poor man (ibid.). His motivation may have been commercial, to find northern sources of tin
and amber, but his interest in science was genuine, and he may have been a student of
E K. Although later writers such as Polubios and Strabo ̄n made him out
to be a liar, E, H, P, and others used his observations, and
Putheas’ contributions to descriptive and mathematical geography and astronomy are
fundamental.
In one or more works, entitled On the Ocean and Circuit of the Earth, Putheas described his
journey from Marseilles to northern Europe via the Atlantic coast, either in a Massilian ship
out the Pillars of He ̄rakle ̄s around the Iberian peninsula to the British Isles, or on
foot and on native craft. He described Britain as three-sided and estimated its circumference
with reasonable accuracy. He also mentioned the island of Thule, six days beyond Britain,
whether referring to the islands north of Scotland, or to Norway, Jutland, or even Iceland, is
a matter of longstanding debate. He described the enigmatic Congealed Sea, like a sea-lung
(jellyfish?), wherein earth, air and water were mixed together; perhaps a first- or second-
hand report of pack or slush ice. He mentioned finding the source of amber on an island
Abalus, in an estuary on the northern shore of Europe; perhaps west of Jutland, or even
east into the Baltic. A reference to reaching the Tanais (the Don) must be discounted.
The perspicacity of Putheas’ observations is astonishing. He calculated the latitude
of Marseilles fairly exactly using a gnomon. He established, through careful observation,
that the celestial North Pole was occupied not by a star, but by empty space bordered by
four stars. He also observed ocean tides, and proposed that their amplitude depends on
lunar phases. He reported an improbably high tide in northern Britain – likely an exagger-
ated account of surge tides of the Pentland Firth or regions around the Scottish islands. As
he journeyed north, he recorded the lengthening of the solsticial day, although his claim to
have witnessed the midnight sun north of the Arctic Circle is doubtful.
Ed.: C.H. Roseman, Pytheas of Massalia: On the Ocean (1994); S. Bianchetti, Pitea di Massalia. L’Oceano
(1998).
DSB 11. 225–226, A. Diller; B. Cunliffe, The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek (2001).
Philip Kaplan
Putheos of Prie ̄ne ̄ (ca 370 – 330 BCE)
Architect, sculptor and author, collaborated with S P on the Mausso ̄lleion,
and designed the Temple of Athena at Prie ̄ne ̄. V (7.pr.12) credits him with
a commentary on the Mausso ̄lleion (written with Saturos), and one on the Temple of
Athena that included comments on the architect’s proper education and on the Doric
order’s disadvantages (Vitr. 1.1.12, 4.3.1). The Mausso ̄lleion (funerary monument for Maus-
so ̄llos, d. 352 BCE) was famed for its great height and extensive, high-quality sculptural
decoration. Putheos may be the “Puthis” mentioned by P (36.30) as the sculptor (or
designer) of the marble four-horse chariot on the top of the Mausso ̄lleion. The Temple of
Athena at Prie ̄ne ̄, financed and dedicated by Alexander the Great ca 334 BCE, admired for
its proportions, became a standard model for the Ionic order. Putheos is assumed to have
taken great interest in theories of proportion and design and is believed to have influenced
later theoreticians such as H, and eventually Vitruuius.
Svenson-Ebers (1996) 116–150; K. Jeppesen, The Maussolleion at Hallikarnassos 2 (1986) 52–113; 5 (2002)
29 – 42; KLA 2.334–338, W. Hoepfner.
Margaret M. Miles
PUTHEOS OF PRIE ̄NE ̄