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| Pytheas had more to report about “Tyle:” After having visited many barren and uninhabitable islands during the course of his journey, this most northerly of them proved to be fertile. His men were able to nourish themselves on the vegetation, milk, and wild fruit. It was noteworthy that, in contrast to the strict Greek custom, the women here were held in common and that there was no strict marriage requirement. Life in these cold regions seemed undesirable to Pytheas, although the cultivation of crops and the care of domestic animals was, to him, entirely unusual. And again, wherever grain was cultivated and honey collected, they were used to produce the celebrated fermented honey-wine, or “met.” He also visited islands where the coveted tin was available. The seafaring people that Pytheas encountered, the Ostideer, did not have wooden craft, but instead used boats constructed of pelts and leather drawn over woven rods. They used such boats to travel to the holy Isle of Amber, where the amber washes up on the shore. |
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