i was wondering if anything has anything about these hyperborean people, supposedly they were an advanced civ. that traded with athenians and other ancient greek city-states, they were from an island but which one is not for certain, maybe these hyperboreans were actually atlanteans?

I think they were the first people to use Stone in there building structures. Then advanced from there.

"Hyperborean" isn't a term for any group in archaeology (that I've been able to find.) In anthropology (linguistics) it refers to all the languages found above the arctic circle (Inuit, Inupiat, etc)... but doesn't actually refer to a group of people at a certain time period.

None of the stone age peoples were ever called "hyperboreans"... they are named after the area where their artifacts are found.

I think the first person to use this word extensively to refer to a "group of people" was Robert E Howard in his Conan sagas. This was the first popular "sword and sorcery" series, and as I remember, Conan was taken captive by the Hyperboreans.

Well... yeah, it IS a Greek name for "foreigners the North" (which I knew) but as the article says, it's kind of a vague reference for "people who live up there."

There's no actual group of people that it refers to (like the Iceni, the Celts, the Norse) and, as the article says, even scholars don't know who the Greeks meant by this. And "Atlanteans" would be a specific group of people (like the Cimbri.)

And since Banjo asked about them in terms of a single civilization (race/tribe/etc) then my answer still stands: They didn't exist. It's the Greek name for "people who lived up yonder."

...but I was mistaken about Howard!

[Edited on 6-11-2003 by Byrd]

Actually as far as i know the word "Borea" means nothern-mountain-winds (as used by greeks) so hyperborea actually means: "beyond the north wind", as stated in the above article.

Anyway i have my sources to belive that this civilisation actually did exsist, and that they where superior to us in all levels.
truely an assembly of demi-gods.

Posted by Byrd

...but I was mistaken about Howard!

You weren't wrong. Conan was captured by the Hyperboreans during a raid into their territory. He was taken as a slave, eventually escaping by smashing his capturers face in with his chain. He made his way south after that, doing a stint as a thief in Zamora. Conan's adventures finally led him to the throne of Aquilonia.

I am a Conan freak, baby!

By the way: Hyperborea was bordered by the Border Kindom to the South, and Cimmeria to the west. They were a mysterious people, delved into the black arts. The were sworn enemies of the Vanir, Asgardians and Cimmerians.

Shall I keep going?

500 years after the reign of Conan the great, the Hyborian was in turmoil. Aquilonia began it's thrust for domination from the west, and the Hyrkanians began their assault from the East.

During this same time, The Hyperboreans began a half-hearted attempt at conquest, pushing from their Northern home south. In the Border Kingdom, the armies of Aquilonia and Hyperborea met, with the latter being utterly defeated.

Shall I go on?

I'm such a dork!

Nathraq- Do you got any of the new Conan comics. #0 came out last month #1 is due soon.

These Hyperboreans sound to be just another spin off Atlantis story to me. If every fiction auther refered to lost civilization as atlantis it just wouldn't be all that fun to read fantasy anymore most books would be too similiar.

Originally posted by NotTooHappy
Nathraq- Do you got any of the new Conan comics. #0 came out last month #1 is due soon.

Nah, I stopped with the last Savage Sword of Conan issue.

But I do still have the original books, 1-12, by Robert E. Howard( with L. Sprage DeCamp, and Lin Carter picking up and finishing his unfinished manuscripts). After the original 12, other authors (Bjorn Nyberg, Robert Jordan) picked them up. I really never got into these, as I believe Howard, L. Sprague DeCamp, and Lin Carter were the best writers for Conan.

As you can see, I really am a dork!

Originally posted by IndianaJoe
These Hyperboreans sound to be just another spin off Atlantis story to me. If every fiction auther refered to lost civilization as atlantis it just wouldn't be all that fun to read fantasy anymore most books would be too similiar.

Yes, Robert E Howard also wrote about Atlantis.

King Kull was the ruler of Atlantis at the time, one of Conan's distant relatives. Atlantis was the dominant power on earth, until the cataclysm. Thule was ruled by a serpent like people, sworn enemies of the Atlanteans.

That, and a dime, may get you a cup of coffee.