Pytheas
~350–~285 BCE · Greek (Massalia, modern Marseille) · Classical Antiquity
Known for: First Mediterranean explorer to reach Britain and the Arctic—described the midnight sun and possibly reached Iceland
Pytheas sailed north from Marseille, circumnavigated Britain, and sailed further to a place he called 'Thule'—six days' sail north of Britain, where the sun never set in summer. This may have been Iceland, Norway, or the Shetlands.
He described pack ice and the relationship between tides and the moon—the first person to do so. Ancient writers called him a liar, but modern scholars recognize many of his observations as centuries ahead of their time.
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