"Winged Victory" of Ancient Brixia

"Brescia the heavy,
"Brescia the strong,
"Brescia Lion of Italy"

-- Poet Giosuè Carducci,

Alcaic ode to Brescia’s

Winged Victory

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Found in 1826 near the Capitoline Temple of Roman Brixia, the bronze statue originally portrayed Venus looking at her reflection on Ares’s shield
'The Winged Victory in Brescia: from Venus to Nike'
 

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Yule and Saturnalia

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Yule and Saturnalia (with graaaaaagh, Survive the Jive and Jarnefr Waggener)

Millennial Woes

Three modern Pagans educate me on the festivals that lit up Europe every December before Christianity. This recording was a difficult one to arrange and produce, so I hope it is not completely over-shadowed by the hangouts.

graaaaaagh:
http://www.graaaaaagh.com

Survive the Jive:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThomasRowsell/
http://fromrunestoruins.vhx.tv/

Jarnefr:
http://www.jack-donovan.com/axis/2014/06/a-time-for-wolves/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtfBLJv_024

[This video is not intended to condone violence or hate.]

[This project is my livelihood. Please see http://www.millennialwoes.com/donate. Thank you.]

ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS:
http://www.vid.me/millennialwoes
https://www.bitchute.com/channel/millennialwoes/
https://www.minds.com/millennialwoes

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'Carmina Burana' - Largely based on eclectic European pre-Christian spiritual folk traditions... and possibly of South Tyrolian origin: Part 2

Carl Orff - O Fortuna - Latin and English Lyrics

Metalius


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I think that it can be proven that 'O' Fortuna' at least, is based on The Goddess of The Old Religion. The other pieces in 'Carmina Burana', as well as the other two parts of Orff's 'Trionfi' musical trilogy, can be examined over time by any of us interested in examining the pre-Christian tie-ins to this great and famous musical art piece. I would encourage that, as I don't claim in any way that I have all of the answers here. Some of the musical pieces, in my perception, seem to correspond energetically to different times of the year. Much further examination of the poems will be the judge of that. Just the fact that the goddess Fortuna is a deity from Roman mythology is the first small clue, and the idea expands from there.

When examining the translated English lyrics (from the above video) along with the music... it gives a very different look at the intended meaning from the poetry.... as well as the music itself. This was a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and mortals in Roman and Greek mythology, and this anger was well demonstrated by Carl Orff's work. Most of the poems and songs appear to be the work of Goliards, clergy (mostly students) who satirized the Catholic Church. This brings up two groupings of questions:

1) How was it that they felt comfortable expressing criticism, in any form, towards an often vengeful Catholic Church?... and from within its walls? Does the possible location of origin, the South Tyrol, offer any intrinsic clue to any of this? Was the Church not as strong there? The "witch burnings" there occurred centuries later, so perhaps the Church had not gained a strong foothold there yet? Was there still a folk pagan element alive there, and expressed itself in occult poetry?... or even more explicitly a "folk-pagan occult underground?" (which may or may not have been a part of either the Christian heretical or later Satanic underground). Another possibility is that it was simply a criticism of the old folk-traditions, which--in this particular piece--was a fusion of Roman mythology with The Old Religion (aka Proto-European Witchcraft). That doesn't seem very likely; we already know that they had so often directed satire towards the Church.

Wheel of Fortune symbolism (Rota Fortunae)

2) What exactly was their motivation behind using clear ancient folk-pagan mythology? Was the exoteric meaning implied to be a simple secular reference to the Roman goddess Fortuna; with the real esoteric meaning being a reference to Diana/Hecate? The best question of all.... was this really a cleverly crafted esoteric invocation to the goddess Diana?.... with that "anger" actually being more of a powerful reverence towards her? Since the authors of 'O Fortuna' and other poems from 'Carmina Burana' are apparently unknown (perhaps by design), and there were scores of other poems (Orff only used a small handful), I can only guess. There's much work to do, digging through all of these works. The authors were from numerous locations in western Europe; were these "Goliards" some type of occult underground network? They did all end up together when they were found in deep storage apparently. The South Tyrol connection may not be of any particular importance, as all three possible locations of origin were in the same general south German cultural region, and it was retrieved apparently hidden away in a monastery in Bavaria.

