Talk:Hyperborea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome. To participate, improve this article or visit the project page for more information. |
| Start | This article has been rated as Start-Class on the assessment scale. |
| Mid | This article is on a subject of Mid-importance within classical antiquity. |
Removed this: "Many think that the almost-immortal women who live in Hyperborea are named the Naiads, and are well-known for their beauty." "Many" indeed! A few, more deeply-read, know what a naiad actually is, however. --Wetman 19:38, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
"In Greek maps from the time of Alexander the Great..." This editor is unaware that no maps from the time of Alexander the Great survive. A statement supported by spectral evidence is quite likely to be poppycock. Editors might look more critically at the statement supported by this particular "evidence" in this article. --Wetman 19:44, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Modern interpretations" containing a grave error
Places north of the Arctic Circle does NOT have midnight sun half the year! To believe that you have to live much closer to the Equator, probably within 50 degrees. The myth probably comes from a confusion of the Polar Regions with the Poles themselves. In reality, at the Arctic Circle the sun never sets on a single day (the Summer Solstice). On the other hand the sun never rises on the Winter Solstice. As you travel northward the number of days with midnight sun gradually increases. So does the number of days without sunrise. At the North Pole the sun only rises and sets once a year: it rises on the Spring Equinox and sets on the Autumn Equinox. (The same is true for the areas south of the Antarctic Circle but at the opposite time of the year. Consequently, the South Pole has midnight sun half the year and polar night the other half.) However, all over Scandinavia there is much difference between the length of day in the summer and winter. North of 60th degree dusk lasts all night during part of the summer. This is called white night and should not be confused with midnight sun. Statements about the real conditions were most likely exaggerated through rumouring when reaching the Ancient Greeks. They lived south of the 45th degree and did not know the mechanisms involved. So they might well have believed it. Unfortunately, some people still believe that but about a smaller area.
2006-12-19 Lena Synnerholm, Mästa, Sweden.
[edit] Hyperborean: Poker AI
"Schaeffer was part of the team that designed Hyperborean, a poker-playing computer that recently went undefeated at two tournaments hosted by the American Association of Artificial Intelligence."
Might not be notable yet, but will soon be.
Mathiastck 22:24, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
This ethymological explanation seems to me slightly risky: "it was known as Siberia, translated from Sanskrit as Shivarya (Land of the God Shiva). " Then, how comes that in Russian, Siberia is pronounced "Sibir'?" Please, provide some more elaborated evidence about it. Thank you.
Svetlana
[edit] Unsourced legend potpourri
If any of the following can be sourced and related to Hyperborea--not "Siberia" etc-- do return it to the article (Wetman 04:58, 10 December 2006 (UTC)):
- According to Hindu mythology, the original five races of mankind originated in the Arctic Circle. They called their primeval homeland Uttara Kuru, meaning the "Northernmost Kuru." Kuru is the original name of the Turkish peoples. Another name of the Turks is Ari (Aryan or Noble Ones). The pre-diluvial Turks lived in a type of paradise, with lifespans of up to a thousand years, were always in a stat of bliss, and could leave their bodies at will and travel all over the Universe. The Greeks called this place HYPERBOREA. Among the Turks, it was known as Siberia, translated from Sanskrit as Shivarya (Land of the God Shiva). The Tibetan Buddhists call it Khedar Khand or Shambhala.
