Pytheas would have seen and experienced―the route he likely took to reach first Brittany and then England; the tin-mining and, even then, evidence of ancient cultures he would have witnessed onshore; the challenge of sailing in a skin boat; the magic of amber and the trade routes by which it reached the Mediterranean. In telling this story, Cunliffe has chronicled an essential chapter in the history of civilization.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Ancient History, Archaeology, Biography, Geography

195 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He is currently a Commissioner of English Heritage.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was starting this I wondered how the author was going to deal with the inevitable scarcity of source material, and indeed the source material proved to be VERY thin. The author has had to create something out of nearly nothing, and has succeeded in doing so.

Unfortunately Pytheas' original account ("On The Ocean") has long been lost and all we know of his travels is taken from quotations included in later works by other authors. We can be fairly sure that he travelled around the coast of Armorica (Brittany) and that he circumnavigated Britain. Pytheas was also the first person to describe the land he called Ultima Thule, where there was 24 hour daylight in midsummer and where a further day's sail north the traveller encounters the "congealed sea", widely believed to be a reference to sea ice sludge. Ultima Thule has been variously identified as Shetland, the Faroe Isles, Norway, and Iceland. Mr Cunliffe comes down firmly in favour of Iceland as the location of Ultima Thule, with his reasons set out in the book.

Essentially the author uses archaeology to fill in what we have lost of Pytheas' own account, describing the types of society Pytheas would have encountered in his ports of call. For me there is something very appealing about imagining the time when Britain, later to produce so many world "discoverers", was itself a remote and mysterious land, known only through garbled rumour and regarded as being on the edge of the world.

Pytheas deserves a place in the Pantheon of great explorers. Well done to the author for telling us of his astonishing achievements.

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This proved an interesting survey given the dearth of source material. The titular Greek lived around 330 BC and wrote an apparent learned treatise on his travels and exploration. He may have ventured as far as as Iceland. We don’t know as not only can we not verify his account, there are no extant copies of such—only quotations thereof from other authors, some couple of hundred years later. He is justly revered in his native Marseille and Cunliffe is masterful in depicting the emerging maritime culture of such. This endeavor is speculative, akin I suppose to WH Auden proposing marriage to Hannah Arendt after her husband died. I also thought of Peter Ackroyd musing through future civilizations that Charles Dickens wrote Origins of Species by means of a found fragment.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around 2,300 years ago a man called Pytheas set off from the Greek colony of Massalia (Marseille) in what is now southern France to explore the extreme north of the known world and beyond. He visited Britain, the Orkneys, and probably the Shetlands and even Iceland. Barry Cunliffe also makes a case for him having visited Heligoland, but on much less clear evidence. Pytheas then returned home and wrote a book called 'On The Ocean' which has not survived but is quoted and referenced in other Greek works that do survive.

Despite the cover blurb, which warns that "Pytheas' own account was destroyed", I was expecting this book to contain rather more about Pytheas and his explorations than it did. Barry Cunliffe has done a great job of piecing together the evidence and providing background from his position as an expert on Iron Age and Celtic Britain but most of the story of Pytheas' voyage is conjecture or deduction, and the greater part of the book is background.

Nevertheless it was very interesting and gave me a different perspective on early British history, seen from the point of view of a Greek explorer instead of from internal evidence in Britain. It left me with a huge regret that Pytheas' own account of his voyage has been lost to the world, but that is hardly Professor Cunliffe's fault, and in this volume he has done what he could to repair the loss.

[Jessica Snell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It got a little tedious at times only because I didn't share the author's interest in mathematics and astronomy, but my shortcomings are hardly his fault. My only other criticism is that this book could have been vastly improved by more and better maps. The illustrator/cartographer produced really sloppy, impressionistic maps rather than accurate, well-lettered ones, and that made it harder than it should have been to follow the author's detailed descriptions.

I was struck by how following just one subject - in this case, Pytheas - in detail can illuminate a score of other topics. This book covered geography, burial customs, sailing ships, map-making, astronomy, archeology, the nature of scholarship both in modern and ancient times, and many other subjects, all because the author was trying to illuminate the life of one man.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cunliffe’s book is an exploration of the voyage of Pytheas, originally of Massilia - now Marseilles - to the British Isles and beyond. While later writers in the Ancient era doubted the veracity of Pytheas’s tale, Cunliffe carefully lays out how that narrative (now lost to us in its original form) is supported by archaeological evidence.

