By Irene | 4th June 2018
Can you imagine not knowing which countries lie at the other end of the sea? Or even if there actually is land out there? Today you can find highly accurate maps of most regions in the world, while in the ancient world maps were more of a guess as to what the world looked like. Travel back in time and see the world through the eyes of ancient civilisations with the oldest world maps (or first) known to exist.
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The oldest, and so earliest, map of the world known to exist dates back to around the 6th century BC. It's called Imago Mundi and was discovered in Iraq. This Babylonian map on a clay tablet depicts the Mesopotamian world as a flat disc surrounded by water. Babylon is shown in the centre next to Assyria and Urartu (Armenia). On the far side of the 'salt-sea' surrounding the land, seven islands form a seven-pointed star. For the Babylonians, this map represented the entire world. Not just the actual world, but the mythological world as well: the sixth island, for example, is “where a horned bull dwells and attacks the newcomer”.
Image source: Ancient Pages
c. 610-546 BC: The world according to Anaximander
From Babylon, we travel to ancient Greece, where the next 3 maps were made. The first was created by Anaximander, one of the first Greek philosophers who belonged to the Milesian school (pre- Socrates). While observing the world, Anaximander tried to discover the laws by which he believe natured was ruled. Later Greek geographer Eratosthenes claimed that Anaximander was the first to create a map of the world. Although this map is lost, recreations based on the descriptions of Herodotus tell us what it must have looked like. The map was circular, possibly on a metal surface, with the ocean surrounding Europe, Asia and Libya (the African continent). He believed the earth was shaped like a drum atop which humanity lived.
c. 550-476 BC: The world according to Hecataeus of Miletus
The next oldest map, created Milesian philosopher Hecataeus, is based on Anaximander’s world map and recreated thanks to the descriptions of Herodotos. The world according to Hecataeus of Miletus was, like Anaximander’s, divided into three parts: Europe, Africa and Asia, with Greece in the centre of the world. The three continents are surrounded by the ocean and divided by the Mediterranean, Red and Black seas. It is more detailed than previous world maps and, although incorrect, shows that Hecataeus better understood the relative positions of the continents.
Image source: Cartographic Images
c. 480-429 BC: The world according to Herodotus
Herodotus of Halicarnassus, a great traveller and the father of history, could also be seen as the father of geography for this next map – although this honour is mostly reserved for Eratosthenes (276-194 BC), who discovered that the earth is round. In Herodotus' mind, the world became stranger and stranger when travelling away from Greece, with savages living at the ends of the earth. His map of the world shows an ocean that is not perfectly circular, as was the case with Hecataeus’ map, and the land furthest away from Greece is referred to as 'incense country' and the land of 'cannibals'.
c. 350-285 BC: The world according to Dicaearchus of Messana
Around 300 BC on the island of Sicily, Dicaearchus of Messana made a new map of the world, a few decades after the Macedonian invasion of India. Interestingly enough, on this map a whole new island appears – the island of Taprobana, as the ancient Greek called is, or Sri Lanka as we know it today. In fact the greatest part of this map depicts land conquered by Alexander the Great by the time of his death in 323 BC.
From ancient Babylon to Alexander the Great, it's fascinating to see how the world map has evolved over time. Want to continue the adventure and discover more captivating cartography? Visit our Cartography auction for more magnificent maps to guide you on your journey through history.
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