Histories

But regarding the feathers of which the Scythians say that the air is full, so thickly that no one can see or traverse the land beyond, I have this opinion. North of that country snow falls continually, though less in summer than in winter, as is to be expected.

Whoever has seen snow falling thickly near him knows himself my meaning; for snow is like feathers; and because of the winter, which is as I have said, the regions to the north of this continent are uninhabited. I think therefore that in this story of feathers the Scythians and their neighbors only speak of snow figuratively. So, then, I have spoken of those parts that are said to be most distant.

Concerning the Hyperborean people, neither the Scythians nor any other inhabitants of these lands tell us anything, except perhaps the Issedones. And, I think, even they say nothing; for if they did, then the Scythians, too, would have told, just as they tell of the one-eyed men. But Hesiod speaks of Hyperboreans, and Homer too in his poem The Heroes' Sons,[*](One of the “Cyclic” poems; a sequel to the “ +Thebaid (region (general)), Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa Thebais” (story of the seven against Thebes [23.3333,38.325] (Perseus) Thebes).) if that is truly the work of Homer.

But the Delians[*](This Delian story about the Hyperboreans is additional evidence of the known fact that trade routes from the earliest times linked northern with southeastern Europe (continent)Europe. Amber in particular was carried from the Baltic Sea (sea), EuropeBaltic to the +Aegean Sea [25,38.5] (sea) Aegean.) say much more about them than any others do. They say that offerings wrapped in straw are brought from the Hyperboreans to Scythia (region (general)), AsiaScythia; when these have passed Scythia (region (general)), AsiaScythia, each nation in turn receives them from its neighbors until they are carried to the +Adriatic Sea [16,43] (sea), Europe Adriatic sea, which is the most westerly limit of their journey;