An invention from Ancient Greece had an unparalleled impact on humanity, leaving a legacy unprecedented in history that would reconfigure the way the world is interpreted. Ancient Greece was one of the most influential civilizations in the history of humanity, leaving a lasting legacy in the world. While theater, the concept of beauty, the Olympic Games, politics and the creation of the concept of democracy were some of its greatest achievements, another was the invention of something that marked a before and after in the world.
The main legacy in the history of Ancient Classical Greek civilization was that it articulated or systematized reality, that is to say, it established rational divisions in the chaos that surrounds us and then considered them separately. We tell you about a particular invention that had an unparalleled impact on humanity.
The invention of Ancient Greece that changed the history of humanity
Today we know that the first maps of the world with a scientific approach emerged in classical Greece. From the 6th century BC, the Greeks not only explored the world through thought, but also represented it, laying the foundations for modern cartography. The Greek invention that had a profound impact was the map of the world created by Anaximander of Miletus, considered one of the first cartographers in history.
The importance of this map of the world for the history of humanity is that this 6th-century BC thinker was the first to represent the known world in a logical and geographical format, abandoning mythological ideas and opting for a rational vision. According to the website of the CONICET, his map of the world, although primitive by today’s standards, was revolutionary for its time: it showed the Earth as a floating disc surrounded by oceans, including regions such as Europe, Asia and Libya. This invention of Ptolemy’s allowed for a new way of understanding geographical space, giving rise to a cartographic tradition that would evolve over the centuries.
Maps and ideas that developed this invention that changed history
Thanks to archaeology and the writings of figures such as Herodotus, Strabo and Ptolemy, it is now possible to reconstruct how thinkers in ancient Greece perfected their maps of the world and influenced modern geography. Some outstanding contributions were:
- The map of Hecataeus of Miletus: one of the first attempts to organize the known world based on real observations, marking the beginning of descriptive geography.
- The geography of Eratosthenes: he calculated the circumference of the Earth with great precision using only shadows and trigonometry, revolutionizing the perception of the planet.
- The work of Ptolemy: his maps and treatises influenced cartography for over a thousand years and were even used in the Middle Ages.
- Aristotle’s ideas on the sphericity of the Earth: they laid the foundations for more accurate representations of the planet.
These Greek advances and inventive developments not only left their mark on the history of cartography, but also paved the way for exploration, trade and global knowledge. The Greek view of the world continues to be a source of inspiration for science and humanity to this day.