Pytheas apparently went north through the Loire valley to Armorica (now Brittany), and from there went to Britain, Ireland, and may have traveled as far north as Iceland – publishing his account as On the Oceans in 320 BC. Long before Julius Caesar came north, and at a time when the world beyond the Pillars of Hercules was unknown, Pytheas’ careful attention to detail forms the basis of Cunliffe's exploration of ancient European life and geographic knowledge, and provides a fascinating look at the life and culture of the early Celts.

The only downside is the lack of footnotes, which was a conscious choice on Cunliffe's part - he makes up for it mostly by having an extensive bibliography. All in all, an enjoyable and fascinating read.

[Themistocles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enchanting little book. Unfortunately Pytheas' work doesn't survive except in references by other, later-day authors. So Cunliffe embarks on a quest to extrapolate from what little we know, and give an account of Pytheas' travels.

In doing so he presents the reader with a wealth of knowledge and information, from metallurgy to astronomy and from trade routes (who would've thought!) across Europe to societal structures. It's a remarkable piece of work, if you consider this is all crammed into 170 small pages, and it makes for a wonderful read. Whether it's to imagine Pytheas sitting, probably next to a fire at the far north of the British islands and exchanging stories with the natives about the megalithic monuments and their legends ("the natives there are very friendly towards Greeks"), an amazing image in itself, or to learn about how goods and knowledge flowed throughout Europe (we tend to consider ancient civilisations rather compartmentalised) it keeps you wanting for more.

Ultimately you don't learn too much about Pytheas, but you learn a *lot*

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book went well. Cunliiffe provided a brief account of other extra ordinary voyages prior and contemporary to Pytheas along with what current knowledge there was of the world at the time from various philosophers. If there is any part of the book that could of been expanded upon it was likely here as many of the ancient philosophers were well traveled and often lived by sea and picked up much of their understanding of the world from those many ancient mariners traveling on the seas . Cunliffe does touch on that but as I say, it likely could of been examined more closely. Then he examines the feasibility of a voyage vs land trek for the initial travel before reaching the British Isles. Much talk on trade of Tin and Amber along with how he plotted his route by measuring the suns position to determine latitude and then off to the distant Thule before possible exploration of the North and then the Baltic Sea. Because Pytheas's book didn't survive Cunliffe uses mostly reference from what Pliny the Elder and Starbo had to say about the book. The book ends with an examination of for how long Pytheas's book was likely in existence given the loss of so many ancient libraries at that time.

While the book is short given what little facts remain of the voyage, it's an interesting read and should reinforce the appreciation one can gather of the ancient world and it's peoples.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that grabs you and really doesn't let up on your imagination. Pytheas was poo-pooed by Strabo and Polybius and yet cited by Pliny and others. time has proven that Pytheas more than likely actually did go on his great adventure, and wound up at the Arctic Circle, and more than likely, did see all the places he said he saw- and yet there is no existing copy of the great book he wrote, since the Library of Alexandria burned, and any copies which might have been elsewhere, long vanished as well. But Mr. Cunliffe stitches together what we know, and what we can theorize, and what is very likely to have actually happened. This is relevant to our modern day- because just as in the same way that exoplanetary photography is stretching our idea of the possible universe- so Pytheas stretched the minds of the Greeks and the intelligentsia and academia of his day. I found it fascinating.

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cunliffe's popular histories are always admirably clear and accessible. The absence of footnotes and referencing would be worrying if one did not know that much of the archaeological evidence he uses is drawn from his own life's work as an archaeologist.

[John Mccullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book chronicles the voyages (and other travels) of Pytheas, a Greek of the 4th century BC who journeyed from his native Massalia (Marsailles) around Iberia to Britain and beyond. His original full description of the journey does not survive but enough tidbits in other sources indicate he may have reached Greenland (a place of perpetual snow) or a near equivalent, and described the Midnight sun, so must have reached pretty far north. this is a readable small book and a pleasant sojourn fir a long plane ride.

[Andrew Brozyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek is a good read for anyone into exploration and ancient history. Sometime around 330 BC a man from the Greek colony of Massalia (now Marseille in France) began a years-long journey through Gaul, Britannia, probably Iceland, and possibly Demark. He explored lands which were completely a mystery to those living in the Mediterranean.

Upon his return Pytheas wrote a book detailing his voyage. Unfortunately, On the Ocean has not survived, so author Barry Cunliffe has pieced together the tale using references in ancient texts, archaeology, anthropology, and geography. The evidence he provides to explain his theories is always fascinating.

Cunliffe is an archaeologist who has written many articles and books on Iron Age Britain. He is an expert in this period, but his writing can be a bit dry: more informational and not so dramatic. Sailing the rough Atlantic and meeting unknown Celtic tribes must have been exciting and dangerous, but any thrilling tales Pytheas might have shared are lost.