I wanted to sift through all of this piece by piece, but I can see that I've gotten ahead of myself here. Therefore, lets just look at all of this as one big puzzle. In other words, I can't begin to do this justice at this time. It's at least very possible that this could be some sort've underground expression from the old folk traditions. If that was the case, then this could very well be considered a part of neopagan folk history.... and I suppose Car Orff's 'Carmina Burana' as well.... which certainly was not intended to be Christian. It seems almost too convenient that Carl Orff just puts some very old obscure poems to music and it's so perfect! Either he was part of some occult connection, or he's a genius who just happened upon these poems and had a eureka moment! I'll go with the latter at this time.

The Wheel of Fortune from Carmina Burana

The upside cross could mean something, or it may not. Knowing a little bit about how these occult societies work, I wouldn't doubt it. It's at least possible that a Saturnian cult had infiltrated the lower rungs of the Church. Certainly the Catholic Church uses Saturnian symbolism. Also, some of these secret societies have long used symbols of mythology and pagan traditions. Also, the above "wheel of fortune" looks a bit like an eight-pointed wheel of the year from the old Proto-European tradition.

 
'O' Fortuna' lyrics

O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
Fate - monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate is against me
in health
and virtue,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating strings;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!


 A clear conflation of the Roman Fortuna with the Proto-European Almother (aka Diana, Hecate, Mona, etc.):
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning

The first and last movements of the piece are called 'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi' ('Fortune, Empress of the World') and start with the very well known 'O Fortuna.'The first and last movements of the piece are called 'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi' ('Fortune, Empress of the World') and start with the very well known 'O Fortuna. The "Empress of the World" sounds very much like the many titles given to Hecate in particular. I would have dismissed that idea except for the additional reference to the Moon Goddess.... so lets face it, it's the Moon Goddess of ancient legend.... the Proto-European Almother! However, was the poem really a criticism of the Christian God?.... or of the Pagan Goddess?.... or, was it really just an esoteric invocation of the Pagan Goddess? Love and anger can work very well together symbiotically! The greatest deflation is often when we're let down by someone or something that we love and are devoted to. Also, the Latin text could easily have hidden some clues that were lost in the translation.

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Cernunnos: The Gundestrup cauldron and the Pillar of the Boatmen

Curators choose their favourite object: the Gundestrup cauldron 

The British Museum

In Curator Julia Farley’s own words, ‘admitting you have a favourite object is kind of like admitting you have a favourite child’. Nevertheless, she tells us why she loves the Gundestrup cauldron and why it’s so exciting to have this remarkable object from Denmark on display in the UK for the first time.

You can find out more about the Gundestrup cauldron in Julia’s blog post:
https://blog.britishmuseum.org/2015/10/13/who-were-the-celts/

What would your favourite Celtic object be? Book now for the exhibition:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2015/celts.aspx?fromShortUrl

Gundestrup cauldron

The Gundestrup cauldron is a richly decorated silver vessel, thought to date from between 200 BC and 300 AD, or more narrowly between 150 BC and 1 BC. This places it within the late La Tène period or early Roman Iron Age. The cauldron is the largest known example of European Iron Age silver work (diameter: 69 cm (27 in); height: 42 cm (17 in)). It was found, dismantled with the other pieces stacked inside the base, in 1891 in a peat bog near the hamlet of Gundestrup in the Aars parish of Himmerland, Denmark (56°49′N 9°33′E). It is now usually on display in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, with replicas at other museums; in 2015-16 it is in exhibitions in London and then Edinburgh on The Celts.

The cauldron is not complete, and now consists of a rounded cup-shaped bottom making up the lower part of the cauldron, usually called the base plate, above which are five interior plates and seven exterior ones; a missing eighth exterior plate would be needed to encircle the cauldron, and only two sections of a rounded rim at the top of the cauldron survive. The base plate is mostly smooth and undecorated inside and out, apart from a decorated round medallion in the centre of the interior. All the other plates are heavily decorated with repoussé work, hammered from beneath to push out the silver. Other techniques were used to add detail, and there is extensive gilding and some use of inlaid pieces of glass for the eyes of figures. Other pieces of fittings were found. Altogether the weight is just under 9 kilograms.

