The meaning of Hyperborea

Where does Hyperborea originally derive from?

In Greek mythology the Hyperboreans were mythical people who lived in the north of Thrace. The Greeks thought that Boreas, the North Wind, lived in Thrace, and that therefore Hyperborea was an unspecified region in the northern lands that lay beyond the north wind.

In many versions of the story, Hyperboreans lived north of the Riphean Mountains, which shielded them from the effects of the cold North Wind. The oldest myths portray them as the favourites of Apollo, and some ancient Greek writers regarded the Hyperboreans as the mythical founders of Apollo’s shrines at Delos and Delphi.

Map of the North Pole, by Gerardus Mercator (1623). Source: Wikipedia

Later writers disagreed on the existence and location of the Hyperboreans, with some regarding them as purely mythological, and others connecting them to real-world peoples and places in northern Eurasia e.g. Britain, Scandinavia, or Siberia.

Why did Hyperborea become the name of the company?

Myths are the collective story of what our lives mean. We might think that myths are like fairy tales, enjoyed when we are children, yet left behind when the cares of adulthood force us to face hard reality but human beings cannot survive without meaning.

People in general are encouraged to give meaning in myths in personal ways. To Evangelos (Founder of Hyperborea company) Hyperborea means “a mystical and magical land that lives in every person’s heart. It is a land that has no limits, it is very beautiful with overwhelming nature that challenges our inner selves”.

The reason that he chose this concept as the name of his company is that Hyperborea-concept became a real place to him when he moved here, in Iceland.

“It is the country that brought together the extreme natural beauty that I was dreaming about together with the inspiration to search my inner self. Also, It matched perfectly to my personality considering that this concept derived by Greek books. It makes me feel connected to my culture, as I am Greek.

I wish and hope that everybody can find their Hyperborea both on their hearts but also on the map. Iceland could be that place for many people, I strongly believe that, I have witnessed many people in my environment mentioning how much the loneliness and nature of the country inspire self growth and awareness.”