[Alain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for more, much more. This is a slim volume and the author has packed it with his anthropological observations of some of the cultures of the area mostly instead of dealing with practical matters more directly affecting a traveller in those lands. What languages did they speak? What kinds of roads did they have?

The biggest disappointment was his position that Pytheas did not have a ship but sort of "hitched" rides on those of others, in between land trips. Worse, he says absolutely nothing on the kind of options available for a land trip at the time.

Still, its a very "pro" book. Not too hard too read for someone with a minimal background in Hsitory and/or archeology.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this kind of book where someone tries to fill in the blanks of a historical event which is so long in the past that only scraps of the true story survive. In this case the explorations of Pytheas to the unknown lands of northwestern Europe where written down in 300 BC. The original has been lost, of course, but was in the Alexandria library long enough for other historians to report parts of what was written. Figuring out how he got to Thule and where that was based upon the surviving evidence was fun to read about.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voyage of Pytheas was, in his day, more dangerous and uncertain than Columbus' or Magellan's. He deserves to be remembered as one of the world's great explorers (also as one of the few who wasn't exploring to find more slaves or people to exploit otherwise) and not only is this book is highly entertaining to a mass audience but it is also a serious historical work.

[Wenzel Ruhmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pythias is one of the few accounts of the area inhabited by and the culture of the Germanic people during the time of Greek predominance in the Mediterranean. Easy to read history with excerpt from Pythias, maps, photos, illustrations.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating historical account of a Greek sailor who sailed in the Atlantic ocean, around Britain, and may have gotten as far north as Iceland. He wrote an account of his life which unfortunately only survives in the fragments quoted by later historians.

[Guto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gwaith darllenadwy ac academaidd ar yr un pryd. Yr unig feirniadaeth sydd gennyf ar Cunliffe yw'r duedd i drosglwyddo cysyniadau'r presennol i'r gorffennol megis disgrifio pobloedd gynnar gan ddefnyddio geirfa sy'n dynodi unedau ethnig-wleidyddol modern.

[Daniel Greear · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Extraordinary Voyages of Pytheas the Greek by Barry Cunliffe:

This is a short work by Oxford professor Barry Cunliffe on Pytheas of Massalia (what is now Marseilles, France), an explorer and scientist who traveled extensively across Northern Europe and quite possibly to Iceland in the 300s B.C. Pytheas's journey took place in a time where the known world, the literate world, was centered around Greek Civilization in the Mediterranean Sea. Trade routes existed into Northern Europe, but very little was known about this dark, cold, barbaric region. The Greeks were master sailors and traders and Northern Europe had two precious items that the Greeks greatly desired, tin and amber. Tin was to be found along various places on the Atlantic seaboard, most notably what is now Cornwall in England (Albion to the Greeks). Amber was found in the Jutland and Baltic areas of Northern Europe. Both were highly prized as tin was used to make bronze and amber was akin to gold and silver.

Pytheas is unfortunately a shadowy character in history. Almost nothing is known about his personal life and sadly his book, On the Oceans, was lost to history many centuries ago. We know what we know because later historians, geographers, and scientists often quoted Pytheas and used him a source. Cunliffe references these works as well as personal travels, archaeology, and anthropology to piece together this book. Quite interestingly, Pytheas was the first Greek to ever go to the far reaches of Northern Europe, and that is why this book intrigued me. I wanted to learn as much as I could about what he saw and what he wrote.

Cunliffe gathers that Pytheas most likely traveled from his home base on the Mediterranean to the Pyrennes (the Pillars of Hercules/Straits of Gibraltar were blocked by the Carthaginians) and then traveled with locals in various boats from the Bay of Biscay in Gaul (France) to Brittany and then on up through the Irish Sea between Ireland and Britain. After that, he most likely traveled to the Orkneys via the Shetlands and on to Thule (Iceland) before coming back down to Britain, heading east to Heglioland and Jutland (Germany and Denmark) before coming home. This is extraordinary given the time in history that he went and that he survived.

Pytheas's surviving references discuss latitude and the summer solstice in Iceland, where the sun didn't set for months at a time. I find it incredible not only that Pytheas traveled so far in such a long ago age, but also that he was a learned man who could measure with impressive precision. Once again, I will say that I am sad that Pytheas's book is lost forever. It would make for a fascinating read. The Greeks were truly remarkable people, if he went all the way to Iceland, which he most likely did, then Greeks in the 300s literally traveled from the Arctic Circle all the way to Afghanistan and India.

