Hanno the Navigator | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Carthaginian |
| Occupation(s) | Explorer, possibly king |
| Years active | 5th century BC |
| Known for | Naval exploration of the western coast of Africa |
| Works | Aperiplus about his journey |
| Family | Magonid |
Hanno the Navigator (sometimes "Hannon";Punic:𐤇𐤍𐤀,ḤNʾ;[1]Greek:Ἄννων,romanized: Annōn[2]) was aCarthaginian explorer (sometimes identified as a king) who lived during thefifth century BC, known for hisnaval expedition along the coast ofWest Africa. However, the only source of this voyage is aperiplus translated into Greek.
Historians have attempted to identify specific locations along Hanno's route, based on theperiplus. According to some modern analyses, his expedition could have potentially reached as far south asGabon; still, according to other sources, he could not have sailed much farther than coastal southernMorocco.[3]
The name of Hanno was given to many Carthaginians. Ancient texts which specifically mention Hanno the Navigator do not provide much in the way of positively identifying him; some authors referred to him as a king, while others referred to him with theLatin wordsdux (leader, general) orimperator (commander, emperor).[4] The Greek translation of Hanno'speriplus account names him abasileus,[5] a term which may be interpreted as "king", but was commonly used for other high-level Carthaginian officials.[6]
The consensus of scholarship places Hanno as living sometime in the 5th century BC,[note 1] identifying him as a member of the aristocraticMagonid family.[8] R.C.C. Law identifies Hanno as the son ofHamilcar I.[9]
Hanno's account, theperiplus (lit. circumnavigation), remains extant in Greek-language manuscripts. The original version, written in thePunic language, has been lost. The Greek translation is abridged[10][11] and 101 lines long.[10] While it contains contradictions and obvious errors,[12] it is probably derived from an original Carthaginian text.[8] Theperiplus has survived as "the nearest we have to a specimen of Carthaginian 'literature' "[8] and one of the few extant accounts of ancient exploration penned by the explorer himself.[13]
In the fifth century, the text was translated into Greek. Over the centuries, the translation was copied several times by Greek andGreek-speaking Roman clerks. Two copies remain extant, dating to the 9th and 14th centuries.[11]Conrad Gessner produced the firstLatin translation, printed at Zurich in 1559.[14]
This summary is based on a translation by Al. N. Oikonomides.[15] Theproper names are unchanged from the translation. It reflects the views of the translator and may ignore more widely accepted theories among scholars.
As the work begins, "this is the report of theperiplus of Hanno, king of the Carthaginians, into theLibyan areas of the earth beyond thePillars of Hercules which he dedicated in the sanctuary ofKronos."[16] With 60 ships and 30,000 people, Hanno intends to found cities along the African coast. He first founds one city, then sails some distance and founds five others.[note 2] Arriving at a river, the Carthaginians meet the Lixitae, a friendly nomadic tribe. They learn of the nearbyEthiopians, and taking aboard several Lixitae, set sail again. At the small island Kerne, another settlement is built. Around the lake Chretes and an unnamed river, there are savage men and large wild beasts[note 3] respectively. After returning to Kerne, they sail further south down Africa, finding Ethiopians whose language even the Lixitae interpreters do not understand. Passing further, Hanno finds an "immense opening of the sea",[17] from which fires may be sighted. At a bay called the "Horn of the West", they land on an island where humans live. The Carthaginians hurry away in fear[note 4] and reach lands where there are many flames. A very tall mountain is there. Finally arriving at a bay, the "Horn of the South", there is an island with hostile, hirsute men named "Gorillas" (see§ Gorillai). Three of them are killed, their skins brought home to Carthage. Having run out of provisions, they do not sail further. Theperiplus abruptly ends here[10] without discussing the return journey.
Both ancient and modern authors have criticized the work. Most attempts to locate the places described in theperiplus based on the reported sailing distances and directions have failed.[12] To make the text more accurate, scholars have triedtextual criticism. Ultimately, the Carthaginians probably edited the real account to protect their trade: other countries would not be able to identify the places described, while Carthaginians could still boast about their accomplishments.[12]
Oikonomides theorizes that the hypothetical Punic manuscript that was translated into Greek was incomplete itself: it left out the later parts of the originalperiplus. The ending of the narrative is abrupt, and it would also have been logically impossible for the expedition to end as described. Therefore, he argues, the final two lines must have been inserted to compensate for an incomplete manuscript.[10]
Carthage dispatched Hanno, at the head of afleet of 60 ships, to explore andcolonize the northwestern coast of Africa.[18] He sailed west from Carthage toward theIberian Peninsula, passing through theStrait of Gibraltar and founding or repopulating seven colonies along the coast of (what is now)Morocco. He then continued at least some distance further south along the continent's Atlantic coast, allegedly encountering variousindigenous peoples along his way, who met the fleet with a range of "welcomes".
