Talk:Himilco the Navigator
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[edit] My edit. December 3, 2005
I've added more about the Iberian sea route Himilco found for Carthage and his tales of sea monsters, as well as fixing some grammar.
[edit] Straight West
When Himilco's voyage is described by Pliny, the phrase "to explore the parts beyond Europe" is used; this leaves it oblivious as to whether he went south to Africa, north to Iberia, or simply west. When the voyage is written on in a complete account given by an anonymous writer, large drifts of seaweed and extremely calm wind are noted. This seems to hint at his moving west into the Atlantic; the seaweed being the Sargasso Sea (I do not know of any Atlantic weed drifts other than the Sargasso Sea prodigious enough to "after the manner of a thicket, hold the prow back") and the calmness the Doldrums beyond the trade winds. BFieldingD 20:50, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] My edit
I added some to this article to help "flesh it out". Himilco is one of the most interesting ancient explorers in my opinion, and one of the most mysterious. Pliny does not give enough details, and Avienus' Ora Maritima is not available online but I found a copy and own it. Avienus makes mention of Himilco saying it requires "four months to cross" without saying explicitly the ocean, but coupled with the mention of what can only be the Sargasso Sea and whales ("sea monsters") it is a strong hint that Himilco did in fact cross to the Americas.
We already have several ancient sources that report of the Carthaginians having knowledge of the Americas in the Library of History of Diodorus Siculus, as well as On Marvelous Things Heard by Aristotle. However these point to an accidental discovery while Punic ships were sailing south along the coast of Africa, being blown across the ocean by powerful winds very much the same way in which Pedro Cabral discovered Brazil for Portugal. Plutarch describes the northern route to America as he found recorded in a Carthaginian text, but does not explain who or whom discovered the northern route. It seems logical that Himilco is the most likely candidate for having crossed via the northern route (virtually the same route used by the Norse centuries later) but this navigational exploit was not made public due to the fact that ancient Carthage (and the Phoenicians in general) regarded navigational secrets on a par with national security; this is echoed by both Aristotle and Diodorus.
For those who doubt that the ancients knew of the Americas, I refer them to the famous Critias of Plato, in a much-ignored passage, Plato describes what can only be the Americas as a huge continent across the ocean and beyond Atlantis.
Oroblanco (talk) 08:34, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Removed additional information posted by Oroblanco
It is sad to see that the additions I added yesterday have been so quickly removed and replaced with the old erroneous information such as Himilco living circa 5th century BC, which is absolutely incorrect and can be proven by the fact that one of the cities founded by Hanno is mentioned specifically by the Greek historian Hecataeus, who lived 550 to 470 BC. How could Hecataeus have mentioned the city if Hanno lived more than twenty years after his death? Himilco was a contemporary and brother to Hanno the navigator and voyaged at the same time, so we know his voyage cannot have been in the 5th century BC. This sort of mis-information is rife with many Carthaginian historical figures, and I see that we cannot get the record set straight thanks to our members like 3rdAlcove. I included references, which apparently have been deleted.
Good luck with your Wikipedia, I will not add any further information. Oroblanco —Preceding unsigned comment added by Oroblanco (talk • Oroblanco (talk) 01:11, 25 November 2007 (UTC)contribs) 02:04, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