I appreciate Cunliffe's effort here, but unfortunately there isn't much material to work with. Hence why the book is not only short but also divulges into other matters like life in Massalia, Celts, critical reception of Pytheas by latter scholars etc. Some of this was interesting but most of it was mediocre. Regardless, I give this book a 3 out of 5 with a lean more towards 4 stars.

The contributions of the Ancient Greeks will always astound me. One example is how they were able to measure with close accuracy the circumference of the globe! As the stream of Western Civilization works, I feel closer to Pytheas and his contemporaries than I do of my own ancestors (the very people he saw in Britain on his voyage).

[Stephen Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek by Barry Cunliffe

I picked this book up in Hay-on-Wye over the summer. In recent years I’ve bought quite a few books on remarkable voyages of exploration, and when I worked at Waterstones I had a similar historical phase. There’s something about tales of exploring the little-known planet which fascinates me.

Barry Cunliffe is an author well known to students of archaeology, his field of expertise focusing on north and west European areas. This book takes the reader back 2,400 years to the age when Greece was dominant in the Mediterranean and Rome was yet to rise in any significance. Pytheas was a residence of Marseilles, then a vital Greek trading settlement. The extraordinary voyage refers to a years-long exploration which Pytheas undertook of France, England and Scotland, including various Scottish isles, Iceland, then the north European coast possibly as far as the Baltic sea. Motives offered include the spirit of exploration and the search for sources of tin and amber.

What’s so admirable about this book is that, as it tells an exciting tale of ancient enquiry, it never fails to lose sight of the fact that our knowledge of Pytheas comes via a chain of many sources, some of whom believed Pytheas and some of whom did not. Thus the entire field of classical enquiry is thrown into an appropriately sceptical light. Cunliffe is particularly good when trying within reasonable limits to disentangle guesswork and authoritative source. On the whole though he is a Pytheas believer (unlike the grumpy Strabo, whom he regularly quotes).

Highly recommended to all fascinated by tales of exploration, whether ancient or relatively modern.

[David H. Millar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek by Barry W. Cunliffe as background research for my novels. I had already bought several of the author's more academic books on the Iron Age in Europe and found them to be quite readable and very informative.
The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek is somewhat along the lines of piecing the clues together to get a better perspective on a man who was a famous merchant-explorer circa 400 B.C. It is reckoned that Pytheas journeyed from his home base of Massalia (modern-day Marseille) to certainly the northern islands of Scotland, if not Iceland. Sadly, the journal that Pytheas wrote - On the Ocean - has been lost for almost two thousand years. Cunliffe pieces together clues, snippets from the original manuscript, and references to Pytheas made by friendly and not-so-friendly sources to construct the journey of this interesting historical character.
Well worth a read if a bit of a slog in some places - I found the book lost momentum in the final third. Although, that may have been because I found most of the information needed for my specific research in the first third.

[Norman Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, brief description of the author's speculations about the voyages of Pytheas, the first known Mediterranean traveler to visit the territories that are now in northern France and Britain. The original, classical sources are very skimpy, so the author has had to indulge in a great deal of speculation.

I enjoyed Cunliffe's quick overview of the evidence, and his easy-to-read style. This is the sort of book you can read in a very short time and enjoy the whole way.

On the down side, given that Cunliffe is an archaeologist operating in these areas, I would have liked a few more observations on the societies that Pytheas would have encountered. The book seemed rather too thin on that level.

Also, I would have like a few illustrations. I was constantly looking up items on my computer to see what it was he was talking about, so I was not completely deprived, but I would have liked to see what he would have selected as important.

Finally, the maps are hand-drawn, and I suppose they have the virtue of showing how geographic knowledge was very sketchy, but one modern-style map would not have been amiss.

[Jeff Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's too bad that "On the Ocean" is no longer extant. I'm sure it would be an extraordinary read if it were. Cunliffe does a good job at recreating the world along the probable path taken by Pytheas. I would love to have seen Pytheas' astronomical measurements. I'd like to believe that Pytheas actually made it to Iceland and Cunliffe makes a good argument that he did. Cunliffe can be tiresome in some places of his text but he'll at least keep those places limited to just a handful of pages. An example of this would be the part of his book where he describes how tin was formed. The book's maps are almost awful. There are also black and white photos of objects that he attempts to describe in terms of their color. Other photos seem also to be out of focus or perhaps just needing a few different views of the objects. I don't know anything about publishing...are good maps and color photos expensive to produce or something? This book sorely needs them.

