Page "Pytheas" Paragraph 8

Pytheas was not the first Mediterranean mariner to reach the British Isles.

The Massaliote Periplus is a more extensive fragment preserved in paraphrase in the Ora Maritima, a poem of the 4th century AD written by the Roman, Avienus.

This periplus of a ship from Marseilles on which the poem relies is uncertain in date, but is believed to be possibly from the 6th century BC, not long after the founding of the city.

It primarily describes the coasts of southern Spain and Portugal, but makes brief mention of a visit to " the sacred isle " ( Ireland, Ierne ) located across from Albion ( an early name for Britain ).