Maeshowe 16
Image by wideford

The Greeks and the Inuits seems to be stretching things a bit too far. Britain would certainly have been remote to the Greeks - on the edge of the world of Ocean. Different perspective if you happen to be living in northern Europe - just across the channel you can see the cliffs of Dover - but not from the Med which was the limit of the civilised world.

I have always closely associated Hyperborea and the Hesperides. The rich source of tin, the Hesperides are surely Cornwall and Scilly (Greek - garden of the gods on the western extremity of the Greek world) and Hyperborea is surely most likely to be Britain or Ireland (any linguistic link between Hyperborea and Hibernia?) Hyperborea is "the blessed realm governed by Apollo, believed by the Greeks to be located beyond the north wind"- Yes that could mean Scandinavia, but Britain and Scandinavia are both north and west of Greece. - But what of Apollo the Sun God? There was a yearly tribute sent to Apollo's shrine at Delos from Hyperborea. I can't see the Scandinavians or the Eskimos sending walrus ivory or whale blubber all the way to Delos as tribute, can you?

Apollo's temple in Hyperborea as described by Hecateus sounds a lot like Stonehenge. Then there is the teaser about Apollo manifesting himself to his followers every 19 years- now what bell does a nineteen year cycle sound?

Thule could be Iceland or any of the northern or western isles off Scotland. Remote and glimpsed only rarely by mariners off course. Quite correct that first known colonists were Irish monks - the word "papa" occurs in a number of Icelandic place names. Ultima Thule = Greenland? Any evidence of any kind?

Ahh... the plot thickens :-) Do you have Hecateus' description of Apollo's temple in Hyperborea at hand Peter?