Roman Geography and Cartography

[WotWotius]

Although many ancient geographer may have said otherwise, that the vast majority of Romans believed that the world was disc-shaped

Reference please Wotwotius?

 

Give me a couple of hours to plough through my notes...

[WotWotius]

I cannot seem to find and contemporary sources. However

[Pertinax]

Although many ancient geographer may have said otherwise, that the vast majority of Romans believed that the world was disc-shaped

Reference please Wotwotius?

Indeed , I was under the impression most thought it to be a globe, (given the rather accurate Greek calculation of its size)?

[Pantagathus]

Indeed , I was under the impression most thought it to be a globe, (given the rather accurate Greek calculation of its size)?

Wotwotius, I 'm definitely not trying to pick on your initial post but here is one of my issues:

this may have been one of the reasons why the British invasion force of 44 AD mutinied before setting sail (for all they knew, sailing on the Channel may result in falling off the end of the earth).

Much more likely was that the misgivings had to do with the fear of getting swallowed up by Oceanus, Neptune, Triton, etc. as naval crossings for an entire army were risky business; regardless if it was Sicily to Africa, Italy to Greece, Italy to Spain or Gaul to Britain. Furthermore, whay would they think they would sail off the edge of the world when they knew that the famous G.J. Caesar landed there. Another more than likely was that they new that the *great* Caesar didn't have an easy go of it 'over there'

 

I will concede however that there were bound to be some superstitious and ignorant folks who would see a 2D 'map' and take that to be a true representation of the world. The exception however, not the norm enough to halt a campaign.

[caldrail]

Although many ancient geographer may have said otherwise, that the vast majority of Romans believed that the world was disc-shaped

Reference please Wotwotius?

Indeed , I was under the impression most thought it to be a globe, (given the rather accurate Greek calculation of its size)?

 

That would be true if romans were educated in that respect. I don't think they were. Knowledgable romans may have read the greek hypothesis (and may or may not have believed the results) but that doesn't mean the average roman on the street knew anything about it. As far as I'm aware, the prevailing view at the time was that the world was disc shaped. I don't think the average roman actually cared what shape the world was - it was far more important to survive (with as much wealth and status as possible)

[WotWotius]

Indeed , I was under the impression most thought it to be a globe, (given the rather accurate Greek calculation of its size)?

Wotwotius, I 'm definitely not trying to pick on your initial post but here is one of my issues:

this may have been one of the reasons why the British invasion force of 44 AD mutinied before setting sail (for all they knew, sailing on the Channel may result in falling off the end of the earth).

Much more likely was that the misgivings had to do with the fear of getting swallowed up by Oceanus, Neptune, Triton, etc. as naval crossings for an entire army were risky business; regardless if it was Sicily to Africa, Italy to Greece, Italy to Spain or Gaul to Britain. Furthermore, whay would they think they would sail off the edge of the world when they knew that the famous G.J. Caesar landed there. Another more than likely was that they new that the *great* Caesar didn't have an easy go of it 'over there'

 

I will concede however that there were bound to be some superstitious and ignorant folks who would see a 2D 'map' and take that to be a true representation of the world. The exception however, not the norm enough to halt a campaign.

 

*Edit: 43 AD, not 44 AD (i think I wrote that date twice ).

 

Although many ancient geographers may have said otherwise, that the vast majority of Romans believed that the world was disc-shaped

 

When I wrote the above post, I was referring to the uneducated poor, who, by in large, made up the vast majority of Romans (and thus the vast majority of her legions). I also stand by my argument that most Romans assigned themselves

[WotWotius]

I must admit that I have been proven wrong about my views on the Roman perception of the world's shape; I have, in my possession, conclusive proof that the Romans believed the world to be globe-shaped:

 

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1552.html

 

The coin shown in the above link depicts victory standing triumphantly on a globe

[Primus Pilus]

I must admit that I have been proven wrong about my views on the Roman perception of the world's shape; I have, in my possession, conclusive proof that the Romans believed the world to be globe-shaped:

 

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1552.html

 

The coin shown in the above link depicts victory standing triumphantly on a globe

[WotWotius]

I must admit that I have been proven wrong about my views on the Roman perception of the world's shape; I have, in my possession, conclusive proof that the Romans believed the world to be globe-shaped:

 

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1552.html

 

The coin shown in the above link depicts victory standing triumphantly on a globe