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3. What are the Seven Seas?

**What are the Seven Seas?**  The Seven Seas include **the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern** oceans. Image of the ocean*The exact origin of the phrase 'Seven Seas' is uncertain, although there are  references in ancient literature that  date back thousands of years.* The origins of the phrase 'Seven Seas' can be traced  to ancient times. In various cultures at different times in history, the Seven Seas has  referred  to bodies of water  along trade routes,  regional  bodies of water, or exotic and far-away  bodies of water. In Greek literature (which is where the phrase entered   Western literature), the Seven Seas were the Aegean, Adriatic, Mediterranean,   Black, Red, and Caspian seas, with the Persian Gulf thrown in as a "sea." In Medieval European literature, the phrase referred to the North Sea, Baltic,   Atlantic, Mediterranean, Black, Red, and Arabian seas. As trade picked up across the Atlantic, the concept of the Seven Seas changed again. Mariners then referred to the Seven Seas as the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Pacific, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Not many people use this phrase today, but you could say that the modern Seven Seas   include the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic,  North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans. However, our ocean is more commonly  geographically  divided into the Atlantic,  Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (Antarctic).
 How many oceans are there? NOAA Nautical Charts A History of Charting America's Waters   Get **Social** Social
  **Last updated:** 10/20/23 **Author:** NOAA How to cite this article Contact Us


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