The Riphean mountains are one of the mysteries in the history of mankind. In mythology, they gave rise to the very real rivers of Scythia. At their peaks lived the north wind of Boreas. Over the mountains began the country of Hyperborea. Aristotle pointed out that Scythia is located at the foot of these mountains under the constellation Ursa Major, it is from there that the largest rivers flow, the largest of which is Istra (Danube).
Ancient greek sources
For the first time they were mentioned by the geographer and historian Hecateus of Miletus (550-490 BC), who lived in Ancient Greece. His works served as literary sources for Herodotus. But he himself did not write about them, but his contemporary Gelanik indicated in his writings that the Hyperboreans live beyond the Riphean mountains. Hippocrates wrote about Scythia. Pointing its place to position, he noted that this country is located at the very foot of the Rifeyev.
Aristotle, speaking of Scythia, wrote that large rivers flow from the hills in the north, including Istra (Danube). In their works, the Riphean mountains mentioned many ancient Greek thinkers and historians. Among them, Apollonius of Rhodes, Dionysius Perieget, Justin and others. And only the ancient historian Strabo doubted their real existence and called them mythical.
Ptolemy Map
In the II century BC e. the ancient Hellenic scientist-astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy, having analyzed all known data and made his own calculations, indicated the location coordinates of the Riphean mountains, determining that they are in Sarmatia (territory of Eastern Europe). It is worth noting that, based on the works of Ptolemy, almost all ancient maps were created.
The map of Ptolemy is based on the works of ancient Greek scientists. It can be judged by what was the vision of the world by ancient people. Scythia on the map stretches between the Ripheans, which are located strictly from the southwest to the northeast, and the Hyperborean mountains. They, being in the north, stretched from east to west. For all its imperfection, mankind has been using this card for about 2000 years.
origin of name
In the name of Rifeyev, linguists provide for the possibility of the existence of four versions of its origin:
- The first is related to the Scythian language. Scientists drew attention to the fact that it contains the word "linden", which served as the formation of the name Lipoksai - the son of the mythical Scythian king Targitai. The fact is that in a more archaic form of the language, this word was pronounced as “rip”. If we take it as a basis, then it could serve as generators for the name of the Riphean mountains. This word can be translated as "mountain". And the name Lipoksai is "the lord of the mountains."
- The second version is connected with Indian mythology and with the name Agni from the collection of the Rig Veda. He guards Ripa - the coveted peak, the residence of the Bird. When translating the Rig Veda, the researchers translated the word "Ripa" as "mountain." This suggests that these concepts are present in the ancient Indian epic.
- The third is usually associated with Greece. After all, the word "Ripaic" or "Riphean" was traditionally associated with ancient times. Translated from Greek, the word "ripe" means "flight", "impulse", which is associated with the wind Borey. But according to the assumption of linguists, this is secondary and for the most part coincidence.
- Fourth - in translation from Latin “ripa” means the word “coast” or “land by the sea”.
Where are
The famous Riphean mountains still cause controversy about their actual location. Most researchers are confident that they exist to this day, but under a different name. Insufficient information could not give the opportunity to correctly determine their location. At different times, historical science identified them with almost all mountain systems. These were the Urals, the Caucasus, the Alps and even the Tien Shan. But most scientists are inclined to the version that the legendary Ripheans are the Ural Mountains.
In addition, there is a version that the Riphean mountains are the edge of a giant glacier that descended from the north. According to the researchers, its height was more than 2 thousand meters. Of course, the sight of so much ice and snow could simply overwhelm a person. But the last ice age ended 12 thousand years ago, so in ancient times it was unlikely that people could see the edge of the glacier.
What mountains can be Riphean
If you look at a modern map of Europe made from space, you can see that there are no northern mountain ranges from the Atlantic to the Urals. Or maybe, to the ancient travelers who came from the south, the Alps mountains seemed to be northern territories. But it is hard to believe that the ancient Greek scholars did not know about the Alpine mountains.
The same can be said of the Caucasus Mountains. The coast of the Black and Azov seas was mastered by the Greeks, there were many settlements on it. Therefore, it is probably impossible to assume that the Caucasus was associated with the concept of the Riphean mountains.
Some researchers decide to go in search of mythical mountains from the country, which was located in the primary sources at their foot - this is Scythia. The only location of this country that is confirmed by archaeologists is Southern Europe, the Black Sea region. Then what was meant by the Sarmatian ocean? Presumably the so-called Baltic Sea.
