ARIMPHAIOI
Greek Name
Αριμφαιος Αριμφαιοι
Transliteration
Arimphaios, Arimphaioi
Latin Spelling
Arimphaeus, Arimphaei
Translation
--
THE ARIMPHAIOI (Arimphaei) were a Skythian tribe who dwelt in the cold forests of the north. Like their neighbours, the Hyperboreans, they were a sacred race blessed by the gods.
The Arimphaioi were perhaps the same as the similarly named Arimaspoi (Arimaspians) and Arimoi.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6. 34 (trans. Rackham) (Roman encyclopedia C1st
A.D.) :
"From the extreme north-north-east to the northernmost point at which the sun rises in summer there are the
Scythians, and outside of them and beyond the point where north-north-east begins some have placed the
Hyperboreans, who are said by a majority of authorities to be in Europe. After that point the first place known
is Lytharmis, a promontory of Celtica, and the river Carambucis, where the range of the Ripaean Mountains
terminates and with it the rigour of the climate relaxes; here we have reports of a people called the Arimphaei,
a race not unlike the Hyperboreans. They dwell in forests and live on berries; long hair is deemed to be
disgraceful in the case of women and men alike; and their manners are mild. Consequently they are reported to be
deemed a sacred race and to be left unmolested by the savage tribes uamong their neighbours, this immunity not
being confined to themselves but extended also to people who have fled to them for refuge. Beyond them we come
directly to the Scythians, Cimmerians, Cissi, Anthi, Georgi, and a race of Amazones, the last reaching to the
Caspian and Hyrcanian Sea."
SOURCES
ROMAN
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Encyclopedia C1st A.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.