The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-11-16
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY.
Some of the Queer Teachings of Old and
WeII-Known Writers.


The world to the ancient and medi-
eval inhabitants appeared a far differ
ent thing than it seems to the we'll
informed man of today, says the Yam
Zee Blade.
As to the shape of the earth the an
clients differed. OF course in extreme
antiquity every one who thought about
the matter at all believed the world to
be fiat. Homer evidently regarded it
as of comparatively small extent, and
he thought the ocean was mighty
stream which flowed around it. OF
course, in his time, the earth was sup
posed to be the center of the universe.
and the sun, the moon and the stars
were supposed to be large balls of fire,
a few miles up in the air, attached in
some mysterious manner to the walls
of the sky, which walls revolved
around the earth, taking the stars with
them.
The universe was very small affair,
which the gods, who dwelt upon the
Olympus-by no means a very lofty
mountain-ruledo over as they thought
best. The gods themselves were not
very exalted beings, and had disgrace
full rows among themselves, and did
what seems today like some very silly
and imprudent things.
A few hundred years later, in the
time of Aristotle, more correct but
a very far from perfect idea of the
world had been obtained. Aristotle
thought the world was spherical. al
though several ancient philosophers
who succeeded him did not agree with
him.
But very little was known in regard
to the world in Aristotle's day, in the
fourth century before Christ, and but
very little more was known about it
1900 years later, in the time of Colum-
bus. In 1000 years the world had in
reality retrograded rather than adj
vanced. 1t was the popular belief in
the time of Columbus that the world
was fiat, though many cotemporary
scholars thought differently. The
great civilizations of the world at that
time were grouped around the Medit-
erranean sea, although England was a
considerable power, and the Scandi-
nayians were a great maritime people.
But Europeans, at that time, knew but
little of Asia and but little of Africa,
and America, of course, was un-
dreamed of. Even after Columbus
had discovered the latter continent he
was perfectly oblivious of the fact.
He thought Hayti was Cipango or Ja-
pan, and for a long time regarded
Cuba as a part of the mainland of
Asia.
Medieval Europe knew but very
| little of eastern and northeastern Asia.
| Many of the most learned cosmograph-
ers of the time taught that Asia
| stretched eastward indefinitely, and
no one imagined that it had an eastern
coast washed by the ocean. 1t was
seriously taught that eastern Asia was
land of vast swamps, inhabited by
monster serpents and dragons. This
was the opinion that still prevailed up
to within 200 years of the time of Co.
lumbus.
At this time two Venetian merchants
by the name of Polo went on a vast
trading expedition to the uttermost
parts of Asia. They were gone many
years. Upon their return the son of
one of them, a young man named
! Marco Polo, wrote out full account
of their travels, described the empire
OF the grand khan-the Chinese en-
peror-and revealed the fact that Asia
was bounded on the east by vast
ocean. He described this eastern coast
minutely, with all its vast cities and
its wealth of precious stones and
spices.
1t was from reading this book that
the il agination of Columbus was fired,
| and he conceived the bold conception
of reaching this eastern coast of Asia
by sailing toward the west around the
earth.
So when he discovered Cuba be had
not doubt but he had landed upon
the coast of Asia and that he looked
upon the same scenes that Marco Polo
had gazed upon 200 years before.
Africa was an unknown continent,
as well as Asia. Until few years
after the great discovery of Columbus
no one had sailed around it, and it was
quite generally thought, as it had
previously been thought in regard to
Asia, that the African continent eX-
tended on and on indefinitely. 1t was
supposed that far to the south was the
zone of heat, in which no human be-
4 ing could live. This was by no means
an unreasonable inference to the an
cients They knew that the farther
they sailed to the north the colder it
grew, and that in the extreme north
was a region of perpetual ice and snow.
They also knew that the farther they
sailed to the south the warmer 1t grew,
; and what was more natural than for
them to suppose that, if they went fal
; enough in that direction, they would
, come upon lands that were parched
and baked, and upon seas that boiled
where nothing could live but salaman
ders. The ancients peopled all distant
seas with horrors. Unknown and dis
tant countries were, to their supersti
-tion, peopled with "gorgons, hydras
; and chimeras dire" The distant seas
were filed with monstrous dragons
: and serpents, of which the sea-serpent
] is today, perhaps, a survival. The un
: known oceans were filed with whirL
t pools that sucked in mariners, wht
/ were sacrilegious enough to approach
/ them. to an awful death.
: Perhaps these superstitions, as mucl
: as any one thing, kept the world TO
so many centuries an unexplored ant
unknown waste.