The Mapamundi

Did you ever stop and think how useful the maps are? Nowadays the life without maps is unthinkable, we need maps when we travel around, from our own city, for knowing where are the others countries , because the world is so massive that maps help us to understand it.
Today in our Speak if it's Greek section we would like to ask you: who was the first people to try to draw a mapamundi, was it a Greek person?

 

As always the human being had the need to discover where we live, the mountains that surround us, the rivers that pass through our towns, the distances between the cities and also the need to get out of our birth place and see the rest of the world.

In the old times the people already started to feel curious about the world where we live, they wanted to know what was further from their countries, what kind of life the people in other places had and how to reach them! And the bigger question of all was...what is beyond the big blue blanket where our ground ends, what means: what is beyond the sea?

There were already many sea experts, many merchants and people whose lives were dependent on the sea. Those people were telling their stories of far civilizations, incredible lands somewhere , people that looked different from all they know and of course there were so many thinkers, philosophers and curious people in the first centuries that wanted to reveal all the mysteries!

Some civilizations as the Babilonians, drew already a map of the stars and try to document the knowledge they had about the world. This was important for the sailors and for the people that was trying to figure it our the Earth's secrets: are we the centre of the universe? Are we a flat planet or a round one? And so many questions that we have the answers now but these early investigations help us a lot.

Also for the people who live in the past was really important to draw and understand the maps because there were many wars going on and they need to count with their allies and know how far their enemies were.

So from where was the person who try to draw a mapamundi?

 

Solution:
It is said that yes! The first mapamundi drawer was Anaximandros from Mileto, his name has been attached to the accomplishment to make the first map of the Earth, made from the maps and news of Greek merchants. This map would be improved later by Hecataeus and Herodotus which were Anaximandros's students. It is said that the Babilonias also created a mapamundi before him but was so much smaller so he has the privilege to be considered the first of the map drawers. Anaximandros imagined the Earth as a stationary cylinder, against the general opinion that said that the Earth was flat. He has also another achievements, such as setting the equinoxes and solstices, the calculation of the distances and sizes of stars, and the development of a sun clock and a celestial sphere, among other contributions. His life has been situated between the years 610/609 to 545 before Christ. His mapamundi was a circular from Europe and Asia, the only known regions so far, and they were surrounded by the ocean.

 

We have 141 guests and no members online

Loading ...