The Riphean mountains are one of the mysteries in the history of mankind. In mythology, they gave rise to quite real rivers of Scythia. On their tops lived the north wind Boreas. Beyond the mountains began the country of Hyperborea. Aristotle pointed out that Scythia is located at the foot of these mountains under the constellation Ursa, it is from there that the largest rivers flow, the largest of which is Istra (Danube).
Ancient Greek sources
They were first 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 pointed out in his writings that the Hyperboreans live beyond the Riphean mountains. Hippocrates wrote about Scythia. Indicating its location, he noted that this country is located at the very foot of the Ripheas.
Aristotle, speaking of Scythia, wrote that large rivers flow from the hills in the north, including the Istra (Danube). In their works, the Riphean mountains were mentioned by many ancient Greek thinkers andhistorians. Among them are Apollonius of Rhodes, Dionysius Perieget, Justin and others. And only the ancient historian Strabo doubted their real existence and called them mythical.
Ptolemy's Map
In the II century BC. e. the ancient Hellenic astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy, having analyzed all the known data and made his own calculations, indicated the coordinates of the location of the Riphean mountains, determining that they are located in Sarmatia (the territory of Eastern Europe). It is worth noting that almost all ancient maps were created on the basis of the works of Ptolemy.
Ptolemy's map is based on the works of ancient Greek scientists. It can be used to judge what was the vision of the world by ancient people. Scythia on the map is spread between the Ripheas, which are located strictly from southwest to northeast, and the Hyperborean mountains. They, being in the north, stretched from east to west. For all its imperfections, mankind has been using this card for about 2000 years.
Origin of the name
In the name of the Ripheans, linguists provide for the possibility of the existence of four versions of its origin:
- The first is connected with 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 “ripa”. If we take it as a basis, then it could serve as a form for the name of the Riphean mountains. This word can be translatedlike "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 "Rigveda". He guards Ripa - the desired peak, the place of residence of the Bird. When translating the Rigveda, researchers translated the word "Ripa" as "mountain". This suggests that these concepts are also present in the ancient Indian epic.
- The third is usually associated with Greece. After all, the word "Ripean" or "Ripey" was traditionally associated with ancient times. Translated from Greek, the word "ripe" means "flight", "gust", which is associated with the wind Boreas. But according to the assumption of linguists, this is secondary and mostly a coincidence.
- Fourth - in Latin, "ripa" means the word "shore" or "land by the sea".
Where are you
The famous Riphean mountains still cause controversy about their actual location. Most researchers are sure that they exist to this day, but under a different name. Insufficient information could not make it possible to correctly determine their location. At various 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 believe that the legendary Ripheas 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 researchers, its height was more than 2 thousand meters. Of course, the sight of so much ice and snow could simply overwhelm a person. Butthe last ice age ended 12,000 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 the mountains of the Alps seemed to the northern territories to the ancient travelers who came from the south. But it's hard to believe that ancient Greek scientists didn't know about the Alps.
The same can be said about 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 consider that the Caucasus was associated with them with the concept of the Riphean mountains.
Some researchers decide to go in search of mythical mountains from the country that was located in the primary sources at their foot - this is Scythia. The only location of this country, which is confirmed by archaeologists, is Southern Europe, the Black Sea region. Then what was meant by the Sarmatian Ocean? Presumably this was the name of the B altic Sea.
But there are no mountains in the direction of the B altic Sea, so some scientists have suggested that the Sarmatian Ocean most likely meant the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. In this case, the Carpathians and the Ugric Mountains can be Ripheans.
But what about God Boreas - the lord of the northern winds, living on the snowy peaks of the Ripheas, the rivers Tanais and Istra flowing from them? The fact is that this assumption about the Carpathians and Ugry can be made fromdescriptions of the Riphean mountains by Adam of Bremen in the 11th century. He also used ancient Greek sources. But at that time, the Carpathians and the Ugrian mountains were well known to medieval scholars.
Information about the Riphean mountains in the Middle Ages
The ancient Greek thinkers, in whose writings the mention of the Ripheas first appeared, real facts are mixed with the heroes of Greek mythology, which makes it much more difficult to determine 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 the north of Europe.
It was a time when people went on journeys, getting to know the Earth. Initial information was taken from ancient thinkers. Interest in the Riphean (Ripean) mountains was also fueled by the fact that, according to ancient sources, behind them were the lands of fabulous Hyperborea. It was here that many travelers aspired to get.
A lot of confusion was also introduced by the geography of Claudius Ptolemy, according to which the Ripheas can be reached by the Tanais River. According to her, the Hyperborean mountains stretched from east to north. If you determine the place according to the coordinates on the modern map, then the Northern Uvals are located here (a maximum height of 300 meters).
The rivers Don, Volga, Dnieper really originate in the low uplands of the Central Russian, Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow. They are located along the southeast - northwest line. It is to the Central Russianthe uplands include the Northern Ridges.
Rifei - myth or reality?
The Europeans believed that the Riphean mountains actually existed until the middle of the 15th century. This holy faith was destroyed by Julius P. Lat, 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 failed to find the mountains. He was discouraged. After all, he was sure that the Tanais (Don) river flows from their peaks. But he couldn't just give up what humanity had believed in for over 2,000 years.
He began to ask the Muscovites if they have mountains. Their response was like a breath of fresh air to him. He heard from them that indeed in the north of the country there are mountains in Yugra. He arrived in Italy with a report in which it was written that Scythia stretched from Borisfen (Dnieper) to the Riphean mountains, which limit it in the east and go to the north, where the Yugras live and where the sun does not set for half a year.
He kept silent about the Istra River, because 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, which are located strictly from the southwest to the northeast. The region of the Unzha River is considered to be their beginning and they stretch to the Ural Mountains. The Central Russian Upland is the birthplace of great rivers, for example, the Volga, the Northern Dvina, the Kama and many others. Part of Uvalovlocated in the north-west of the Perm region.
Most of them are located in the Vologda and Kirov regions, where the relief is constantly changing. The harsh climate contributes to the fact that snow does not melt on low peaks 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 fits perfectly with the description of the Ripheas by ancient authors. True, it is difficult to call Uvala mountains.
Rifei. Stone belt. Ural
Today, most researchers are inclined to believe that the legendary Ripheas are the Ural Mountains. The Russian scientists M. V. Lomonosov and G. R. Derzhavin thought so. 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, the snow does not melt all summer. And the polar day in its northern part lasts for six months. True, the sources 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? Archaeologist B. Grakov, on the basis of the finds, convincingly proved that the path from Scythia through the Volga region went to the Southern Urals and further into the Trans-Urals. There is information about the connection of the Southern Urals with Greece. These are bone lamellar cheek-pieces (an element of a bridle) found in Sintashta (Chelyabinsk region) and the ancient Greek city of Mycenae.
Tribes from the Urals went through the steppes, southern Ukraine to the Greek Mycenae, leaving burial grounds of dead or dead soldiers along the way. In these places you can also find burial grounds in whichmetal elements of the harness of higher quality. This also shows the reverse movement.
