How the World was Imagined: First Maps and Atlases
Maps have been one of the most significant human creativity for millenary. People have invented and used maps to describe, clarify, and navigate their route within the world.
The atlas of the ancient maps below contains depictions of our planet from Prehistory to the Age of Discovery and the appearance of modern geography during the early contemporary period.
6th century BCE: Babylonian Map of the World (Imago Mundi)
The Babylonian Map of the World (Imago Mundi) is a clay tablet comprising a labelled depiction of the known world. The circular map is focused on the Euphrates. The city of Babylon is displayed on the Euphrates, in the northern half of the plan. The Ocean surrounds Mesopotamia, and eight “regions,” depicted as trilateral sections, are displayed as extending behind the Ocean.
610–546 BCE: Anaximander’s Map
In the centre of the world map published by the Greek geographer, Anaximander could have been Greek city-state Delphi. The Aegean Sea was near the map’s centre and surrounded by three continents, themselves placed in the centre of the ocean and separated like islands by sea and rivers. Europe was bordered on the south by the Mediterranean Sea and was parted from Asia by the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov (Lake Maeotis), and, further east, either by the Rioni (Phasis) River. The Nile flowed south into the ocean, separating Africa (Libya) from Asia.
Anaximander most probable published this map of the world for three purposes: First, it could be applied to improve navigation within colonies around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Second, the map could be useful in convincing the Ionian city-states to unite in a federation to push the Median (ancient Iranians) threat away. Finally, the philosophical concept of a global representation of the world only for the reason of knowledge was motivation enough to create one.
550–476 BCE: Hecataeus of Miletus
Hecataeus of Miletus was an ancient Greek geographer. Hecataeus is updated the map of Anaximander, which he saw as a disc surrounded by Oceanus.
The motivation for this map may have come from his work “Ges Periodos” (“Travels round the Earth or World Survey”). The work, presented in the form of two books, is a point-to-point coastal survey. One on Europe is a periplus of the Mediterranean, describing every region in turn, moving as far north as Scythia. Another part, on Asia, is designed correspondingly to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Hecataeus explained the countries and inhabitants of the known world, the account of Egypt being especially complete. The books were followed by a map, based upon Anaximander’s map of the Earth.
276–194 BCE: Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene was a Greek geographer, astronomer, and mathematician. He had invented geography, and made a first climatic map, separating the Earth into five climate zones: two cold zones around the poles, two temperate zones, tropics and a zone encircling the equator.
150–130 BCE: Posidonius
Greek philosopher Posidonius suggested that the Earth was sling-shaped, broad in the middle, with tapered ends and an estimated circumference that was three-quarters of its actual size, resulting in an ‘Oikoumene’ (inhabited world) that stretched halfway around a globe.
Posidonius was measured the Earth’s circumference by relating to the location of the star Canopus. His measure of 240 thousand stadia converts to 39 thousand kilometres (24 thousand miles), near to the real circumference of 40 thousand kilometres (25 thousand miles).
