Hippopodes
{{Short description|Mythological race of humanoids}}
Hippopodes, meaning "horse-footed," is an allegorical creature in Greek mythology that is often associated with greed. According to the myth, the Hippopodes were a tribe of beings with the lower bodies of horses and the upper bodies of men. They were said to have guarded a fabulous treasure, but their insatiable greed made them unwilling to share it with anyone. This greed ultimately led to their downfall. The allegory of the Hippopodes serves as a cautionary tale against the dangers of greed and avarice.{{cite book |last=Smith |first=W |author-link= |date=1873 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology|page=291}}
Ancient sources
According to some ancient geographers, the Hippopodes shared an island with two other legendary races: the Panotti and Oeonae. Pliny the Elder's Natural History locates this island near the Scythian coast;{{cite web|url=http://www.theoi.com/Phylos/Hippopodes.html|title=Hippopodes|accessdate=2008-12-28|work=Theoi Greek Mythology}} Pomponius Mela's De situ orbis places it in or around the North Sea, mentioning it alongside Denmark and the Orkney Islands (Mela iii. § 56).{{cite book |title=Pomponius Mela's Description of the World |first=Frank E. |last=Romer |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015042048507 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |date=1998 |isbn= 9780472084524}}
Adam of Bremen wrote in the 11th century that the Scritofinni could run faster than wild animals.{{cite book |last1=Fjellström |first1=Phebe |title=Samernas samhälle i tradition och nutid: [Lappish society in tradition and the present day] |date=1986 |publisher=Norstedt |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-1-863632-2}} Olaus Magnus addresses this in his work Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, where he explains that the Scritofinni gets their name from the jumping motion they perform while hunting on skis.{{cite book |last1=Magnus|first1=Olaus|title=Historia om de nordiska folken |date=1555 |page=18}} The same connection can also be seen in Abraham Ortelius's map Europam, Sive Celticam Veterem from 1595 where he places Hippopodes and Scricofinni in the same area of northern Scandinavia.{{cite web|url=https://vividmaps.com/celtic-europe-by-abraham-ortelius-1595/|title=Celctic Europe by Abraham Ortelius|date=6 September 2015|accessdate=2020-05-09}}
Later accounts
The Travels of Sir John Mandeville places the Hippopodes in Maritime Southeast Asia, and adds that they are particularly fleet-footed and hunt by running down their prey.{{cite book |last1=Mandeville |first1=Sir John |title=The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville, Kt. which Treateth of the Way to Hierusalem: And of Marvayles of Inde, with Other Ilands and Countryes |date=1883 |publisher=Reeves and Turner |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/voiagetravaileof00manduoft/page/205 205] |url=https://archive.org/details/voiagetravaileof00manduoft |accessdate=1 September 2019}}
A 2014 multispectral imaging project led by Chet van Duzer revealed that a {{Circa|1491}} map created by Henricus Martellus Germanus and likely used by Christopher Columbus located the Hippopodes in Central Asia.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |title=A 500-year-old map used by Columbus reveals its secrets |date=8 October 2018 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/10/columbus-map-discovery-secrets-new-world/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026103319/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/10/columbus-map-discovery-secrets-new-world/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |publisher=National Geographic |accessdate=26 August 2019}}