sign in sign up
<<
Home , 10s, 55 BC, Cassiterides, Ictis, Pytheas, Thule

VOL. 37, NO. 4 (DECEMBER 1984) P. 341-346

The Greco-Roman Conception of the North from Qtheas to

* R. CHEVALLIER*

INTRODUCTION The increase in archaeological data, thanks to aerial surveys and underwater , is helping.towards a better under- In this attempt to outline the main phases .in the -unveiling of standing of ancientwritings and a’ new .appraisal of old. the north in terms of present-day research, we define “North” .material. as all the regions bordering the which To these sources should be addedthe texts of the early Mid- contains inhis expression ““Paroceanitide”; i.e., northwest (including the provinceof Beigium), the BritannicIsles, dle Ages which, especiallyin the case of records pertaining to worship,sometimes preserve thememory of prehistoric Lower , and the Scandinavian peninsula. events. I Between the time of , who.wrote about 500 B.C. that he had met no-one who .had seen the sea which was re- puted to be at the,extremity of Europe and no-one who.knew BEFORE the Cassiterides islands,’ andthe time of Tacitus, who wrotein It .appears certain today that the seas of thenorthwest - the .the Life of Agricolu,2 published in A.D. 98: “We have COR- Atlantic, the .English Channel. and the NorthSea - have been quered the wholeof Britain”, there occurred a major event of sailed since prehistoric times, 1 I not only by .local populations historical and scientific importance - the voyage of Pytheas butby navigatorscome from afar. There isarchaeological - .which was an exploit never surpassed by any achievement proof for this .in the geographical ,spread ,of the megalithic ofthe Romans. culture and further proof.in textual allusions: for instance, one can quote ’s indirect knowledgeof the long circumpolar THE SO.URCES AVAILABLE nights.’* Without going so fa.rI3 as to situate the Cimmerians and Greek .literary sources are more common than is in C~rnwall~~or as to place certain,episodes€rom the Odyssey generally assumed. Apart ,from the systematic information of in the , we can accept that. Homer’s epic does Strabo in his Geogruphy, of Pliny the .Eider in his Natural. reflect a certain amount of geographical, maritime, and mete- History, of Tacitus in his Life of Agricolu and Germany and.in orologicalknowledge probably passed by wordof mouth several passages in his and Annuls, of Pt~lemy,~or amongst the sailors from distant parts, in particular the finally of the Notitiu Dignit~tum,~there are 50 other authors kingdom of ,” who encountered each other in var- who give us a scattering of information.’ The very works of ious ports. It is known that the Phoenicians and, later on, the the poets provide valuable information. For example, Carthaginians tried to secure control over this sea area for speaks of the. “exotic specialities” which reached , and themselves, either by chasing off ather Mediterranean sailors Seneca theElder6 transcribed 20 little-known verses of a flow- who followed-them or by luring them deliberately into dan- ery orator describing a North Sea tempest, which could. be gerous waters. l6 This ‘is one reason for the.classical authors’ readsimply as the flight ofan unbridledimagination, but -long ignorance of the northern regions. which in .fact describes the -fleet.of .surprised by A.D. 16.7 the great equinoctial ’on its return in THE CONTRIBUTION OF PYTHEAS The problems of interpreting thesetexts lie in the wide geographical and temporal dispersion of the .evidence, which Pytheas’s journey .has beenmuch discussed and many makes a chronological order difficult to establish I --.ethno- guesses made as to hisitinerary and places visited accordingto graphical motifs come. and’go in space and time - and, to the time, speedi6.and means at his disposal. Did.he.reach - mentalitiesopen to magic and superstition, the stories of .land, , and the coasts of ? In which direction mythology mask therealities. which .astonishedor terrified the did he start his voyage of and. from which direction Mediterranean peoples.* did he regain the-Mediterranean?All these questions, includ- Nor should epigraphs9as a source material be forgotten, for, ing the political background of the Age of Alexander, which .at least in Roman times, they specify chronologicalevents and favoured Pyheas and,the commercial and scientific aimsof his. evidence of the occupation of territories and they reveal the expedition, havebeen treated at definitive length by R. veneration felt for navigators such as Nehalennia.10 Dion.