Despite the fact that the vessel was found in Denmark, it was probably not made there or nearby; it includes elements of Gaulish and Thracian origin in the workmanship, metallurgy, and imagery. The techniques and elements of the style of the panels relate closely to other Thracian silver, while much of the depiction, in particular of the human figures, relates to the Celts, though attempts to relate the scenes closely to Celtic mythology remain controversial. Other aspects of the iconography derive from the Near East.

Hospitality on a large scale was probably an obligation for Celtic elites, and although cauldrons were therefore an important item of prestige metalwork, they are usually much plainer and smaller than this. This is an exceptionally large and elaborate object with no close parallel, except a large fragment from a bronze cauldron also found in Denmark, at Rynkeby; however the exceptional wetland deposits in Scandinavia have produced a number of objects of types that were probably once common but where other examples have not survived. It has been much discussed by scholars, and represents a fascinatingly complex demonstration of the many cross-currents in European art, as well as an unusual degree of narrative for Celtic art, though we are unlikely ever to fully understand its original meanings.



Pillar of the Boatmen

The Pillar of the Boatmen (French Pilier des nautes) is a square-section stone bas-relief with depictions of several deities, both Gaulish and Roman. Dating to the first quarter of the 1st century AD, it originally stood in a temple in the Gallo-Roman civitas of Lutetia (modern Paris, France) and is one of the earliest pieces of representational Gaulish art to carry a written inscription (Hatt 1952). It is displayed in the frigidarium of the Thermes de Cluny.

Nation, geography, and the Cernic culture

The Gundestrup cauldron was basically Gaulish in terms of culture, discovered in Denmark (not a Celto-Gaulish region), and "it includes elements of Gaulish and Thracian (ancient Bulgaria) origin in the workmanship, metallurgy, and imagery." It was also thought to have been constructed in the Balkans. That's all a bit confusing, and it's possible that it was just an item of Gaulish origin which was obtained via Gaulish-Teutonic trade. Cernunnos was apparently the chief deity of the Gauls in Gaul (now France) and Cisalpine Gaul (south of the Alps). However, Cernunnos and other regional western European "horned gods" likely originated with the very ancient proto-European stag or horned god.

One mystery is that the cauldron is estimated to have been constructed at least 250 years after the Gaulish nations were conquered by the Romans. Therefore, who was still making Cernic artistry? I could see where the Gaulish-Cernic culture could have continued for a time under Roman rule, but this was approximately 250 to 350 years after Julius Caesar defeated Vercingetorix in the Battle of Alesia. Could some of the Gauls have then migrated into Teutonic areas and continued their culture in exile? It should also be noted that the torc was of Celto-Gaulish cultural origin before disappearing, and only later became popular again within Viking culture.


The classic Cernunnos icon

Plate A shows an antlered male figure seated in a central position, often identified as Cernunnos. In his right hand, he holds a torc, and with his left hand he grips a horned serpent a little below the head. To the left is a stag with antlers that are very similar to the human/divine figure. Surrounding the scene are other canine, feline, and bovine animals, some but not all facing the human, as well as a human riding a dolphin. Between the antlers of the god is an unknown motif, possibly a plant or a tree.

"Sun of the Alps" symbol present on the Gundestrup calderon

On plate B, the large bust of a torc-wearing female is flanked by two six-spoked wheels, what seem to be two elephants, and two griffins. A feline or hound is underneath the bust.

The Pillar of the Boatmen is much more simple as far as origin; it's Gallo-Roman from the first century CE. The Romans, in usual fashion, mixed and conflated their own deities with those of the conquered region. In this case forming a type of "Gallo-Roman religion." In addition, gods and goddesses of each were symbolically "married" together...

In some cases, Gaulish deity names were used as epithets for Roman deities, as with Lenus Mars or Jupiter Poeninus. In other cases, Roman gods were given Gaulish female partners – for example, Mercury was paired with Rosmerta and Sirona was partnered with Apollo. In at least one case – that of the equine goddess Epona – a native Celtic goddess was also adopted by Romans.