[Andy Todd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pytheas, from the Greek colony in what is now Marseilles, is thought by some to have made a voyage to Britain and possibly beyond, in around 320 BCE. Cunliffe explores this intriguing notion. Unfortunately, there is little evidence; even Pytheas' writings have only survived as quotations in other works. With so little to go on, Cunliffe relies on imagination and conjecture, the former often becoming like narrative fiction.
There is too much recourse to histories and geographies of other places and periods in the hope that they might just reveal a pattern that can be loaded onto the eponymous voyager. It all looks and feels like so much padding.
In trying to answer whether Pytheas actually made this journey, when it was and what he might have seen or experienced, Cunliffe fails to tackle the key question: what relevance does it have beyond a minor historical quirk? Why should we care?

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I read recently referenced this interesting volume. Pytheas explored the Atlantic coast of France (Gaul), Britain, Iceland, and possibly Denmark (Jutland) in 330 B.C., 300 years before the Romans occupied Britain. His writings, On the Ocean, is not extant, but is referred to often by historians and scribes in subsequent years. He called the ocean around Iceland, the "congealed sea", in other words, ice. Pytheas was a scientist who stopped along the way to observe the production of tin and the areas where amber was found. He is likely the first person from the Mediterranean to travel this far into Northern Europe. To put this in perspective, the Vikings in Scandanavia didn't come along until almost 800 a.d. 1000 years later.

[Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does one write an exploration history and biography of the explorer himself when one has no original manuscripts, voyage logs, drawings or photographs?

This is the problem solved by this author as he weaved an interesting history based on the "discovery" of Britain by Pytheas the Greek in the year 350BC.

I never studied archeology in college so I needed to clap on my inquisitive hat as I slogged through some of the pages of this book--the author is a trained archeologist--but, on the whole, I'm glad I read the entire work.

Two bits of interesting information were the author's description of the value of tin and amber to the ancient world. (Tin when melted at high temperature with copper results in the alloy bronze; amber is valued for its decorative appeal.) Both items were hard to come by in the Mediterranean but each was more plentiful in the regions surrounding the Baltic. Over many years, trades and bartering brought this material to eager buyers in the South. The market for these desired materials could have driven Pytheas to seek new sources. Then, of course, Pytheas may have just had an itch to see how far he could make it to the North and return alive. In the process, he apparently stumbled on Britain and also may have circumnavigated the island.

An captivating volume for anyone needing a refreshing break from the ordinary history book.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seguramente el mejor libro que hay disponible que relate la increíble historia de Piteas. Con lo poco que ha llegado hasta nuestros días sobre sus hazañas, el señor Cunliffe hace justicia a este personaje tan poco reconocido, un explorador a la altura de los grandes conocidos por todos.

"El Extraordinario Viaje de Piteas el Griego" es un trabajo apasionante hecho desde una gran fascinación por el personaje de Marsella, su legado y el mundo que lo vivió.
No hace falta mirar mas obras de este tema, con este libro lo tienes todo y mas. Toda adición es totalmente bienvenida, ya que se atreve a algo muy perseguido, imaginar.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book which goes into extraordinary detail of the events and evidences around the times of Pytheas. That said, I must say I found it hard to read through at times, and is not as light of a read as I'd imagined. One might say Cunliffe covers the path of Pytheas with breadth in a historian fashion, but it is made digestible for the reader and it is clear some thought has gone into the presentation of information. Personally I was interested in the processes around tin, but these were not really explained or pictured, to my disappointment.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plus a half star because I was completely charmed, completely convinced and never bored. I hope a copy of Pytheas's 'On The Ocean' does somehow survive somewhere - because it would be a riveting read in itself and I'm betting on the author has got the bones of it right. However being right about the voyage is not necessary as it was a great book anyway. I learned a lot and was sorry for it to end.

I think I also finally got the 320BC vs 'early 4th century BC' straight - don't know why it's taken me so long.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Punlished in 2001, 'The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek' attempts to follow the explorations of the named Pytheas from the thinnest of source material, as it relates to events that took place more than 2,300 years age. This results in a lot of conjecture, supported by some brilliant period detail resulting in a very readable tale. The only real let down is the almost childishly primitive maps.

[Dominic Neesam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julius Ceasar is commonly referenced to in history books as the first foreign visitor to land and write about Britain in 55BC and 54BC yet this book builds a credible case for Pytheas to have done in his now lost 'On the Ocean' more than two centuries earlier. Although there is no first-hand evidence, most later historians seem to have taken the Massaliot's accounts as geniune.