*Universite de Tours, 342 R. CHEVALLIER

What is no longer in doubt today is the reality of Pytheas’s FROM PYTHEAS TO THE TIME OF CAESAR voyage. Ancient writers constantly refer to it, mostly in an It appears that Pytheas’s voyage had no lasting commercial admiring fashion, includingeven Strabo who,echoing advantages for the , probably because the favourable P~lybius,’~accuses Pytheas several times of lying’* - either conditions which had helped the navigator from to because he was irritated by his prestigious predecessor or per- force the passage through the Straits of Gibraltar no longer haps, as R. Dion suggests, because of the unsuccessfuldesigns pertained. After Alexander’s death the channel closed once of Rome on . l9 moreand only exploitedthe fruitful commercial Some people might .take the discovery of a stater from Cy- trade of the Atlantic. Even after the collapse.of the Metropolis renezo on a north-coast beach of as archaeological this situation stayed the same for the colonies which subsisted proof of Pytheas’s voyage. Evidence suggests that it comes for a timealong the Spanish and Moroccan shores ofthe from a shipwreck but this isolated discovery, while providing Atlantic. 37 grounds for reflection, is not sufficient proof thatit came from The best proof of this is demonstrated by the lack of success one of Pytheas’s ships which discovered Ouxisame (Ouessant) of ’s enquiry, made at. Scipio’srequest, as to the north and the country of the Osismii: resris unus, tesris nullu~.~’ and south issues of the straits: the Gaul traders summoned to- The most remarkable contribution made by Pytheas was in gether by the R0mans3~to give an answer to this either could the field of astronomy and concerns the representation of the not or would not furnish any information on the tin routes, per- world. The numerous Greek and Latin geographers who quote haps because a mutual silence protected their obvious com- him - not all of whom can be named here - mention his ob- mercial interests against the danger of outside competition, or servations on the position of the stars, the differing length of perhaps because they each travelled different sections.of the the days and nights, and the connection between the tides and route .and none of them knew the whole trade route from one the phases of the .22 Pytheas prepared the ground and extremity to the other. made possible ’system. He could have no higher We can only guess that the traffic between Gaul. and Great praise than thatof the great navigator Bougainville:“A skilled Britain was in the hands of the ,39 but it would explain astronomer, an observantnatural philosopher, an accurate the desperation of the Roman attempts to destroy their tha- geographer and a courageous seafarer, his voyages have con- lassocracy . The consequences of the defeat .of the Veneti on tributed to the improvement .of knowledge. about terrestrial the the politicalandeconomic restructuring of west Gaul werefar- globe.” reaching. The aerial photographic discovery of a sunken port We also owe to Pytheas a collection of practical observa- atTalmont40 raises the hypothesisthat the main centre of tions: Atlanticcommunications moved, after the defeat of the - on marinelife, the tides, the “marine lung” (that mixture Veneti, to the Santones, which had supported Caesar!’ before of earth, water, and mist which so terrified the Mediterranean passing.very soon afterwards to Bordeaux. people), and the frozen sea, .these last two ideas being desig- nated apparently by Celtic words;2S CAESAR - on sea monsters;24 - on the coasts and even on theinterior of the country; its What were Caesar’s motives in landing in Great Britain42 animal and vegetable (algae) life;25 and in crossing the ? There were the obvious military - on the coastalpopulations, their way o,f life and their pro- reasons, also the “right of pursuit”into “distant duce, their forms of worship and cultural in.fluences.26 sanctuaries”; one should remember that the island, cradle of One can agree with R. Dion that Pytheas pursued his expedi- the Druid~,~3served as a refuge for Commius at rebate^.