Before the famous Greek geographer Pytheas of Massilia (c.325) discovered Thule several centuries prior to the common era, and prior to the Viking explorer Naddoður casting his eyes on what we know as Iceland in the ninth century, there was Ireland. Preceding the voyage of Erik Thorvaldsson better known as Erik the Red (circa 950 AD – circa 1003 AD) to Greenland and earlier than Columbus landing on Guanahani (San Salvador) in the Bahamas, Ireland was known to the world as Hibernia. Ireland (née Hibernia, meaning “the land of winter”) was then thought to be the end of the known world, the point farthest west. Staring at the sea from the lofty summits of the Cliffs of Moher was akin to staring into infinity.
The Cliffs of Moher where the world was once thought to end. Photo credit: Patrick McCabe (Adobe.)
Popular superstitions
Until Columbus, most people thought the world was flat. And even if it was disc-like as some hypothesized, it was still flat. It you ventured too far, you would fall off. Or, before reaching the edge of the world, you would be attacked by frightful sea monsters. Your ship would sink and you would perish and no one would ever learn of your fate.
Sailors throughout human history have been known to be superstitious. Author Christine Brito explains how legends of fearful sea creatures begin:
A natural phenomenon that is not understood, or not well understood, may lead to the creation of monsters and fantastic beings. For the great majority of human history, it was not possible to stop or slow the moment of natural observation. It was impossible to freeze time or stop the motion of the observed animal, particularly if it moved quickly (both in the sea and on land) or was well camouflaged in its habitat, or under severe climatic or oceanographic conditions. A glimpse did not allow the capture of the full essence of the animal. The speed of events in nature overcame the mental record of the occurrence, especially if the animal or its environment were not known. It was easy to add a part of a fish to a whale or a mermaid’s tale to a manatee or incorporate fins or limbs where they did not exist.”
Caimans, and Sea Lions.” Humans and Aquatic Animals in Early Modern America and Africa, Amsterdam University Press, 2023, pp. 93–146. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.5076339.8.
Some of the more imaginative and ferocious creature of the sea back then included the Kraken, sea serpents, the Scylla and Charybdis mentioned in Homer’s Oddyssey, Leviathan,giant squid, mermaids and sirens. Ulysses, incidentally, had heard of the siren’s song which could drive a man mad. So, he ordered his crew to lash him to the mast when they passed near the sirens. His crew was ordered to put wax in their ears so while he could hear the singing, his crew could not. But was Ulysses aware of a prophecy from the Oracle that said if any man slipped by the sirens, the creatures would be turned to stone even as Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt? Today, the waters off the Italian city of Sorrento (near Naples) are said to contain the siren’s remains. But the superstitions that haunted the sailors were likewise known to the mapmakers. They filled in the unknow parts of their charts with the words of warning: “Here be dragons.”
Cardinal points
When thinking of compass points, we associate particular attributions to certain cardinal directions. East, for example, is thought to represent birth, life and of course, a new day. Hence, medieval cathedrals were generally built with the entrance to the structures facing the west and the altar on the east side, so people face east even as they pray. The country of Japan has historically been known as the Land of the Rising Sun (Nippon) which is evident by its national flag. The sun is particularly important in Shintoism and Buddhism as well, both of which serve to reinforce the national myths. The direction West, however, has suggestions of autumn, perhaps of death and darkness as well because the light of the sinking sun appears to be extinguished by the ocean. Yet, there is a certain lure of the West beyond the hope and economic rewards of trade routes to the Orient and the notion of Manifest Destiny.
Early maps reveal a certain progression of thought by their makers. They evolved much as a child develops a sense of identity. Infants initially focus on their mouths, and only later become more aware of their extremities. So, it would not be unusual for the ancient Greeks to produce a map of their known world with Athens as the center, or the Romans to place Rome prominently on their maps. Afterwards, the Greeks used a “core-periphery“ approach where the center of the map included mature, accomplished civilizations while savage uncivilized barbarians were relegated the outer margins of the map along with monsterous creatures and mishapen humans. The ocean was thought to be a river that circled the dry lands of the planet, and it was populated with sea monsters and leviathans as mentioned above.
Elysium and Avalon
Thus, Homer located the Elysian Fields (or Elysium) which was the Realm of the Blessed Dead on the western edge of the Earth, by the stream of Oceanos1 as did the Greek poet Hesoid. And, while Greeks and Romans might fear death even as we might, the mythological lands to the west of Ireland held the promise of a better eternal life. Avalon, the Celtic equivalent of Elysium where Arthur was taken when mortally wounded by his son Mordred, was said by some sources to be located west of Ireland, as Lope Garcia de Salazar writes in his translation of du Graal (Perceval and the Holy Grail.) Not all authorities agree, however.
