Hyperborea is the mythical land of the people “beyond the North Wind” in Greek tradition. It is mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus as a continental land of Egyptian legend, bordered by the Ocean River. Eridanus was the main river that flowed through it, home to white swans and lined with poplar trees that wept amber.
At one time, it had been blessed with eternal spring, resulting in a double harvest of grain each year, with most of the countryside covered in forests called the Garden of Apollo. When it was destroyed by ice, its people were believed to have migrated to southern lands.
According to Greek legend, the land of Hyperborea is a place of total perfection, with sunlight 24 hours a day. The people never suffered from disease or old age, nor did they have to work or fight in wars or battles.
Location
Hyperborea is believed to have been located far north of Thrace, and in modern times would be considered to lie within the Arctic Circle. The actual location of Hyperborea is a mystery, however, and according to the Greek poet Pindar, the way to the Hyperboreans could not be found by ship or on foot.
Several legends point to the snow-capped Riphean Mountains, next to the Black Sea, as the location of Hyperborea, far beyond the realm of Boreas, ruler of the North Wind. Different philosophers and poets have placed Hyperborea in different areas, adding to the mystery.
Homer believed that Boreas was in Thrace, claiming that Hyperborea was located in the region of Dacia, now an area north of the Balkan Mountains. Aristotle wrote that the Ripean Mountains were on the border of Scythia, with Hyperborea even further north. And Hecataeus of Abdera believed that Hyperborea was in the area now called Great Britain.
Although Hyperborea is also described as north of the Celts, at that time, Celtic society was in Europe and was only restricted to Britain after the death of Christ. In Hecataeus’ account, griffins inhabited the mountain peaks near Hyperborea, and the surrounding valleys were home to the one-eyed tribe of Arimaspoi.
People
The Greeks believed that Boreas, god of the North Wind, lived in Thrace, and that he may have been part of a Celtic tribe, such as the Helvetii. They built a sacred province dedicated to Apollo and adorned the temple they built with spherical offerings; some scholars believe that this temple is Stonehenge.
The Hyperborean people may have been of Gallic origin (present-day France) or possibly of Northern European (Scandinavian) descent. One of the most legendary of the Hyperborean people was a healer known as Abaris, whom Herodotus describes as a wise man and priest of Apollo.
History
Hyperborea was best known as a land where people never aged, were blessed with disease-free bodies, and were untouched by war and hardship. The priests of Apollo ruled Hyperborea as a theocratic society. The three kings who ruled it in his honor were the Boreads, sons of the North Wind, Boreas.
The Hyperboreans worshipped Apollo, who was believed to live among them. They packed mysterious gifts in straw and passed them from one tribe to another until they completed their journey to the temple of Delos. Several myths and notable figures emerged, including great healers, founders of shrines, and trials of mortals set upon them by the gods.
Abaris the Healer
Abaris the Healer traveled around the world on a magical arrow symbolizing Apollo, eating nothing as he traveled and performing miracles wherever he went. The arrow on which he flew was the same one Apollo used to kill the Cyclops, and it had been hidden under a Hyperborean mountain before being found by Abaris.
He practiced healing of the soul and body through incantations, and also had a gift for prophecy. He wore simple Scythian clothing and was highly regarded in Greece for his honesty and simplicity. Abaris learned his healing skills after fleeing a plague in the Caucasus, in his homeland of Hyperborea.
With what he learned from the experience, he was able to purify Sparta and Knossos and several other cities. His reasoning ability and persuasive manner helped him lead a former tyrant, Phalaris, to a virtuous life after a long discussion of divine matters. Abaris was able to read omens and predict future events by examining the entrails of animals, and his actions are mentioned in the Scythian Oracles.
The mortal sons of gods
Several of the mortal children of the gods visited the land of Hyperborea. Phaeton, in an attempt to prove to his friends that he was the son of Helios, tried to drive the sun chariot. However, he could not control it, and, having no other choice, Zeus struck him to prevent the Earth from burning. In flames, his body fell into the river Eridanus.
The Helidae, his sisters, were transformed into weeping poplar trees in their grief for Phaeton, and his friend Kyknos was transformed into a swan. The Hyperboreans, upon reaching old age, would jump into the lake created by Phaeton’s fall and turn into white swans in commemoration of the tragedy.
Perseus, who was the son of Zeus, traveled to Hyperborea. Here he went in search of the nymphs who were the guardians of the treasures of the gods. He was entertained by the people of Hyperborea and set out to find the Graiae, who were swan-bodied witches who knew the location of Medusa. Heracles, a descendant of Perseus, would also make this journey in search of Artemis’ golden-horned deer. He would return to Hyperborea in search of the golden apples of the Hesperides, and also to find Atlas.
The people of Hyperborea are mentioned in the founding of the Olympic Games, when Heracles began a festival in honor of Zeus and made a pilgrimage to Hyperborea to bring sacred wild olives to the sanctuary.
Founders of shrines
Leto, a female Titan, traveled to the island of Delos from Hyperborea along with her pack of wolves to give birth to Apollo, with the help of Eileithyia who came from the northern kingdom. The Hyperboreans sent five men and several priestesses as pilgrims to the island to form a sanctuary, but the maidens were raped and murdered, causing the Hyperboreans to end the pilgrimage and decide to deliver offerings and messages through the neighboring tribes.
The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi is another important sanctuary in Hyperborea. The Hyperboreans built the temples located in the sanctuary with beeswax and feathers. When the Gauls attempted to plunder the temple, ghostly spirits of the pilgrim prophets appeared and pursued the Hyperborean army.
Current influence
Modern Scandinavians have often been identified with the Hyperboreans, especially in 17th-century Sweden, where the Goths believed that the Scandinavian peninsula contained both Atlantis and the land of Hyperborea.
Western European culture is also identified with the Hyperboreans, through 19th-century European scholars in literary works. To this day, the term Hyperborean is used to refer to people who live in a cold climate and is also associated with the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Circle.