^^ tion in the spirit of the true explorer.z7 Therewere economic designs: the obsession with therich But the Massaliot’s “realia’? were closely intermingled.with trade in and tin. Suetonius also mentions pearls in Bri- nordic myths which extended over a very long period of his- tain.45Parallel with this we should not exclude.a genuine sci- tory, even if there is no time here to makea proper analysis:28 entific curiosityin Caesar’s case (witness Bonaparte’s explora- these legends were either about historical populations such as tions in ). However,the overriding reasonwas theCimmerians or Scythians29 or imaginary, such as the political:46to acquire the conqueror’s prestige and to emulate stories about the Hyperboreans,30 the amberroutes, anaThu1e Alexander by discovering new countries and annexing them, if (a vague term whose mythical importance explains the apoca- possible, to his Empire. lyptic nature of the later Gothic migrations3’) andAtlantis. A notable feature is the way localities are displaced following the THE JULIO-CLAUDIANS AND THE FLAVIANS enlargement of geographical. knowledge. Ultima is a homologue for Cerne.32 In general, for all the topographical Underthese dynasties geographicaldiscoveries were locations we shall consider that Roman representations centre brought about by wars.47Augustus appears to have had some onRome, though we shall also takeinto account certain projects concerning the island, but renounced them and con- customs of speech common to seafarem33’ tented himself with developing commercial links and trying There is abundant literature concerning the peopling of the unsuccessfullyto annex Gern~ania.~”The northern recon- Ostimniens,34 the isiand~,~~and the Ca~sirerides~~which naissanceexpedition on which he sent his fleet, hopingto became so important towards the end of antiquity. discover a Northeast Passage, ended in failure because of the THE GRECO-ROMAN CONCEPTIONOF THE NORTH 343

i geographical factor, and the revolt of made him give - There were a few pioneers in search of profits and, above up the hope of creating a greater Roman Germania. ’s all, merchandise passing from one market to another, some- northernambitions were ridiculed at Rome.49 Things were times going far beyond the frontiers of the Empire.66 takenmore seriously under Claudiu~,~~buthis successors, - There were the men of letters who lauded the exploits of either through genuine feelingsof pacifism5’or more probably the travellers and the victories of the c~nquerors.~~ through negligence, abandoned the reinsto freedmer1,~2which Inversely. the northwest regions knew about the “centre of prevented Agricola from following through hisgains. The var- power” even in earliest times, asthe mosaic patterns or- ious phases of this conquest are recounted by Tacitus in his namenting certain Roman villas attest to an acquaintance with Life of his father-in-law - even if his critical judgment as a the Aeneid. historian, with regard to the imperial tyrants, is slightly col- oured by family and nationalpride.s3 In spite of this limitation, RESEARCH PROSPECTS it is impossible to overestimateour debt to his Life ofAgricolu There seem to be two approaches: and his Germanias4for factual nordic knowledgeat the end of 1) On the one hand, there is considerable development in ar- the first century A.D.5s These ethnographic monographs, gen- chaeologicalresearch in thenorthwest provinces, using erally based on first-hand information, are of exceptional in- modem scientific processes and encouragedby wide participa- terest to us today. tion onthe part of the local populations passionately interested in the search for their origins.69 This research increases our ROMAN POLICY knowledge of the extent of civilization of these pre-Roman Before ending this rapid outline we cannot avoid bringing peoples andtheir long contacts withthe Mediterranean world70 judgment to bearon the aims of Rome. The Roman occupation as well as of the intensity of the occupation and exploitation of was of great consequence and highly structured, whether one the regions incorporated in the Empire, and the Romanizing considers the networkof roadsS6or the system of fortifications procedures which ended, in the most successful cases, in a and frontier zones, increasingly better known through archae- merging of the two cultures. Studies in historical geography 010gy.