The opening and closing chapters are entitled Thule. The opening line:
"'To sail beyond the world -'" (p. 9)
- is spoken by Hanno to Pytheas.
The concluding chapter opens with Hanno exploring Jupiter.
Hanno speaks to Pytheas of his namesake, Hanno the Navigator. See here. Our Hanno is Phoenician. The Navigator was a Carthaginian. Carthage was a Phoenician colony. Are the two Hannos the same? Earlier chapters are of greater interest when read in the light of the concluding chapter. We are only just beginning...
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
IIRC, according to Anderson in THE SIGN OF THE RAVEN, vol. 3 of THE LAST VIKING, King Harald Hardrede of Norway made an attempt to do just that, sail north as far as he could beyond Ultima Thule.
Ad astra! Sean
Al Stewart did a great song entitled "Hanno the Navigator", btw. Look it up if you haven't heard it yet.
"Oarsmen curse and pull and sweat
Underneath this creaking deck;
At night I hear their stories told,
Strong through storms
But weak for gold..."
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I will, thanks! All we really "know" about the real Hanno the Navigator comes from his poorly preserved and transmitted periplus.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment