thule (myth)

Thule, in the Greek and Roman mythologies, is a place, usually an island, in the far north, perhaps Scandinavia. It was first mentioned by the Greek geographer and explorer Pytheas of Massala (present-day Marseille) in the 4th century BC. Pytheas claimed that Thule was six days north of Britain, and that the midsummer sun never set there. Thule is sometimes seen to have some commonality with Atlantis. The most likely locale for Thule is nowadays considered to be the coast of Norway; other historians think it was the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands or Iceland, however. In the Middle Ages, the name was sometimes used to denote Iceland, such as by Bremen's Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church, where he probably cites old writers' usage of Thule. Some Occult groups, most notably the German Thule Gesellschaft (ca. 1920) thought that it was the original source of the secret wisdom of the Aryan race. Thule was also mentioned by Traditionalist author Julius Evola in connection with Hyperborea (literally, far north) and Atlantis.

Ultima Thule

The Romans used the generic phrase Ultima Thule to denote any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world". Ultima Thule is also the name of a Swedish Nationalist rock group. "Ultima Thule" is also the name of a short story by Vladimir Nabokov.

Thule (Myth)

Ultima Thule

See also