~~It is evident that on theoutskirts of the Empire, where and t~ponymy,~‘and aerial archaeological discoveries, reveal largenumbers of troopswere stationed, theprocesses of the traces of military conquest in the country~ide.~~Recent Romanization and syncretism were likelyto be furthest devel- research has uncoveredevidence of types of exploitation long oped.38 But it remains a fact: Rome stopped her advance on unsuspected becauseof the nature of the remains, such as fish- lines which do not seem to us today, with hindsight, to have eries, salt production, andsalting indu~tries.~~These finds been the best from a strategic point of view; for example, the specifically concernsea and trade voyages: the painstaking in- Rhine, Hadrian’s Wall, and the Antonine Wall. What Tacitus spection of the coasts,74of thediscovery of sea of calls thefaru imperiis9 should be recalledhere. Perhaps a deep oceanographic data,76 of ports and their topography,77 and of fear of the unknown was disguised behinda wish for peace.60 prehistoric relics78 of Celtic79 or Romaneovessels are all Should one invokethe philosophical interpretation ofthe further exemplified by ongoing ethnographic studies.SI Stoics?61 Certainlyeconomic considerations cameinto ac- Underwater archaeology, though difficult to carry out in the count. Strabo reflects the official point of view when he says ocean, shows a very early triangular relationship (from the he is only interested in inhabited regions, for which we should second centuryA.D.)~* between Britain and the provinces at the read “inhabited by settled populations”. Northern Britain and mouth of the Rhine.83 Maps which showin detail the distribu- Germania above all were occupied by people who were still tion of thesefinds, such as theporous ceramics or “ckramique more or lessnomadic and difficult to pin down. For the a 1’~5ponge”,~~allow us to understand these trade exchanges Romans, as for a Greek like Strabo, more of a chorographer and their evolution as well as the conquest itself.e5 than a geographer, being interested in human and economic 2) The researcher of classical antiquity is directly concerned geography as a means of serving policy, the limits of Roman not only with all that touches upon thelate and culture onlytook into consideration the part ofthe known its destruction by the waves of invasions, butalso with certain world which was deemed “useful”. threads which draw him to the early , particularly the history of the Christianization of these provinces and the transcribing of the native myths by the Irish monks.86 A SUMMARY OF ROMAN KNOWLEDGE This rapid survey of sources leaves us with the impression How should Roman knowledge oflhe northwest frontiers of that, although gaps do occur, there is a certain continuity. her Empire about A.D. 100 be assessed? - There were the trade routes for amber and minerals (tin, NOTES lead, and silver from Britain),62the slave traffic, and some nordic “specialities”. ‘111, 115. Cf. R. DION, le d’Hdrodote, R.Ph. (1968) XLII: - There were the men who travelled between the northern 741: Herodotus did not know the outline of middle and northern Europe west of the passing through the baseof the Adriatic. territories and the centre: soldiers and traders, not all of whom Polybiusis scarcely more advanced; cf. Athknk, Deipnosophistes traversed the whole distance, sailors.63 envoys and pilgrims MIL322 a b: the part of Europe to the north of a line joining theNar- visitingdistant holy places,64 whose protectivegods were bon (Aude) to the Tanais () is unknown, according to Polybius. fervently ~enerated.~5 2Agriwla 33: inuenta et subacta. 344 R. CHEVALLIER

