The story of what kind of river the ancient Greeks called Borisfen

In historical texts there are often names and geographical names that are not known in modern language. For example, the question often arises: "What kind of river did the ancient Greeks call Borisphen?" This article provides information about this ancient river, as well as the origin of the word itself.

Ancient river

Let's give a general answer to the question of which river the ancient Greeks called Borisfen. This is the ancient Greek name of the Dnieper River.

For the first time this name (Βορυσθεvης) is mentioned in the books of Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC - the Great historian Herodotus called it the Dnieper, who described it as a Scythian "river from the north".

Roman historians gave their name - the name "Danapris" (Danapris), and Slavs in the period of Ancient Rus called this river "Slavutich".

Description of the ancient Borisfen

Herodotus writes about Borisfene in the country of the Scythians as one of the greatest rivers known in the ancient world. By fullness, it is second only to the Egyptian Nile, the water is very clean and pleasant to the taste. On the banks of the ancient Dnieper was a huge number of beautiful meadows and pastures, and in the river itself was a lot of fish - especially tasty "antakai" (sturgeon), which was caught near the mouth where salt was also extracted.

The origins of the Dnieper were unknown to ancient historians, and in its lower reaches, the Borysfen united with the Gipanis River (Bug) and flowed into the Black Sea ("Euxine Pontus"), and in this place in the 6th century BC the Greeks built the city of Olvia ("happy" ), And the inhabitants of the city were called "borisfenites".

Borisfen is part of the Dnieper

All that is said above is only a general answer. More specific information about which river the ancient Greeks called Borisfen, allow us to conclude that the modern Dnieper does not quite correspond to information recorded by Herodotus.

The fact is that in ancient times the Dnieper had a different track. Herodotus says that this river branches into two branches (actually Borisfen and Herr), which flow into the Black Sea, diverging to the south and east and forming a large island among them, where Olvia was.

Modern scientists believe that the ancient river was divided into two branches (southern and eastern) in the present Cherkasy region.

Thus, answering the question about which river the ancient Greeks called Borisfen, one can say that only the upper part of the existing Dnieper belongs to the ancient Borysfen (approximately to Cherkasy).

The lower part of the Dnieper, which goes to the east to Dnepropetrovsk, is the ancient Herr. And the southern sleeve, which was called "Borisfen", does not exist today.

Origin of the name of the river

Telling about what river in ancient times was called Borysfen, it is necessary to explain the meaning of this word.

The Dnieper was the main river of Scythia, and the ancient peoples inhabiting its shores worshiped the spirit of the great river.

Herodotus writes that the Scythians considered themselves descendants of Targyty, who was the son of Zeus and the daughter of the river Borisfen.

This means that the river Borisfen gave life to the Scythian peoples, they considered it their ancestor. But Herodotus does not explain the meaning of the word itself, and the origin of the word "Borisfen" is still not precisely established.

The modern river

Now the Dnieper is the fourth largest river in Europe and the largest river in Ukraine.

Currently, the length of the Dnieper (after the construction of reservoirs and straightening the channel) is 2201 km.

The Dnieper begins its flow on the Valdai Upland and ends in the estuary of the Black Sea, where the river flows after the confluence with the Bug.

Knowing what kind of river the Greeks called Borisfen, we can say that the Dnieper is still a great river that flows through the lands of three countries - Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and on its shores there are more than 50 cities, including Kiev - the capital of Ukraine and "the mother of cities Russians ".