Death of Arthur Rex. Painting by James Archer. “The scene depicts the death of the legendary King Arthur. Laid out across the foreground is the wounded body of the King encircled by four grieving women within a glade; he wears a suit of chainmail under a tunic, bearing the emblem of a dragon on the chest, with a blanket of fur covering his legs. His head rests on the lap of his Queen, seated on a cushion placed on the ground to the left of the composition, who strokes his brow and gazes down into his face. Seated at his side is the second female figure, wearing a crown, with an open book upon her lap and offering the King the contents of a tiny bowl held to his chin. Kneeling at his feet is the third figure, her head bowed and weeping into her hands. The fourth figure stands behind the second figure in the centre of the composition, resting her head against the trunk of a tree, a melancholy expression on her face. Slightly apart from and to the upper right of the group, and seen in profile to the left, is the almost transparent and weightless figure of a winged female, holding a golden grail. Beyond the glade is a shoreline. To the left, is an encounter on the beach between a young woman in rich clothing and an elderly male figure in a monk’s habit, who’s face is hidden by his hood with only a long, white beard showing – these figures are understood to be Nimue and Merlin. To the right, approaching the coast on choppy seas, is a boat with its sails drawn up – the boat carries the cure for Arthur’s injuries from the Isle of Avalon. On the left horizon is a range of mountains capped with dark clouds.” ArtUK. Credit: Pictures Now (Alamy.)
The Celts
The Celts (aka the Gaels) were first mentioned in history by the Greeks around 500 BC using the term Keltoi (or alternately Keltai or Galatai.) The Romans later referred to them as Celti, Celtae and Galli. The Celts were not the indigenous inhabitants of Ireland, but they quickly subdued anyone they encountered. So, they were truly fierce and as barbaric as the Greeks might have predicted. Strabo, writing in the first century BC. echoes the disdain that the more civilized nations had for the inhabitants of Ireland/Hibernia, claiming that they practiced cannibalism and incest. Diodorus Siculus of the first century BC repeats this accusation though neither had first hand knowledge.
The Celts originated in central Europe in the general area of the headwaters of the Danube River. They were not a distinct ethnic group, but rather a collection of tribes. Though distinct from each other, the tribes had a similar language, religion and culture. Celts eventually migrated to England and from there to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. With them they brought their Gaeilge as a language and Irish Gaelic became the predominent language in Erie before it was co-opted by English over the past century.
The Roman Empire
Rome conquered England and Wales early on, and tried to subdue Scotland without success on three different occasions. They perhaps intended to invade Ireland (Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman general who ruled England in the first century AD and the father-in-law to the famous historian Tacitus thought he could conquer Ireland with a single legion, but he never tried.) Julius Caesar, Claudius and Hadrian were just a few rulers of Rome who visited Britain, though they did not step foot in Ireland. The fact that England came under the administration of Rome and Ireland did not create lasting differences between the two countries, including how Catholicism was implemented.
The Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher consist of sandstone, siltstone and shale. Strata are clearly observed in the rockface. The shale contains ammonoid and crinoid fossils which indicate the entire structure was suberged at some point in time.
There are many signs at the Cliffs warning people away from the edge, because the sandstone layer is unstable and subject to collapse. Plus, the Cliffs are in some sense being undermined by the action of waves as they crash into the base of the structure. Tragically, there are suicides, however as well as possible accidents that take place at the cliffs, the highest elevation of which is 700 feet about the surface of the restless sea where the waves dash into the rocks on the cliff’s base. According to one source:
Overall, 66 deaths occurred on or at the base of the Cliffs of Moher during the period 1993 through August 2017. In total, 18 (27.3%) of the victims were international visitors to Ireland, including 11 males (61.1%).“
Also (ibid)2
Myths and legends
Image credit: (Adobe.)
The Cliffs of Mohar are also steeped in legend as is much of Ireland. For example, fleeing the rising influence of Christinity in Ireland, a number of the indigenous dieties went into hiding, to eventually emerge as foals who perished while racing across the summit of the Cliffs.
Mohar also has an account of a mermaid in its history. She was spotted out of the water and a local man engaged her in conversation. As she prepared to leave to return to the sea, the man snatched her magical cloak from her and without it she was powerless to return to her aquatic form. He forced her to marry him and she bore him children, but all the while she searched for her cloak, until she found it one day while her husband was away. When her husband returned, she and the cloak had forever disappeared.
There are other myths as well dealing with witches and lost cities. You can learn about these by visiting the official site here.
Ireland is no longer considered to be the end of the world. But the mystery and fascination of that country continue to enchant us all.
Footnotes
1Oceanus was originally considered to be a titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia. Later it became a place synonymous with the great river (ocean) surrounding the known world.
2“The mean age of travellers (n = 17) was 34.2 years. Victims were nationals of 12 different countries, with 13 being European nationals. Most deaths occurred in summer (n = 7) or spring (n = 6), with eight deaths (44%) reported at weekends. In total, 15 victims (83.3%) had walked along the cliff path alone. A jump or fall from the cliffs was witnessed in only two cases (11.1%). Post-mortem examinations revealed multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Four cases had evidence of alcohol intoxication. Suicide or open verdicts were returned in 50% (n = 9) of the cases.
Conclusions: Travelling alone to the site, purchasing one-way tickets, or depositing belongings on the clifftop support the possibility of suicidal intent, while being intoxicated could be a co-factor in suicidal jumps or support the possibility of an accidental fall. This knowledge could help to identify travellers at the greatest risk of death at cliffs.”