3Cf. A.L.F. RIVET, ’s Geography and the Flavian Invasion the most about the countries which are furthest away”; VII, 111.1: of . Studien zu denMilitdrgrenzen Roms (Koln, 1977) “Pytheas has uttered lies about countries bordering the Ocean”. 2:45-64; also J.J. TIERNEY, Ptolemy’s Map of Scotland. J.H.S. I9La Ghgraphie d’Hom&re inspiratrice de grands desseins imp6riaux. (1959) LXXIX:132-148. B. A. G.B. (1973) 463-485;Aspects politiquesde la gLogmphie antique 4cf. J.H. WARD, The British Section of the Notitia Dignitatum: An (Paris, 1977). Alternative Interpretation (1973)Britannia IV:253-263. 20Unstati3e d’or de Cyrhe sur la c6tedu Finist8re. C.R.A.Z. (1960) 5A more or less complete inventory of these sources canbe found in 317-323; Une monnaie d’or de Cydnesur la c6te Ouest de I’Armor- the anthology of E.COUGNY, &traits des auteurs grecs concernant ique. Arch. Arm. (1961) 25-39. la gdographie et 1 ’histoire desGaules; in A. MOLINIER, Sources de ZINo less mystifying is the find of two Punic coins in the Azores. Cf. l’histoire de France (Paris, 1901); and in other authors interested in J.M. GOMEZ-TABANERA, Hallazgos monetarios del mundo anti- Pytheas, notably G.E. BROCHE, PythPas le Massaliote, ddcouvreur quo en las Islas Azores: un problema heuristico. Numisma (1978) de l’Extrt?me-Occident et du Nord de I’Europe (We sikle av. J.4.). XXVI:201-208. Essai de synthPse par les textes (Paris, 1936); also J.C. MANN and rzE.g. Clhmhde,Du mouvement circulaire des corpscdlestes. I, 7 (at R.G. PENMAN, Literary Sources forRoman Britain (London, 1977). Thule with reference to Pytheas: “the entire circle described by the 6Suas. I, 15 (quoted and translated by H. BARDON, La littdmture sun at the summer is above the horizon... when the sun is in latine inconnue (Paris, 1956) II:70: “For longa time they saw theday the sign of , daylight lasts a month”); of Rhodes, and the sun gradually disappear behind them; they have driven back Elements of Astronomy, C.VI: “Pytheas states in the account of his the known limits of the universe”. Ocean voyage: the barbarians showed us where the sun set. ... For in ’Tacitus, 11, 23, 24. these parts it happened that the night was quite short, forsome people Tf. infra, “marine lung”. See K.E. MUELLER, Geschiche deran- 2 hours for others 3,so that the sun having set would rise again after a tiken Ethnographie und ethnologischen Theoriebildung I (Wiesbaden, short interval”; Marcianus VI: “the sun in its descent at the time of 1972). the creates the horrorof 6 months darkness, as Pytheas Tf. R.G. COLLINGWOOD and R.P. WRIGHT, TheRoman In- claims to have discovered in the island of Thule”; cf. , scriptions of Britain.I. Inscriptions on Stone(Oxford, 1%5). (Also in Natural HistoryII,75,99 (tides in northern Great Britain) and IV,30, Britannia (1979) p.ex. X:339-356. with reference to Pytheas; ,Sayings of the Philosophers, 111, 16. Strabohimself admits (IV, V.5): “Concerning astronomy P.STUART, new temple of Nehalennia:a preliminary and Tf. A mathematics, Pytheas seems to have shown ability” (cf. VII, 111.1). report. O.M.R.L. (1971) LIk76-78; De Kerk van Domburgals Nehalennia-museum,1647-1866. Md. Brunsting (Bussum,1973), 23Strabo11, IV. 1: “Pytheas also speaks of the waters around Thule 367-378; H. WAGENVOORT, Nehalennia and the souls of the dead. and of those places where land properly speakmgno longer exists,nor Mn. (1971) XXIV:273-293. sea nor air, but a mixture of these things, like a ‘marine lung’, in which it is said that earth and water and all thingsare in suspension as IICf. B. CUNLIFFE, Iron Age Communities in Britain.. .until the if this something was a link between all these elements, onwhich one Roman Conquest (London and Boston, 1974); E. SERRA RAFOLS, can neither walk nor sail.” Cf. Pliny, IV, 30: mare Sobre 10s medios primitivos de navegacibn en el AtlAntico. V Con- concretum, frozen sea, called ‘Cronian sea’ by some; Tacitus, Ger- greso Nacional de Arqueologia, Zaragoza, 1957 (1959), 87-90. R. many 45: Trans Suionas aliud mare, pigrum ac prope inmotum et DION considers that the Protohellenes sailed as far as Great Britain, Himilcon (fifth century B.C.) in Avienus, OraMaritima, 113-129, Tartessos, I’OcCan homCrique et les travaux d’Hercule. R.H. (1960) 406415. 224:274; cf.A.C.F. (1961-62), 243 (the Mycenaeans from the fourteenth century). 