Aristeas of Proconnesus

Aristeas, of Proconnesus (an island in the Propontis), an early Greek traveller of, probably, the seventh century BC, and supposedly the possessor of magical powers which enabled him to leave the body and return to it at will. He was a devoted follower of Apollo and introduced the cult of the god at Metapontum in south Italy. Inspired by Apollo he visited the peoples of the far north beyond the Black Sea, reaching the Issedonēs, beyond whom lay the Arimaspians. He wrote about his travels in an epic poem of three books, the Arimaspeia, which was subsequently regarded as a source of geographical and historical information. Scanty fragments survive which are purported to come from this poem.

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