A.A. Vigasin
Islands at the end of Oikoumene

Abstract: In Greek and Latin literature the Western End of the inhabited world was considered to be the Blessed Islands (Insulae Fortunatae). And at the Eastern End of the inhabited world, according to Claudius Ptolemy, the island of Iabadiu was located. The name is interpreted by Ptolemy as "Barley Island". Undoubtedly, the word Iabadiu reproduces the Sanskrit Yavadvīpa, which in Prakrit form appears as Yavadīva. Obviously, it must be island of Java. The word "yava" really means "barley", but it is not clear why the island owes this name since barley does not grow there. Various hypotheses were proposed, including those based on the fact that the shape of the island itself resembles barley grain. Greek geographers gave descriptions of distant countries based on the reports of sailors, and these reports reproduced information received from the local population, not rarely local myths, a folk tradition. In Sanskrit literature appears a fabulous image of Yavadvīpa – rich in gold and precious stones. The authors of Indian treatises on cosmography accepted the Greek idea of the spherical form of the Earth, but gave it a peculiar interpretation. The famous Indian astronomer Āryabhaṭa, who lived in the fifth century AD, places Yavadvīpa, Siddhapura ("City of the Blessed" = Insulae Fortunatae), Laṅkā and the "Roman country" on four cardinal points of the globe. In his presentation, the scientific theory of the Greeks was included in the mythological picture of the world. These representations were also reproduced in the works of the medieval followers of Āryabhaṭa. Moreover, in these treatises Lanka and the Roman country can turn into cities, and the island of Java into the fortress of Yama, the god of the Death. Their localization has nothing to do with reality.

Keywords: Insulae Fortunatae, Java, Greek geography, Indian cosmography

To cite this article: Vigasin A.A. Islands at the end of Oikoumene. Aristeas (2020): 156–168.

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Author:

Alexey A. Vigasin