Thegold trade had been a vital foundation of the Carthaginian empire from the fifth century BC, and the desire to secure the gold route to West Africa may have been the original motivation for the exploration ofsub-Saharan Africa.[19][12]
A number of scholars have commented upon Hanno's voyage, stating that, in many cases, the analyses have been to refine information and interpretation of the original account. William Smith points out that the complement of personnel totalled 30,000 men, and that the core mission included the intent to found Carthaginian (or in the older parlance 'Libyophoenician') towns.[20] Other sources have questioned this high number of men, with some suggesting 5,000 to be a more accurate number.[6] R.C.C. Law notes that "It is a measure of the obscurity of the problem that while some commentators have argued that Hanno reached the Gabon area, others have taken him no further than southern Morocco."[3]
Harden reports a consensus that the expedition reached at least as far asSenegal.[21] Due to the vagueness of thePeriplus, estimates for the voyage's distance range from under 700 miles (1,100 km) to at least 3,000 miles (4,800 km).[22] Some agree he could have reachedGambia. However, Harden mentions disagreement as to the farthest limit of Hanno's explorations:Sierra Leone,Cameroon, orGabon. He notes the description ofMount Cameroon, a 4,040-metre (13,250 ft)volcano, more closely matches Hanno's description thanGuinea's 890-metre (2,920 ft) Mount Kakoulima. Warmington prefers Mount Kakoulima, considering Mount Cameroon too "distant".[23]
French historian Raymond Mauny, in his 1955 article "La navigation sur les côtes du Sahara pendant l'antiquité", argued that ancient navigators (Hanno,Euthymenes,Scylax, etc.) could not have sailed south along the Atlantic coast much farther thanCape Bojador, in the territory ofWestern Sahara. Carthage, reportedly, knew of and conducted some trade with the peoples of theCanary Islands; ancient geographers were aware of the archipelago, as well, though nothing further south. Ships with square sails, without a sternrudder, might navigate south, but the winds and currents throughout the year would complicate or prevent the return trip from Senegal to Morocco.Oared ships might be able to achieve the return northward, but only with very great difficulties and a large crew. Mauny assumed that Hanno did not get farther than the mouth of the riverDrâa, attributing artifacts found onMogador Island to the expedition described in thePeriplus of Pseudo-Scylax (dated mid-4th century BC) and noting that no evidence of Mediterranean trade further south had yet been found. The author ends by suggesting archaeological investigations of the islands along the coast, such asCape Verde, or the île de Herné ('Dragon Island', nearDakhla, Western Sahara) where ancient adventurers may have been stranded and settled.[24]
The end of theperiplus describes an island populated with hairy and savage people. Attempts to capture the men failed. Three of the women were taken, but were so ferocious that they were killed, their skins brought home to Carthage.[25] The skins were kept in the Temple of Juno (Tanit orAstarte) on Hanno's return and, according toPliny the Elder, survived until theRoman destruction of Carthage in 146 BC, some 350 years after Hanno's expedition.[11][26]
Hanno's interpreters of an African tribe (Lixites or Nasamonians) called the peopleGorillai (inGreek,Γόριλλαι).[25] In 1847, thegorilla, an ape species, wasscientifically described and named after theGorillai. The authors did not affirmatively identify Hanno'sGorillai as the gorilla.[27]
The text was known to the RomanPliny the Elder (c. 23–79) and the GreekArrian of Nicomedia (c. 86–160).
While the power of Carthage was at its height, Hanno published an account of a voyage which he made from Gades [modernCádiz] to the extremity ofArabia;Himilco was also sent, about the same time, to explore the remote parts of Europe.
— Pliny the Elder,The Natural History 2.67[28]
Pliny may have recorded the time vaguely because he was ignorant of the actual date.[19] His claim that Hanno completely circumnavigated Africa, reaching Arabia, is considered unrealistic by contemporary scholarship.
Arrian mentions Hanno's voyage at the end of hisAnabasis of Alexander VIII (Indica):
Hannon the Libyan set out from Carthage with Libya on his left and sailed out beyond the Pillars of Heracles into the Outer Sea, continuing his voyage then in an easterly direction for a total of thirty-five days: but when he eventually turned south he met a number of crippling obstacles—lack of water, burning heat, streams of lava gushing into the sea.
Greek historianHerodotus, writing around 430 BC, described Carthaginian trade on the Moroccan coast (Histories 4.196[30]), though it is doubtful whether he was aware of Hanno's voyage itself.[19]
The lunar craterHanno is named after him.[31]
Singer-songwriterAl Stewart.[32] has a song about Hanno on his albumSparks of Ancient Light
In the 16th century, the voyage of Hanno saw increased scholarly interest from Europeans in anage when European exploration and navigation were flourishing. Already then, the extent of Hanno's voyage was debated.[33]