The pillar was no exception, featuring both Roman and Gaulish gods... including Cernunnos wearing a torc around each horn. Click "HERE" for a close look at the image and inscription "Cernunno." One earlier Latin inscription reads "Deo Ceruninco"... meaning "to the God Cerunincos."

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Reflections upon Lupercus

Festa di Lupercus (February 2)

The Festival of Lupercus marks the puberty of our Lord, Lupercus. The Grigori have set “twelve labours” before the young Wolf God that he must master to prove his worth as the new Sun God. Lupercus proves his worth by completing the tasks. Lupercus is invoked at this time of year to scatter the wolves of the dark winter night. Assisting us in releasing the atavistic power within us all. Through him, we are free of the constraints of our bodies, and of the winter season.

Clearly "Lupercus" stems from the root word "Lupus"... or wolf. The Stregherian legend may come from ancient Etruscan mythology, or possibly may be tied to pre-Etruscan pagan culture...or perhaps both. This festival is the equivalent of Imbolc. While I am on the subject, my position on Stregheria is that it is impossible to pacify everyone as to forming one tradition. Raven Grimassi has made this crystal clear, yet some people are still too dense to grasp the simple idea. His family tradition from the Naples area, could even be a bit different from a nearby part of Campania. What is so hard to understand about that!??

Groundhog Day (February 2)

The celebration, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom ("Grundsaudaag ") in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc (the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication) and to St. Swithun's Day in July 15.

The annual "Punxsutawney Phil" Groundhog Day celebration, depicted in from the memorable 1993 Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day', is an actual event. Not to be left out, the holiday also has a Christian connection with "Candlemas"... also on February 2.

"Three blackbirds" 

In my family's old arms, one symbol which is very present is of "three blackbirds." That's curious enough in of itself, except that I experience a lot of synchronicity tied to this symbol. I frequently see three blackbirds, and it's difficult to express how this complex synchronicity occurs. However, for example, just looking this concept up online in search of a possible meaning.. I noticed very non-ambiguous symbols from "my own personal unrelated last twenty-four hours" merely in the search. A person cannot truly prove synchronicity to anyone, except to themselves. I can go many weeks without anything.. then suddenly a deep pattern unfolds.

Valentine's Day (February14)

Valentine's Day is of Christian origin; although the "heart of Freya" is frequently used to symbolize it. St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. 

Another symbol is the Roman god Cupid. In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus, and is known in Latin also as Amor ("Love"). His Greek counterpart is Eros.

Legend

Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring, customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire; Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them. Probably because of the association with Saint Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, and it's thought to attract love.

Folk tradition

Another proverb says "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine — the first spring saint"), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring. Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13.

Lupercalia (February 13 to 15)

Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, an earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February (Februarius) its name.

It's interesting to note that Lupercalia and the Festival of Lupercus both likely originated with the Etruscans, and both share the same root word ("Lupus").

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The Almother, Carnuntum, and "Pagan's Gate": The ancient cultural and spiritual overlap between the "two Austrias" and the north Balkans

Heidentor aka "Pagan's Gate"

From an overall historical point of view, the Austrians could seem more like an old rival than a kindred people. The region of the eastern Alps and north of the Adriatic Sea has long been a tri-cross-cultural area between the Italo-Roman speaking world, the German-speaking world, and the Slavic-speaking world. For example, some parts of the north Balkans are more culturally and politically tied to Russia than to nearby Austria or the Veneto; in most ways, the tri-Veneto area has more in common with Rome than to St. Moritz; and in general, Austrians would tend to see themselves as being more ethnically tied to Scandinavia than to the nearby Venetians or Slovenes.

By the "two Austrias" I mean the original, and actually proper term "Austria," state within the old Langbard Kingdom... which was approximately the northeast Italian peninsula between Lombardy and the tri-Veneto area. Much later, the term "Austria" was clumsily resurrected as the English-language nickname for Österreich... or the Austria we know today.

