Terra Australis The Fabled Continent Of Antiquity’s Antipodes

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Terra Australis The Fabled Continent Of Antiquity’s Antipodes

Terra Australis The Fabled Continent Of Antiquity’s Antipodes

For nearly 2,000 years, right up until Captain James Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific in 1775, geographers debated the existence of Terra Australis, a mythical landmass to the south-east said to be the fifth and final continent of the world. Known variously as Terra Incognita, Oceano Oriental, Mar del Sur, Mare Pacificum, and Zuytlandt, this hypothetical region was first pondered by Greek scholars convinced it acted as a counter-balance to the oikoumene, the known and inhabited territories of Europe. By the 15th century, following innovations in seafaring technology, Europeans were finally able find out if the theories advanced by their ancestors were correct.

Pythagoras, ancient Greek philosopher. From Thomas Stanley, (1655), The history of philosophy: containing the lives, opinions, actions and Discourses of the Philosophers of every Sect (Public Domain)

Pythagoras, ancient Greek philosopher. From Thomas Stanley, (1655), The history of philosophy: containing the lives, opinions, actions and Discourses of the Philosophers of every Sect (Public Domain)

The Concept Of Terra Australis

The notion of Terra Australis originated in the sixth century BC, when Greek mathematician Pythagoras concluded that the earth must be a sphere like the sun and moon. His successor Aristotle continued to contemplate the question, reasoning that the presence of a continent located in the south-east, outside of the oikoumene, would provide the necessary balance that a spherical earth needed, in order to stay at the center of the universe. This hidden realm, which he named the Antichthon, was a concept that was further developed by later scholars such as Roman statesman Cicero and Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy.


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