24Cf. Pliny,Natural History IX, 4:8; 5:9-10. IzOd. XI:13, 19: “We reached that part of the Ocean of very deep 25Cf. references in Avienus, supra, n. 23. currents where the Cimmerians have their country, their town. They z6Part of this culture was to be maintained by the island Druids. live in clouds and mists that thesun never pierces. ..afunereal 27The section“Pyth6as Massiliensis” in the Ann& Philologique has a darkness weighs over these people”. XV:460: the first mention in bibliography on this voyager. literature of amber beads in northern Europe. 28An outline can BB found in R. CHEVALLIER, Les mythes ou le ”NeueErkenntnisse zur Geographie . Rhein. Mus. (1926) temps de la protohistoire. In: Mdlanges R. Dion (Paris, 1976) 29-54. LXXV:266-287; Geographische Zeitschrift(1925) XXXI:293, (1926) 29Cf. J. RAMIN, Les Cimm6riens d’Hom8re. Caesarodunum XV bis XXXII:290; Petermunns Mitt. (1926) LXXIM6-68, 164-166(The (1980) 1-10. voyages of Ulysses are transferred to the Ocean). Wf. R. DION, La notion d’Hyperborkns, ses vicissitudes au cours I4Das entrdtselte (Stuttgart, 1953); L ’Atlantique retrouvde? de I’Antiquitk. B.A. G.B. (1976) 143-157. (Paris, 1954). 3Vf. S. BOSCHI BANFI, Note sulla Tule. Num.Ant. Cl. (1976) 15Cf. Herodotus, IV:152: A Samian at Tartessos about 630 B.C. V:291-299; and 3. GUYONVARC’H, Remarques sur le nom de ThuM. Ogam (1970-73) XXII-XXV:283 (a word of Celtic origin, the I6A.C.F. (1962-63) 383-403; (1963-64) 398-410; (1964-65) 42943; traditional designation of the Other World, following a polar concep- (1965-66)457-474; (1966-67) 455-478; (1967-68) 461-498; tion of origin common to all Indo-Europeans). (1968-69) 503-518.La renommke de Pythhsdans l’Antiquit6. R.E.L. (1965)XLIII:443-466. Pythtas explorateur. R. Ph. (1966) 32Cf. J. RAMIN, Ultima CernB. Mdlanges R. Dion (Paris, 1974) XL:191-216. Ob PythCas voulait-il aller? MLlanges Piganiol (Paris, 43949. See also R. SENAC, Le lkriple du Carthaginois Hannon. 1966),1315-1336. B.A.G.B., IV S. (1966) V:510-537. 1711, IV, 1, 2: “This is what Pytheas tellsus.. .but Polybius repliesthat 33Cf. R. DION, Sur l’emploi des mots ulterior, superior, infra dans there is something incredible in all this: for an ordinary poor man to les passages du De Bello Gallic0relatifs B la Bretagne et aux exp6di- be able to find the means to navigate and make his way over such tions de CCsar dans cette ae. Latomus (1963) XXII: 191-208. enormous distances”. 34Cf. F.LASSERRE, Ostrhns et Ostimnienschez Pythhs. M.H. 181, IV.3: “Pytheas who has told us his stories about Thule has cer- (1963) XX:107-113. tainly shown that he is the most untruthful of men”; I, IV.4; 11, I. 18; 35Cf. R. DION, Le Mt-St-Michel de Penzance. A.C.F. (1968) 11, V.8: “Pytheas maintains that...Thule is the last of the inhabitable LXVIII:502-518;Transport de l’ktain des Iles britanniques B lands.. .but other writers say nothing about this ...having deceived 21 travers la Gaule prC-romaine. Acta 93e Congr. SOC. Sav., people, Pytheas haslied in a way”; IV, IV.l, 2; IV,V.5: “he has lied Tours, 1968(Paris, 1970), 423-438; Une erreurtraditionnelle B THE GRECO-ROMAN CONCEPTIONOF THE NORTH 345

redresser, I’identification de I’Iktis de Diodore de Sicile avec l’ile de 57Cf. the summary of A.L.F. RIVET at the 11th International Con- Wight. E.A. G.B. (1977) 246-256. gress on Classical Archaeology, London, 1979. Follow the heading Wf. R. DION, Le problbme des Cassittrides. Lutomus (1952) XI: ‘’ in “Sites explored” of Britannia. 306-314; S. LEWUILLON, Poltrnique et rntthode A propos d’une visit to the Newcastle museums and the forts along Hadrian’s questionhistorique: pour des ‘Yes Cassitkrides”. Dialogues Wall speaks for itself. See J.C. BRUCE. Handbook to the Roman d’histoire ancienne (1980) VI:235-266; J. RAMIN. Le probltme des Wall withrhe Cumbrian Coast and Outpost Forts. 13th ed. (New- Cassit6rides et les sources de 1’6tain occidental depuisles temps pro- castle,1978). tohistoriques jusqu ’au d6but de notre Pre (Paris, 1965). 5gTacitus, Germany 33:3: urgentibus fatis. About this expression, cf. 37Cadiz became Roman in 206B.C. Cf. W. SESTON, Gadbs et l’em- G. VIRE, Vrgentibus imperii fatis .... LEC (1979) SLVII:323-334. pire romain. Cuadernos de Historia (1968) 11: 1-13. Moreover, one 60Dr. H. KOTHE, Nationis nomen, non gentis. Das Furchtmotiv im can think of the alternation of maritime and terrestrial itineraries for Namensatz der Germania. Philologus (1979) CXXIII.2:252-287. tin, according to the epoch. Wf. the quotation from Albinovanus Pedo: “The gods call us back 38Polybius XXXIV. 