Hyperborea

About

Hyperborea is a mythological and mystical utopian land located in a geographically disputed section of the Northern Hemisphere. In meme culture, Hyperborea and Hyperboreans have been often mentioned in Nordicist debates and conspiracy theories (mostly ironic), as well as appearing in Little Dark Age video edits, as well as Schizowave and Goyte Wokeuplikethis memes.

Origin

Literally meaning "Beyond The North Wind", Hyperborea's earliest traceable written sources are from ancient Greece, by Greek author Herodotus, who mentions Hyperborea in detail in Histories (Book IV, Chapters 32–36), which dates from c. 450 BC. Herodotus however mentioned of 3 earlier authors writing about Hyperborea: Hesiod, Homer and Aristeas. Hyperborea was considered by Roman authors a terrae incognitae (unknown land), lost civilization and by later European authors a "Lost Continent" of the likes of other mythological lands such as Thule, Atlantis, Shambhala and Lemuria.^[1][2][3]

Location and Description

Hyperborea's hypothetical location vary from author to author. Pindar, a contemporary of Herodotus, believed it being just beyond the Riphean Mountains, while going by Aristeas, it could have been located in the Kazakh Steppe. Herodotus assumed that Hyperborea was located somewhere in Northeast Asia. Later Greek and Roman authors identified Hyperboreans as real inhabitants of northern nations, such as Celts, Dacians, Britons and others.^[4] Russian and Soviet writers and authors believed that Hyperborea was a lost civilization in modern-day Russia, possibly located in Siberia.^[5][6] However, some Scandinavian authors identified themselves as the Hyperboreans. This idea was especially strong during the 17th century in Sweden, where the later representatives of the ideology of Gothicism declared the Scandinavian peninsula to be both the lost Atlantis and the Hyperborean land.^[7][8][9] Pindar described Hyperboreans as superhuman beings:

Never the Muse is absent
from their ways: lyres clash and flutes cry
and everywhere maiden choruses whirling.
Neither disease nor bitter old age is mixed
in their sacred blood; far from labor and battle they live.^[1]

Despite its commonly associated northern location, Hyperboreans were believed to inhabit a sunny, temperate, and divinely-blessed land of eternal spring, with the oldest myths portraying them as the favorites of Apollo.^[10] German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche stated that modern Germans are Hyperboreans in The Anti-Christ.^[11]

Believed also to be the origin of the Aryan race, Hyperborea (along with other terrae incognitae) were subject of research by the Ahnenerbe and other Nazi organizations.^[12][13][14]

Aesthetics

Hyperborea's geographical appearance is often associated with the first map of the North Pole, created in 1623 by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator (shown, below).^[15]

Soviet writer Vsevolod Ivanov created several artworks depicting the daily lives of Hyperboreans, whom he interpreted to be Kievan-Rus' people and past inhabitants of modern-day Russia. In Ivanov's artworks, titled "Vedic Russia", Hyperborea is filled with massive wooden architectural constructions, snowy villages, crashed alien spaceships, domesticated mammoths and bears, green plains, Pagan deities, symbols and creatures visually appearing in the distance or in the skies of the mythological land (examples shown, below).^[16][17]

Spread

Hyperborea has appeared in 4chan posts and discussions since late November 2008, with occasional shitposts about Esoteric Nazism and conspiracy theories^[18] (example shown, below).

Hyperborea and memes related to it gained popularity on iFunny in 2020, with various videos, captioned gifs and memes regarding the descendants of the Hyperboreans. The example using Kong, for instance, was uploaded on iFunny by the user Cajun^[19] on January 25th, 2021, where it received 100 likes in nine months (shown below, center).

On YouTube

On February 26th, 2011, HolyOrderr uploaded a video^[20] titled "Slavic Aryan Dream / Slavic-Hyperborean mythology / Golden Age of Aryan race", which showcased various of Ivanov's artworks. The video received over 175,000 views and 4,000 likes in 10 years (shown, below).

On February 14th, 2021, Vikerdium uploaded a video^[21] titled "apu discovers hyperborea", showing an initially depressed and on the verge of suicide Apu Apustaja suddenly finding Hyperborea and starting his new life there in a montage as Little Dark Age by MGMT played in the background. The video received over 400,000 views and 26,000 likes in 8 months (shown, below).

On March 28th, 2021, Streitmacht des Mannes uploaded a video^[22] titled "RETVRN TO HYPERBOREA", showing American bodybuilder Rich Piana taking a Wojak to Hyperborea as Running Up That Hill by Meg Myers played in the background. The video received over 92,000 views and 5,100 likes in 7 months (shown, below).

On April 20th, 2021, YouTube channel Aleksandr Vasilevsky uploaded a video^[23] titled "The New Order – Anthem of Hyperborea – Hoi4". The video showcases one of Ivanov's artworks and a map of Russia as Svetovid by Jan J. Močnik is being played. Garnering over 122,000 views and 3,500 likes in 6 months, the song is often featured in various memes about Hyperborea (shown, below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References