Editing Pytheas (section)

== Record ==
<!-- "On the Ocean (Pytheas)" redirects here (see [[MOS:HIDDENLINKADVICE]]) -->
[[File:Strabon Rerum geographicarum 1620.jpg|thumb|The 1620 edition of [[Strabo]]'s ''[[Geographica]]'', published in Paris.]]
Pytheas described his travels in a work that has not survived; only excerpts remain, quoted or paraphrased by later authors. Much of what is known about Pytheas comes from commentary written by historians during the classical period hundreds of years after Pytheas's journeys occurred,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |title=The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2001 |isbn=0-7139-9509-2 |location=London, England |pages=74–76}}</ref> most familiarly in [[Strabo]]'s ''[[Geographica]]'' (late 1st century BC, or early 1st century AD),<ref>Book I.4.2–4 covers the astronomical calculations of Pytheas and calls him a prevaricator. Book II.3.5 excuses his prevarication on the grounds of his being a professional. Book III.2.11 and 4.4, Book IV.2.1 criticises him again, Book IV.4.1 mentions his reference to the Celtic Ostimi. Book IV.5.5 describes [[Thule]]. Book VII.3.1 accuses him of using his science to conceal lies.</ref> passages in the [[Bibliotheca historica|world history]] written by [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus of Sicily]] between 60 and 30 BC, and Pliny's ''[[Naturalis Historia|Natural History]]'' (AD 77).

Diodorus did not mention Pytheas by name. The association is made as follows:<ref>{{cite book |last=Holmes |first=T. Rice |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientbritaina00holmgoog |title=Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar |date=1907 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientbritaina00holmgoog/page/n524 499]–500 |quote=Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar.}}</ref> Pliny reported that "Timaeus says there is an island named Mictis … where tin is found, and to which the Britons cross."<ref name="plinyIV-30">''Natural History''  [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D30 Book IV Chapter 30 (16.104)].</ref> Diodorus said that tin was brought to the island of [[Ictis]], where there was an [[Emporium (antiquity)|emporium]]. The last link was supplied by Strabo, who said that an emporium on the island of Corbulo in the mouth of the river [[Loire]] was associated with the Britain of Pytheas by [[Polybius]].<ref>''Geographica'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/4B*.html IV.2.1].</ref> Assuming that Ictis, Mictis and Corbulo are the same, Diodorus appears to have read Timaeus, who must have read Pytheas, whom Polybius also read.

Most of the ancients do refer to his work by his name: "Pytheas says…" Two late writers give titles: the astronomical author [[Geminus of Rhodes]] (1st century BC) mentions {{lang|grc|Τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ}} (''Ta peri tou Okeanou''), literally "Things about the Ocean", sometimes translated as "Description of the Ocean", "On the Ocean" or "Ocean"; [[Marcian of Heraclea|Marcianus]], the scholiast on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] (4th century AD) mentions {{lang|grc|περίοδος γῆς}} (''periodos gēs''), a "trip around the earth" or [[Periplus|περίπλους (''periplous''), "sail around"]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

Scholars of the 19th century tended to interpret these titles as the names of distinct works covering separate voyages; for example, Smith's ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'' hypothesizes a voyage to Britain and Thule written about in "Ocean" and another from [[Cadiz]] to the river [[Don (river)|Don]], written about in "Sail Around".<ref name="smithpyth" /> As is common with ancient texts, multiple titles may represent a single source, for example, if a title refers to a section rather than the whole. Mainstream consensus is that there was only one work, "On the Ocean", which was based on a [[periplus]], a type of navigational literature.