Five thousand years ago, there would have been no difference at all between peoples of this region. They would have all been proto-European. The early stream of Teutonic migration formed the loosely defined Celtic culture, which later overran the general Lombardo-Venetian area. Still, approximately three thousand years ago, there was little difference. I'm guessing that this would have also included the north Balkans as well. Without going into the entire history of it.... a later "final push" of Teutonic tribes burst into Switzerland, Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Bohemia, etc.... an equally intense migratory push of Slavic tribes moved into the Balkans... and--of course--the march of the Roman Empire overtook generally all of what is now "Italy."

The Roman province of "Raetia" was north of the Alps, even though the original "Raetians" were an ancient people who lived in a much larger area at one time. Although a clear lingo-ethnic divide was established between the three, each clearly influenced the other two. For example, in the Middle Ages when parts of the Friul were decimated by plagues, Slavic people were invited in to repopulate, and there is a clear Slavic influence in the Friulian dialect. Also in the Middle Ages, Cimbrians from Bavaria migrated into the Veneto, and many Cimbrian villages were still very linguistically and culturally distinct until the Fascist era. That particular brand of nationalism actually destroyed regional culture. One modern Camunian surname is "Mitterpergher," which is probably of Cimbrian origin, meaning "a person from the middle of the mountain"... and with the old-Bavarian spelling for "mountain person".... "pergher" rather than "berger."

During the Roman era, the Romans did most of the pushing, while the Germanic tribes took over that role in the early Middle Ages. Of course, the ancient territorial struggle between Germans and Slavs occurred over a very long time. In the first century, the Romans established a military base on the Danube River, in what is now Austria, called Carnuntum. This camp served as a trading center, as well as a political headquarters for further Roman expansion. This particular Celtic kingdom was called Noricum. Interestingly, in typical passive-aggressive Roman political style, they used a regional Celtic name.. which was apparently "Karnuntum" originally. I'm not absolutely certain, but it appears that a migration of northern Teutons--separate from the regional Celts--later invaded and destroyed Carnuntum.

The Teutonic destruction of this Roman expansion was glorified in Guido von List's late 19th century book 'Carnuntum'. This book has not been translated into English to my knowledge, so I can't vouch for it in any way... although I would like to read it. For some reason, List was fascinated by what is apparently the leftover opening gate to Carnuntum... after the invading Teutons demolished the walls, or perhaps this occurred over a longer period. That leftover ruin is now called "Heidentor," or evidently "Pagan's Gate" in German. Ironically, "Pagan's Gate" could be seen as a monument to both the Romans and the Germans. To List, I think it represented a regional Austrian symbol of the glory of past victory. Also, there were many old legends surrounding the ruin. In List's day, historians and archeologists didn't know anything about ancient German-Celts. It actually got it's name in the Middle Ages because it was once thought to have been constructed by ancient pagans. Austria is now reconstructing Carnuntum if you would like to look that up.

Flag of Lombardy-Venetia

Venus of Willendorf is a 27,000 to 32,000 year old artifact discovered in Austria. This little statue was carved from limestone not native to the area, and I believe was part of a much larger proto-European archetypical symbol of the "mother goddess." Also significant is its age, which would make it a counterpart to the "horned god." Because there are so many regional names for this goddess, which I think are linked back to the last glacial movement, I refer to her as "the Almother"... the proto-European equivalent to "the Alfather" Odin within old Teutonic culture. Among other things, the Almother was a fertility goddess in those early days. As strange as this may sound, there is ample evidence that the Roman goddess Diana of the Carnuntum era, and Venus of Willendorf, have a common origin going back to the last Ice Age. The Almother in the Italian peninsula, of course, going through many more manifestations over time. However, when half of Europe was covered under a massive continental ice sheet, the local manifestations of the mother goddess and the horned god would have been very likely of the same origin.

As far as the later colonial aggression of the Habsburgs... I mean lets face it, this was basically a soft dictatorship in which the average citizen of Austria-Hungary was not really responsible for national/monarchial policy anymore than a Roman citizen was responsible for Roman imperialism. The Austrian soldiers stationed in Lombardy-Venetia could, at times, be brutal... but probably not any more brutal than other occupations. It could be said with certainty that during pre-Roman times---which would have been pre-Teutonic and pre-Slavic times as well---this tri-cultural region would have been largely of the same people. Nobody there spoke Italian, German, or Slavic back then. Three very aggressive peoples came later and staked their territorial claim, and consequently the past etho-cultural dynamic was forgotten.

