CHAPTER VIII.
GEOGRAPHY UNDER THE SUCCESSORS OF ALEXANDER.
THE VOYAGE OF PYTHEAS.
Intellectual Influence of this Period—Egypt under the Ptolemies—Position of
Alexandria—Canal from the Red Sea to the Nile—Stations on the Red
Sea—The Cinnamon Country (Somaliland)—The Upper Nile—Mega-
sthenes in India, arc. 290 B.C.—Envoy to Chandragupta at Pataliputra—
His Work—Verified from Native Sources—His Knowledge of India-
Its Boundaries—The Indus and Ganges—The Royal Road—The Rainy
Season—Administration of the Country—The Caste-system—Life of the
Indians—The Brahmans—The Voyage of Pytheas, cire. 330 B.C.—Varying
Estimates of him—His Work—Twofold Object of his Voyage—His
Scientific Atlainments—His Route to Britain—The Annorican Promon-
tory (Brittany)—The British Tin Mines—Island of IcLis (St Michael's
Mount)—His Account of Britain—Customs of the Inhabitants—Evidence
in Favour of his Northern Voyage—Did Pytheas enter the Baltic?—The
Northern Sea—Thule (probably Mainland in the Shetlands)—The Arctic
Circle—"Sleeping place of the Sun"-Pytheas' Parallels of Latitude—
Wonders of the Arctic Regions—Comparison to the Pulmo Marinus—The
Amber Coast—Testimony of Pliny and Diodorus—The Word 'glaesum.'
THE kingdom which Alexander left behind included territories
Intellectual *n a^ ^6 ^lree cont*nents» an(^ w^^n a s^ort P61"^
influence of after his death, during which a succession of struggles
took place for the partition of his dominions, we
find Hellenic culture disseminating itself in all of them, The
spirit of enquiry, in particular, which was characteristic of the
Greeks, spread rapidly and widely, and found an ample field on
which to exercise itself in making new observations and dis-
coveries. This result was promoted by the extended facilities of
communication, which arose from the concentration of the govern-
ment in the hands of powerful rulers at definite points, and the
breaking down of the barriers of nationality and prejudice which
previously existed. At the same time the vast amount of wealth
that was thrown into circulation by the dispersal of the treasures of
the kings of Persia, furnished the means by which encouragement