Historical texts often have names andplace names that are not known in modern language. For example, the question often arises: “Which river did the ancient Greeks call Borysfen?” This article provides information about this ancient river, as well as about the origin of the word itself.
Ancient river
We give a general answer to the question of which river the ancient Greeks called Borysfen. This is the ancient Greek name of the Dnieper River.
For the first time this name (σορυσθεvης) is mentioned in the books of ancient Greece in the 5th century BC - the great historian Herodot used to call it the Dnieper, who described it as a Scythian "river from the north."
Roman historians gave their name - the name "Danapris" (Danapris), and the Slavs in the period of Ancient Russia called this river "Slavutych".
Description of ancient Borisfen
Herodot writes about Borisfen in the Scythian country as aboutone of the greatest rivers known in the ancient world. In full flow, it is inferior only to the Egyptian Nile, the water is very clean and pleasant to taste. There were a huge number of beautiful meadows and pastures along the banks of the ancient Dnieper, and a lot of fish were found in the river itself - the “antacay” (sturgeon) were especially tasty, they were caught near the mouth, where they also mined salt.
The origins of the Dnieper were unknown to ancient historians,and in its lower reaches, Borisfen was connected to the Gipanis River (Bug) and flowed into the Black Sea (Euksinsky Pont), and in this place in the 6th century BC, the Greeks built the city of Olbia (“happy”), and the inhabitants of the city were called “ borysphenite ".
Borysfen - is part of the Dnieper
All that is said above is only a general answer.More specific information about what river the ancient Greeks called Borysfen, allow us to conclude that the modern Dnieper does not exactly correspond to the information recorded by Herodotus.
The fact is that in ancient times the Dnieper was differentmainstream. Herodot informs that this river divides into two branches (Borisphen and Herr proper), which flow into the Black Sea, diverging to the south and east and forming between themselves a large island, where Olbia was located.
Modern scientists believe that the ancient river was divided into two branches (southern and eastern) in the area of present-day Cherkasy.
Thus, answering the question of what river the ancient Greeks called Borysfen, we 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 east to Dnipropetrovsk, is the ancient Herr. And the southern sleeve, which bore the name "Borisfen", does not exist today.
The origin of the name of the river
Speaking about what kind of river in ancient times called Borysfen, you should explain the meaning of this word.
The Dnieper was the main river of Scythia, and the ancient peoples who inhabited its banks worshiped the spirit of the great river.
Herodot writes that the Scythians considered themselves descendants of Targytai, who was the son of Zeus and the daughter of the Borisfen River.
This means that the river Borisfen gave birth to Scythianto the nations, they considered her their ancestor. But Herodotus does not explain the meaning of the word itself, and the origin of the word “Borisfen” has not yet been precisely established.
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 of the channel) is 2201 km.
The Dnieper begins its course on the Valdai Hills and ends in the estuary of the Black Sea, where the river flows after the confluence with the Bug.
Knowing which river the Greeks called Borysfen, you cansay that the Dnieper is now a great river, which flows through the lands of three countries - Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and on its banks there are more than 50 cities, including Kiev - the capital of Ukraine and the “mother of Russian cities”.
