Cryotopia
By: Brian Lester
Relative Location on a Current Map
Cryotopia was an ancient frozen civilization. The site of where it used to be is modern day Antarctica. This civilization was huge! Larger than even Mesopotamia. It covered the entire continent of Antarctica and was a peaceful place. The people of Cryotopia only traded with each other and never interacted with the other ancient civilizations.
Antarctica Today
This is what Antarctica looks like today.
Penguin
The Cryotopians had to deal with many animals, dangerous and peaceful. One of them was a penguin.
Polar Bear
This majestic creature is actually a killing machine and can be quite dangerous when provoked.
Time Period of Study
Cryotopia flourished from 3000 B.C.E to 1000 B.C.E . This was the same time as many of the other Ancient Civilizations. They rarely had contact with the outside world beyond the reaches of their safe frozen wasteland. This Ancient Civilization was around for 2000 years and we have not uncovered much of their history...yet.
Famous Landmarks
One of Cryotopia's most famous landmarks was the ice palace. It was enormous and magnificent. Fit for a king. That is also who actually lived there. The king and queen lived in the palace for their entire lives and every ruler lived there. Another one of Cryotopia's famous landmarks was a giant fishing hole in the center of the entire civilization. This was where anyone could come and fish for whatever purpose. Cryotopia was an advanced ancient civilization and was littered with important and famous landmarks. The picture below is rumored to be what the ice palace actually looked like!
Jobs/Responsibilities
The adult males of Cryotopia had many jobs. They had to build ships, fish, hunt, keep records, and protect their civilization from possible invaders. The male children of Cryotopia helped their father with some of their jobs and if they were from a wealthy family they went to school to learn their written language, so that they could keep records. The adult females of Cryotopia were highly respected unlike some other ancient civilizations. They cooked, cleaned, fished, took care of the children, and learned archery as a last defense for the civilization. The female children of Cryotopia learned from their mother or went to school to learn the written language. Their mothers taught them many of the skills they needed to live life. Women and men were allowed to marry for love instead of an arranged marriage like many of the other ancient civilizations at the time.
Terrain/Environment
In Cryotopia the highest elevation was Fresh Freeze Run. Fresh Freeze Run was an enormous source of fresh water for the Cryotopians. It provided cold and clean water for many people in the Ancient civilization. Others who lived farther away from Fresh Freeze Run used other glacier melts as fresh water. In Cryotopia it was very cold and temperatures could reach below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and was usually really cold. They used animal furs and skins to keep warm during the cold months. Over time many of the people in Cryotopia became accustomed to the cold weather and adapted to it. The temperature in Cryotopia was usually cold, but in the summer could warm up a bit. It was a bit of a desolate place with barren wastelands, but the Cryotopians made do with what they had. Down below is an image of a glacier today with penguins on it.
Government
The Government in Cryotopia was a monarchy. They were ruled by a king and queen. They were also a dynasty. In fact only one dynasty ruled Cryotopia ever. They were the cryozoic dynasty and they ruled for the entire time period of Cryotopia. According to the records most of the kings in the cryozoic dynasty were wise and fair rulers. When this ancient civilization was first started the people chose the first ruler and that was the beginning of the cryozoic dynasty.
Religion
The Cryotopians had only one interaction with the outside world which brought in their religion. The Cryotopians once sailed into the upper world and came in contact with the Greeks. There was a large battle and the Greeks won, but the Cryotopians took some Greek priests and soldiers back with them. Once back in Cryotopia the Greek priests taught the Greek Religion to all of Cryotopia. Of course the religion was morphed a bit and changed to stories that fit Cryotopia, but it became their religion as well. Another thing that influenced the Cryotopians that was from Greece were the names such as names from mythology. Down below is a picture of Zeus, the sky god and king of the gods in both Greek culture as well as Cryotopian culture.
Famous People
Alexander
Alexander was not very rich and was in fact poor. He didn't go to school, but was born around the start of the ancient civilization. When the royal family needed somewhere to live and call home, Alexander lived up to the task. He was in charge of the building and designs of the magnificent ice palace that the royal family would live in. Once it was done they greatly rewarded Alexander and his family for his hard work. Alexander's story lived on in Cryotopia.
Bellerophon The Brave
Bellerophon was the prince of Cryotopia and was in line for the throne. When he finally became king a terrible disease struck the entire civilization. Everyone blamed Bellerophon until he found the cure. He found out that if the infected ate seal fat for a week and nothing else than you would be cured of your illness. Bellerophon also became the royal healer and fist doctor of Cryotopia. All of the people gave him the title of "Bellerophon The Brave" because he was brave to even get near one of the sick because he was the king.
Ariadne
Ariadne was a queen of Cryotopia who was kind, generous and intelligent. She invented ice catapults in Cryotopia. The people and the armies were impressed at this important discovery in military technology. For this invention she was remembered and valued among the people of Cryotopia.
Cadmus The courageous
Cadmus went on the voyage to Greece and was in charge of the mission. When they arrived it was a massacre. Many of the Cryotopians that came on the journey were killed and their leader fought the Greeks so courageously that he earned the name "Cadmus The Courageous". He whirled through enemy ranks slaughtering Greek soldiers, but unfortunately took a spear to the back and died.
Traditional Clothing
In Cryotopia it was obviously really cold so the locals had clothes to deal with that. They would skin animals with soft and warm fur and use it to make clothes. They would also use the skin and fat which was harder to get off for special occasions. The king and queen would wear very nice fur and skin clothing to depict their class and rank over others. The king and queen would also wear polar bear skins and fur because they were expensive, warm, soft, and beautiful. If you were brave enough to get close to a polar bear and killed it you would normally offer it to the royal family or make clothes out of it yourself. This was rare though seeing as how the polar bear was one of the most ferocious beasts of Cryotopia. These were their everyday clothes because of the temperatures in Cryotopia. Down below is a picture of polar bear fur and its texture.
Cryotopia's Legend
Cryotopia is mostly remembered as being a peaceful place. It is famous for inventing ice catapults. They also were the first to use polar bear skin for clothing. Another thing that Cryotopia was famous for was being the first to use seal fat and its healing properties. Cryotopia never traded with other ancient civilizations, but instead traded around the civilization. Cryotopia was not named until the Greek priests arrived there. They named the city "Cryotopia" because "cryo" means cold and "top' means place so it was named "cold place".
Citations
Antarctica Today - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJiuWkBWzw
Penguin - https://goralewicz.com/blog/penguin-3-1-follow-up/
Polar Bear - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear
Ice Palace - http://dreamworldbackdrops.com/index.php?module=cms&name=catalog&action=details&id=189
Glacier and Penguins - http://www.holtz.org/Library/Images/Slideshows/Gallery/Fauna/Birds/
Zeus - https://www.emaze.com/@AOCOLIFC/Greek-Mythology
Polar Bear Fur - https://wallpaperscraft.com/download/polar_bear_nose_eyes_hair_fur_73740/1920x1080