10:6-7 (by Strabo IV, 2: I): Scipio Aemilianus and forbid the human eye to see where is the end. Why violate with could obtain no information about Britain from the Marseillans nor our oars the calm of an alien wave, why disturb the sacred waters and from the people of Narbonne or Corbilo. About this last port, cf. J. peacefbl abode of the gods?” RAMIN, Le problbme de Corbilo et le r6le 6conomique de l’em- 62Cf. Tacitus, Agricola XII, IO: “Britain produces gold, silver and bouchure de la . Caesarodunum (1975) X:l19-123; and about other metals in reward for victory.” the Cassiterides islands, R.A. (1976) 165-166. 63Cf. L. HARMAND, Soldatset marchands romains aux prises avec 39Cf. Caesar. B. G. 111, 8.1 (on the profits of the Veneti); cf. Strabo 1’Univers Atlantique. Milanges R. Dion (Paris, 1974) 247-256. IV, 4.1. wCf. the inscriptions in the sanctuary of Minerva Medica Memor et 40WithJ. DASSIE.. ., Talmont 1’Antique. .. . R.A. (1977) II:283-306. Travo in the Val Trebbia (C.I.L. XI, 253 sq.). 41Whence the importance of the port of Talmont in the early Roman ‘jSCf. the quoted case of Nehalennia. P. MERLAT, Note sur une base empire, and the prosperity of Saintes, connected to Lyon by one of consacrke A Neptune trow& prts de Douarnenez (Finisttre). Gallia ’s roads which reached the ocean. (1952) X:67-75. 42B.G. IV, 20 sq. (55 B.C.); V, 1 sq. (54 B.C.). On the campaigns of Wf. SIR MORTIMER WHEELER,Rome beyond the Imperial Fron- 55 and 54 B.C., cf. C. HAWKES, Britain and . P.B.A. tiers (London, 1954); Les influences romaines au-dela desfrontitres (1977) LXIII:125-185; Britain and Julius Caesar (London, 1979). impiriales (Paris, 1960); J. SVENNUNG, Skanndinavien bei Plinius 43Cf. B.G. VI,13: “It isbelieved that their doctrine originates in undPtolemaios... (Uppsala, 1974); R.B. WARNER, Some observa- Britain and was brought to Gaul from that island; those who wish to tions on the context and importation of exotic material in , makeathorough study of ittoday mostly go overthere for from the first centuryB.C. to the second centuryA.D. P.R.I.A. (1976) instruction.” LXXVIz267-292. “Frontin. Strut. 11, 13, 1 1. 67Cf. A. PAULIAN, Le thtme littkraire de I’Octan. Caesarodunum 45DivusJulius 42: “it is said that he attacked Britain in the hope of (1975) X:53-58; Paysages ochniques dans la litttrature latine. Ib. finding pearls.” Cf. Pliny the Elder, Natural History IX, 35: 116; and (1978)XIII:23-29; P.PEDECH, Le paysagemarin dans la Tacitus, Agricola XII: 1 1: “There are pearls in the ocean of a leaden ghgraphie antique. Ib. (1978) XIII: 30-39; E. ST-DENIS, Les Ro- hue and lustreless.” mains et le phtnomtne des mar&. R.Ph. (1941) LXVII: 134-162. Tf.R. DION, Aspects politiques de la g6ographie antique [and we ‘Yf. A.A. BARRETT, Knowledge of the literary in Roman should add “modern”] (Paris, 1977). Britain. Britannia (1978)IX:307-313. The circulation of cartoons 47Thisbrings to mindPliny’s words (NaturalHistory IV, 16:30): doesnot prevent us fromsupposing that the owners had a real familiarity with the work which would explain the choice of motifs. “The knowledge that we have of Great Britain for less than thirty years, thanks to Roman arms”; and IV, 27:7 (23 islands discovered 691n Great Britain as well as in the and Germany. by Roman victories); and Tacitus,Agricola 10 (islands discovered and 70Cf. the remarkable seriesPeoples Qf Roman Britain (London). conquered by Agricola [inuenit domuitque]). 71Cf. A.L.F. RIVET and C. SMITH, The Place-Names of Roman 48Cf. R.DION, Explication d’un passage des ResGestae diui Britain (London, 1979). Augusti. M6langes Carcopino (Paris, 1966) 249-270; La Gtographie 72Cf.J.K. ST-JOSEPH, The camp at Durno, Aberdeenshire, and the d’Homtre inspiratrice de grandsdesseins imptkiaux. B.A. G.E. site of Mons Graupius. Britannia (1978) 1X:271-287 (Tacitus’ com- (1973). mentary, Agricola, 29 sq.). Seealso W.S. HANSON.. ., The 49Cf. Suetonius, Caligula, 44 sq. Agricolasupply base at Red house, Corbridge. Arch.Ael. (1979) VII: 1-9. 