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The Arctic Home in the Vedas: Part 12 - "Thule, Saturn, & an alternative explanation"

Thule, Saturn, & an alternative explanation: Part 1

The ancient original Teutonic homeland which I have loosely coined "Týrland," was first written about by ancient Greeks and Romans (Thule). This land was apparently based on legends of a land in the "far north" going clear back into the ancient world. Speculation since the time of these writings has always suggested various locations in the far north of Europe, Greenland, and northern stretches of western Asia. It was not even determined who the inhabitants of Thule were. Therefore, then as now, Thule has become something of a legend such as Atlantis or Lemuria.


Thule (Wikipedia)

Thule (Greek: Θούλη, Thoúlē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway, an identification supported by modern calculations. Other interpretations include Orkney, Shetland, and Scandinavia. In the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, Thule was often identified as Iceland or Greenland. Another suggested location is Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. The term ultima Thule in medieval geographies denotes any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world". Sometimes it is used as a proper noun (Ultima Thule) as the Latin name for Greenland when Thule is used for Iceland.


Ancient geography

The Greek explorer Pytheas is the first to have written of Thule, doing so in his now lost work, On the Ocean, after his travels between 330 BC and 320 BC. He supposedly was sent out by the Greek city of Massalia to see where their trade-goods were coming from. Descriptions of some of his discoveries have survived in the works of later, often skeptical, authors. Polybius in his Histories (c. 140 BC), Book XXXIV, cites Pytheas as one "who has led many people into error by saying that he traversed the whole of Britain on foot, giving the island a circumference of forty thousand stades, and telling us also about Thule, those regions in which there was no longer any proper land nor sea nor air, but a sort of mixture of all three of the consistency of a jellyfish in which one can neither walk nor sail, holding everything together, so to speak."

Strabo in his Geography (c. 30), Book I, Chapter 4, mentions Thule in describing Eratosthenes' calculation of "the breadth of the inhabited world" and notes that Pytheas says it "is a six days' sail north of Britain, and is near the frozen sea." But he then doubts this claim, writing that Pytheas has "been found, upon scrutiny, to be an arch falsifier, but the men who have seen Britain and Ierne (Ireland) do not mention Thule, though they speak of other islands, small ones, about Britain." Strabo adds the following in Book II, Chapter 5:

Now Pytheas of Massilia tells us that Thule, the most northerly of the Britannic Islands, is farthest north, and that there the circle of the summer tropic is the same as the Arctic Circle. But from the other writers I learn nothing on the subject—neither that there exists a certain island by the name of Thule, nor whether the northern regions are inhabitable up to the point where the summer tropic becomes the Arctic Circle.Strabo ultimately concludes, in Book IV, Chapter 5, "Concerning Thule, our historical information is still more uncertain, on account of its outside position; for Thule, of all the countries that are named, is set farthest north."

Nearly a half century later, in 77, Pliny the Elder published his Natural History in which he also cites Pytheas' claim (in Book II, Chapter 75) that Thule is a six-day sail north of Britain. Then, when discussing the islands around Britain in Book IV, Chapter 16, he writes: "The farthest of all, which are known and spoke of, is Thule; in which there be no nights at all, as we have declared, about mid-summer, namely when the Sun passes through the sign Cancer; and contrariwise no days in mid-winter: and each of these times they suppose, do last six months, all day, or all night." Finally, in refining the island's location, he places it along the most northerly parallel of those he describes, writing in Book VI, Chapter 34,: "Last of all is the Scythian parallel, from the Rhiphean hills into Thule: wherein (as we said) it is day and night continually by turns (for six months)."

The Roman geographer Pomponius Mela placed Thule north of Scythia.

When scientists of the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation Science of the Technical University of Berlin were testing the antique maps of Ptolemy, they recognized a pattern of calculation mistakes which occurred if one tried to convert the old coordinates from Ptolemy into modern geographical coordinates. After correcting for the mistakes, the scientists mapped Ptolemy's Thule to the Norwegian island Smøla.

