East Europe as a proto-homeland of the Indo-Europeans - страница 18

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2. In the north, beyond the Riphean mountains, Hara and Meru is the Arctic, or the Kronian, or the Dead, or the Milky Ocean, or the vast sea of Vourukash, where the rivers flowing from these mountains to the north flow into.

3. The Riphean Mountains, Hara and Meru are a watershed, as they divide the rivers into currents to the south and currents to the north.

4. From the top of the Hara, Meru and Riphean mountains originate: a) the Ganges, b) the sacred Raha, c) the river Rusiya, d) all the great rivers of Scythia, except for Istr-Danube.

5. In these northern regions you can always see high above the head the Polar Star and the constellation Ursa Major.

6. Here half a day lasts half a day and night; in winter a cold northeast wind blows, bringing a lot of snow.

7. Mountains covered with forests abound with animals and birds; very high, impassable.

8. Beyond the Riphean Mountains, Harah and Meru on the coast of the ocean or sea lies a happy country.

9. The rivers originating in these mountains flow in golden channels and the mountains themselves conceal untold wealth.

Based on the foregoing, the solution of the problem proposed by G. M. Bongard-Levin and E. A. Grantovsky carries a number of contradictions: Firstly, the Riphean Mountains, Jara and Meru, according to the testimonies of ancient writers, the Scythian tradition, the epic tradition of the Indo-Iranians, should be extended in the latitudinal direction (from west to east), what can not be connected with the Ural Mountains;

Secondly, The Ural Mountains are located east or northeast of the Black Sea Scythia, and not north of it; thirdly, the Urals are not the watershed ridge from which all Scythian rivers originate, he does not divide them into currents to the south and currents to the north.


Hyperborean and Riphean Mountains. Geography of Ptolemy 1480


Hyperborean Mountains. Geography of Ptolemy 1490


Hyperborean Mountains. Geography of Ptolemy 1540


Hyperborean Mountains. Geography Maps of Ptolemy


It probably makes sense to turn once more to ancient sources, all the more so as there is a growing belief among researchers that ancient authors can and should be trusted. So M. V. Agbunov, on the basis of using paleogeography data to study changes in the Black Sea coastline, concludes that «the works of ancient authors are, as a rule, a reliable source and deserve more attention and trust… I would like to emphasize that specific historical and geographical descriptions of ancient authors for the most part are absolutely reliable». Proceeding from this, we turn to such an authoritative source as Claudius Ptolemy’s «Geography» (2nd century AD), where on the map of Asia VII («Geography» of 1540, edited by S. Munster) north of the Caspian Sea and west of the Urals placed mountains called Hyperborean (NURERBOREI MONTES). The same mountains in northern Europe are also on the map to the «Geography» of Ptolemy, published in 1490 in Rome, cited in the book by G. M. Bongard-Levin and E. A. Grantovsky «From Scythia to India», based on which they talk about the mistake of Ptolemy, who placed mountains in the north that are not really there.