But there are no mountains in the direction of the Baltic Sea, so some scholars have suggested that the Sarmatian Ocean most likely meant the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. In this case, the Carpathians and the Ugrian mountains can be Ripheans.
But what about the God of Boreas - the lord of the northern winds, living on the snowy peaks of the Ripheans, the rivers Tanais and Istra flowing from them? The fact is that this assumption about the Carpathians and Ugor can be made from the descriptions of the Riphean mountains by Adam of Bremen in the XI century. He also used ancient Greek sources. But at that time the Carpathians and the Ugric Mountains were well known to medieval scholars.
Information about the Riphean mountains in the Middle Ages
The ancient Greek thinkers, in whose writings the references to the Ripheans first appeared, the real facts are mixed with the heroes of Greek mythology, which greatly complicates the determination of their position. This is what calls into question their existence. Even the ancient historian Strabo questioned their reality. However, until the Middle Ages, scientists believed in the existence of mythological mountains that are located in northern Europe.
It was a time when people went on trips, knowing the Earth. Initial information was taken from ancient thinkers. Interest in the Riphean (Riphean) mountains was also fueled by the fact that, according to ancient sources, the lands of the fabulous Hyperborea were located behind them. This is where many travelers sought to get.
The geography of Claudius Ptolemy, according to which the Rifeys can be reached along the Tanais River, also made a lot of confusion. According to her, the Hyperborean mountains extended from east to north. If you determine the place by the coordinates on the modern map, then here are the Northern Uvaly (maximum height of 300 meters).
The rivers Don, Volga, and Dnieper really originate on the low elevations of Central Russian, Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow. They are located along the line southeast - northwest. It is to the Central Russian Upland that the Northern Uvaly belongs.
Riphean - myth or reality?
In fact, that the Riphean mountains exist, in fact, Europeans believed until the middle of the 15th century. This holy faith was destroyed by Julius P. Let, who went in search of the legendary Scythia and the Riphean mountains. He followed the indicated coordinates and ended up in Muscovy, in which he could not find the mountains. He was discouraged. After all, he was sure that the Tanais (Don) river flows precisely from their peaks. But he could not just abandon what mankind had believed in for more than 2000 years.
He began to ask the Muscovites if they have mountains. Their answer was like a breath of fresh air for him. He heard from them that there really are mountains in the Ugra in the north of the country. He arrived in Italy with a report that stated that Scythia stretched from Borisfen (Dnieper) to the Riphean mountains, which border it in the east and go north, to where the Ugra live and where the sun does not set for six months.
He kept silent about the Istra, as he already knew for sure that it originates in the Black Forest mountains in Germany. The same can be said about the mythological river Tanais, which also originates in the Tula region, on the Central Russian Upland.
Northern Uvaly
These are small hilly hills that are located strictly from the southwest to the northeast. They consider the beginning of the area of the river Unzha and they stretch to the Ural Mountains. The Central Russian Upland is the birthplace of great rivers, for example, the Volga, Northern Dvina, Kama and many others. Part of Uvalov is located in the north-west of the Perm region.
Most of it is located in the Vologda region and the Kirov region, where the terrain is constantly changing. The harsh climate contributes to the fact that on low peaks the snow does not melt for a long time, sometimes you can even see the northern lights, and in May-June there are white nights in this region. This place is ideally suited to the description of Rifeyev by ancient authors. True, it is difficult to name the mountains of Uvala.
Riphean. Stone belt. Ural
Today, most researchers are inclined to the version that the legendary Ripheans are the Ural Mountains. So the Russian scientists M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavin considered. There are a number of reasons for this - numerous mountain streams originating in the “golden shores”. Gold has been mined in the Urals since time immemorial. Ural goes to the Arctic Ocean. On some of its peaks, snow does not melt all summer. And the polar day in its northern part lasts for six months. True, the origins of Tanais and Ra do not originate in the mountains of the Urals.
Was it possible in ancient times to get from Greece or Scythia to the Urals? On the basis of finds, archaeologist B. Grakov convincingly proved that the path from Scythia through the Volga region went to the Southern Urals and further to Zauralie. There is evidence of a connection between the Southern Urals and Greece. These are bone lamellar psalies (an element of rein) found in Sintasht (Chelyabinsk region) and the ancient Greek city of Mycenae.
Tribes from the Urals went through the steppes, southern Ukraine to the Greek Mycenae, leaving the burial grounds of dead or dead soldiers all the way. In these places one can also find burial grounds in which metal elements of harnesses of higher quality are preserved. This also shows the reverse movement.