There are 7 continents that divide the world right now: Asia, Africa, North and South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. From the supercontinent Pangaea, Asia became a continent when the supercontinent began to move and break. However, the movement of the plates were gradual, thus, different illustration of the continents have evolved through time. The cartography of Asia started with the Babylon in the 6th century BC. Based on the Greek geographers, Europe, Asia and Africa come together in one continental shelf, forming the largest landmasses. Through Ptolemy’s world map, Asia was tackled more in the Hellenistic geography. Then the cartography of Indi and China followed. Muslim geography had even contributed in giving Asia a better resolution. It was Mahmud al-Kashgari who created the first world map drawn in the Central Asian’s …show more content…
Westerners continued to explore other parts of Asia, thus calling the wlole landmass as Asia and Anatolia as Asia Minor. But others also believed that the word Asia was used to describe the Persian war to the Persian Empire. Although, some Greeks also claimed that Asia was derived from one of the three women’s names, due to the assumption that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus. In contrast, the Lydians say it was named after Asias. Hypothetically, the Greek term was derived from Assuwa, due to the 14th century BC confederation of states in the Western Anatolia. But surprisingly, the most accepted etymology of the term is that it originated from the Akkadian word aṣû, meaning “to go outside” or “to ascend”, referring to the rising of the sun in the Middle East. And the Phoenician word asa also meant east. Due to the interest of the Greek of the Aegean Sea, the core of continental system, they saw that Asia describes the land to the
Mignolo explained how America was incorporated into the continental triad cosmology created by the Christians. America was incorporated as a forth arm because the world was originally divided into three continents; Asia, Africa, and Europe (Mignolo, 2002, p. 23). The original map was called the “T-in-O” map compiled in the early seventh century (Mignolo, 2002, p. 24). America was not included in this map because the existence was still not heard of. This “T-in-O” map was created by Western Christians. The Western Christians drew their map as a circle and decided to divide the world in three parts. Only two parts of the circle were drawn equally. Asia covered the top half on the circle, which created a semi-circle. Europe then consisted of the bottom left quadrant in the circle, and then followed by Africa at the bottom right quadrant.
Although the Hellenistic Era started with the death of Alexander the Great in 323BCE it is important to explore its beginnings. Both Greek and Oriental philosophies greatly influenced the formation of the Hellenistic Age. The spread of Hellenistic culture and its substantial scientific contributions produced an impact on civilization that is still evident today. One of the most important aspects of the thought, culture, and religion during the Hellenistic Era was its impact on the Jewish culture and religion.
Like the Arabs, the Europeans sometimes let their religion come between them and the truth. The best example of this is what Boorstin refers to as the “Great Interruption,” a time in the Middle Ages where theological, rather than geographical, accuracy was prioritized in mapmaking. Rather than continuing the work of Ptolemy and refining his rectangular coordinate system, cartographers “spent their energies embroidering a neat, theologically appealing picture of what was already known, or was supposed to be known.” (Boorstin, 100) Maps depicted the world as a circular disc divided into three parts, the three parts being the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, separated by a T-shaped flow of water. Jerusalem was always in the center of the maps; the justification came from a verse in Ezekiel saying that God had placed Jerusalem in the midst of the nations, which was interpreted literally. Allowing Christian dogma to determine the shape of the earth was a major failing in Boorstin’s eyes; nevertheless, the episode was only an “interruption,” and Europe eventually resumed discovery. Firstly, Boorstin credits the west for the modern clock and calendar. Although earlier versions of clocks from other parts of the world are mentioned, the author focuses primarily on the contributions of westerners to its development. When missionary
Egypt is situated in the Nile valley in the north east of Africa. Ancient Egypt included two regions a southern region, and northern region. The southern region is called Upper Egypt, and the northern region was called Lower Egypt. The life around Ancient Egypt centers on the Nile River and the fertile land around the banks of the river. Farmers created an irrigation system to control the water flow, so the crops can grow in both the rainy and dry seasons. This irrigation system made a surplus in crops.
Sculpture has been a very important part of art history throughout thousands of years. For the past few months I have viewed many different kinds of sculpture, including Greek archaic sculptures, Greek classical sculptures, Greek Hellenistic sculptures and Roman sculptures. All of the sculptures that I have seen and analyzed have very interesting characteristics, but the one that I have analyzed most recently was the most fascinating. Hermes carrying the infant Dionysos, by the artist Praxiteles, was sculpted circa 350 B.C., and the copy that I analyzed, circa second century B.C. This sculpture was from the Greek classical period and is originally from Greece. The original can be seen in the Olympia Museum in Greece, and the replica that I have viewed is in the Sojourner Truth Library on SUNY New Paltz campus.
Officially titled the Hellenic Republic, Greece is a country whose historical and cultural heritage continues to influence the modern world through art, philosophy and politics. Greece is located in southern europe. Critically placed at the byroads of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Greece shares land borders with four countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Republic of Macedonia. The country is greatly consumed by water to the south with over 1,400 islands, the largest of them being Crete. Over eighty percent of Greece is of mountains, the largest and most culturally significant being mount Olympus, which in Greek mythology is the resting place of the twelve olympians. Greece is a country which is filled with aesthetically pleasing landmarks which have existed for thousands of years and are deemed historically significant. These include, but are not limited to the Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens, Panathenaic stadium, Mount Athos, Sounion (where the temple of Poseidon lays), Temple of Hephaestus and Theatre of Dionysus. These are just a few of the influential landmarks this authentic country possesses.
...t of laurasia, just like most of the other plates. North America,Europe, and Green land all used to be connect because of Pangea ( as mentioned earlier). But when everything started to separate, first europe, then green land, and lastly the North American plate. After pangea was no more and the plates all started moving, the continents started going their own ways, there fore putting the continents where they are today.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
Great strides were made in the field of geography under Abbasid rule. The first Arab astronomers and geographers began to estimate longitude from a knowledge of earlier work; mostly Syriac, Greek, and Indian. More specifically, Arab scholars acquired information through Ptolemy's Geography and grew their knowledge to develop comprehensive systems of navigation and measurement. Al-Biruni, an Arab scholar at this time, recalled in his book the Kitab al-ajramwa-al-abcad that Caliph Al-Mamun desired to know the size of the earth.
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).
time, people were all acquiesce in geocentrism which was put forward by Eudoxus of Cnidus and
The Greek culture has had a huge impact on the history of the world. There is something Greek in almost everything, especially in the world’s architecture. Greece no longer had one king, so they focused on building temples for their gods. Architecture began small and plain but evolved into impressive pieces of art. As time passed from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic period, the people of Greece developed a type of formula for their buildings and their pieces of art.
The older of the two, Ancient Greece was a civilization for three centuries, from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. Ancient Greece advanced in art, poetry, and technology. More importantly, Ancient Greece was the age where the polis, or city-state, was invented. The polis was a defining feature in Greek political life for a few hundred years (Ancient Greece).
Over a period of time Greek art of the past has changed and evolved into what we value in todayís society as true art and services as a blue print of our tomorrow. As we take a closer look at the Geometric Period and stroll up through the Hellenistic Period allow me to demonstrate the changes and point out how these transitions have served the elements of time.