Other late classical writers and post-classical writers such as Orosius (384-420 A.D) and the Irish monk Dicuil (late 8th and early 9th century), describe Thule as being North and West of both Ireland and Britain. Dicuil described Thule as being beyond islands that seem to be the Faroes, strongly suggesting Iceland. In the writings of the historian Procopius, from the first half of the 6th century, Thule is a large island in the north inhabited by twenty-five tribes. It is believed that Procopius is really talking about a part of Scandinavia, since several tribes are easily identified, including the Geats (Gautoi) in present-day Sweden and the Saami (Scrithiphini). He also writes that when the Heruls returned, they passed the Varni and the Danes and then crossed the sea to Thule, where they settled beside the Geats.


Ancient literature

Virgil coined the term Ultima Thule (Georgics, 1. 30) meaning furthest land as a symbolic reference to denote a far-off land or an unattainable goal.

The 1st century BC Greek astronomer Geminus of Rhodes claimed that the name Thule went back to an archaic word for the polar night phenomenon – "the place where the sun goes to rest". Dionysius Periegetes in his De situ habitabilis orbis also touched upon this subject as did Martianus Capella. Avienus in his 'Ora Maritima' added that during the summer on Thule night lasted only two hours, a clear reference to the midnight sun.

Cleomedes referenced Pytheas' journey to Thule, but added no new information.

A novel in Greek by Antonius Diogenes entitled The Wonders Beyond Thule appeared c. AD 150 or earlier. Gerald N. Sandy, in the introduction to his translation of Photius' ninth-century summary of the work, surmises that Thule was "probably Iceland."

The Latin grammarian Gaius Julius Solinus in the 3rd century AD, wrote in his Polyhistor that Thule was a 5 days sail from Orkney:

...Ab Orcadibus Thylen usque quinque dierum ac noctium navigatio est; sed Thyle larga et diutina Pomona copiosa est.

...Thyle, which was distant from Orkney by a voyage of five days and nights, was fruitful and abundant in the lasting yield of its crops.

The 4th century Virgilian commentator Servius also believed that Thule sat close to Orkney:

...Thule; insula est Oceani inter septemtrionalem et occidentalem plagam, ultra Britanniam, iuxta Orcades et Hiberniam; in hac Thule cum sol in Cancro est, perpetui dies sine noctibus dicuntur...

...Thule; an island in the Ocean between the northern and western zone, beyond Britain, near Orkney and Ireland; in this Thule, when the sun is in Cancer, it is said that there are perpetual days without nights...
Early in the fifth century AD Claudian, in his poem, On the Fourth Consulship of the Emperor Honorius, Book VIII, rhapsodizes on the conquests of the emperor Theodosius I, declaring that the Orcades ran red with Saxon slaughter; Thule was warm with the blood of Picts; ice-bound Hibernia [Ireland] wept for the heaps of slain Scots." This implies that Thule was Scotland. But in Against Rufinias, the Second Poem, Claudian writes of "Thule lying icebound beneath the pole-star." Jordanes in his Getica also wrote that Thule sat under the pole-star.

Over time the known world came to be viewed as bounded in the east by India and in the west by Thule, as expressed in the Consolation of Philosophy (III, 203 = metrus V, v. 7) by Boethius.

For though the earth, as far as India's shore, tremble before the laws you give, though Thule bow to your service on earth's farthest bounds, yet if thou canst not drive away black cares, if thou canst not put to flight complaints, then is no true power thine.

The Roman historian Tacitus, in his book chronicling the life of his father-in-law, Agricola, describes how the Romans knew that Britain (which Agricola was commander of) was an island. He writes of a Roman ship that circumnavigated Britain, and discovered the Orkney islands and says the ship's crew even sighted Thule. However their orders were not to explore there, as winter was at hand.

Seneca the Younger writes of a day when new lands will be discovered past Thule. This was later quoted widely in the context of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America.

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Boudicca: Celtic Pagan Warrior Queen

Even though this is part of English history, I still thought it very applicable since Boudicca was an ancient "Celtic Briton," and apparently fiercely pagan (the Druidic tradition). She was a woman, a leader, a Celt, a warrior, and a pagan to remember.

Boudicca - Part 2

Boudicca - Part 3

Boudicca - Part 4

Boudicca - Part 5

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