Abaris and the Extraordinary Abilities of the Hyperboreans

Abstract

Hyperborea was an otherworldly paradise, a mythical utopia, which was both part of the mythical past and ever present in Greek literature. The Hyperboreans brought innovations to ancient Greeks culture and help in time of need. This study presents some of their extraordinary abilities and focuses on the most famous Hyperborean – Abaris. He came to Greece as an ambassador led by Apollo’s arrow, and some claimed that he could fly on it. Abaris seems always to have been regarded as a spiritual or magical authority. Later we hear of him as a possible founder of sanctuaries and as a seer and prophet – he foretold and cured epidemics, wrote oracles. Whether he was legendary or historical (but even then, heavily overlaid by legend), he is an example of archaic wise man who possessed special knowledge of rituals, divination, and healing.