50Cf. Suetonius, Divus , 17. 73Cf. R. SANQUER, Les industriels des salaisons en Armorique ro- 51Cf. M.T. GRIFFIN, Nero’s recall ofSuetonius Paulinus. S.C.I. maine. Caesarodunum (1975)X:148-156; R. SANQUER and P. (1976-77) 111: 138-152 (See Tacitus, Annals XIV:29-39). GALLIOU,Garum, sel et salaisonsen Armorique gallo-romaine. Gallia (1972)XXX:199-223; E. WILL, Le sei des Morinset des 52Ta~it~s,Agricola 40; cf. Annals XIV:39(“Inspection” of Mtnapiens. Hommages Grenier (Bruxelles, 1%2), 1649-1657. Polyclitus). 74Cf. H. PINEAU, La c6te atlantique de la Bidassoaa Quiberon dans S3Tacitus somewhat denigrates Pytheas to the advantage of Agricola:1 ’Antiquit6 (Paris, 1970). “Hanc oram nouissimi maris tunc primum Romana classis circum- 75Cf.P.A. RAHTZ, Dover, Stembrookand St-Martin-le-Grand, uecta insulam esse Britanniam affirmauit, ac simul incognitas ad id 1956. A. Cant. (1958) LXXII:lll-137. tempus insulas quas Oroadas uocant, inuenit domuitque.” 76Cf.R. SANQUER, R. PIOT and P. GALLIOU, Probltmesde 54Cf.R. CHEVALLIER, Rome et la Germanie au lers. de notre &re. navigation en Manche occidentaleA l’tpoque romaine. Caesarodunum Coll. Laromus LIII (Bruxelles, 1961). (1977) XII:491-508, with recourse to Instructions Nautiques. 77Cf. H. CLEERE, Roman harbours in Britain south of Hadrian’s 550n the interest of such a great geographical vision, cf. R. DION, Wall.In: RomanShipping and Trade (London,1978), 3640; J. Rhenus bicornis. R. E. L. (1964) XLII:469499. MERTENS, Une base navale romaine sur la Mer du Nord, Ouden- Yf. I.D. MARGARY, Roman Rwds in Britain (London, 1957). bourg. Archeologia (1972) 48:4246. 346 R. CHEVALLIER

’8T. WATKINS, A prehistoriccoracle in Fife. 1.J.N.A. (1980) IX.43277-286(boat made from skins foundin aBronze Age necropolis, links with other discoveries and today’s coracles in the estuaries of ). W.J. MARCUS, Factors in early Celtic navigation. E.C. (1953-54) VI:312-327; D. NASH,A bronze coin from the boat of Cunobelinus, found at Canterbury (). B.S.F.N. (1978) XXXIII:359-360. 80M.D. de WEERD, Romerzeitliche Transportschiffe und Einbiiume ausNigrum Pallum/Zwammerdam. Studien tu ah Militdrgrenzen :Rm(Bonn, 1977) 11: 187-198; Ships of the Roman Period at Zwam- merdam/NigrumPallum, Germania Inf. In: Roman Shipping and Trade (London, 1978), 15-21; P.R.V. MARSDEN, A boat of the Roman Period found at Bruges, Belgium in 1899, and related types. I.J.N.A. (1976) V:23-55. Wf. above note 78. ‘W.C. BOOM, A Greco-roman anchorstock from North Wales.Ant. J. (1977) LVII: 10-30. 83Cf. Britain and the Rhine Provinces (London, 1973); and Roman Shipping and Trade (London, 1978). “Cf. P. GALLIOU, M. FULFORD and M. CLEMENT, La diffu- sion de la ctramique ‘?I 1’6ponge” dans le Nord-Ouest de l’empire romain. Gallia (1980)XXXVIII:2, 272; M. CLEMENTand P. GALLIOU, Ctramique romano-britannique dans le Morbihan. A<- chdologie en Bretagm (1981) 30:39-43. See also L. HARMAND, A propos d’un col d’amphore trouv6 dans la Manche. Mdlunges Car- copino (Paris, 1966), 477-489; and M. REDDE, La navigation au large des c6tes atlantiques de la GauleB I’6poque romaine. M.E. F. R. (1979) XCI:481-489. Wf. B.R.HARTLEY, The Roman occupation of Scotland. The evidence of Samian ware. Britannia (1972) 1II:l-55. ‘Wf. R. DION, Rapports du commerce du vin avec les itintraires dantiques dans I’Antiquitt et au Moyen Age jusqu’au s. XIIe C. R. Ac. Agr. Fmnce (1954) 40(15):55-59; C.J. GUYONVARC’H, Remar- ques sur le “om de Thult. Ogam (1970-73) XXII-XXV; F.M. LE ROUX, Les Iles au Nord du Monde. Homges Grenier (Bruxelles, 1%2) 2:1051-1062 (Procope signale encore au IVe s. la survie de la 16gende d’iles des morts); A.A. LEWIS, Le commerce et la naviga- tion sur les c6tes atlantiques de la Gaule duVe au VIIIe s. Le Moyen Age (1953) LIX:249-298; M. LOMBARD, Espaces et rdseaux du Haut Moyen Age(Paris-La Haye, 1972);J. MARX, Nouvelles recher- ches surla lindranrre arfhrienne (Paris, 1956, 1%5);Les littdratures celriques (Paris, 1959). Dans le cycle des rois,Conn arrive B l’ile des F&s sur un coracle, Bhna traverse la mer sur un coracle recouvert de peau. Thilt (ThulC) et Pithias(Pythhs) sont citts dans Perce$ I, 1, Thilt dans Lanzelet (H.LF. XXII:211-223; Romania X:471476).