Chapts 1-2 Flashcards
Who was the first known person to look into the mystery of Earth’s shape and size?
Eratosthenes
This person grew up in northern Africa about 250 years before the birth of
Christ. He was a mathematician, geographer, and astronomer.
Eratosthenes
Who became known as Greece’s
most talented scholar?
Eratosthenes
Who opened a great library in Alexandria filled with every piece of information he could
acquire?
Ptolemy III
Approximately how many handwritten scrolls were in Ptolemy’s library?
500,000
Who required all of his men to send every document found on every
conquest and ordered all ships and visitors to have their documents copied?
Ptolemy III
What were the 3 proofs that earth is a sphere?
1. During a lunar eclipse the shadow of Earth fell on the moon in a circular shape. 2. When a ship was sailing away from view, the hull disappeared first below the horizon and the masts would come last. 3. Those who were in the north part of the Earth saw the north star – Polaris – as higher in the sky. Those in the south saw it closer to the horizon.
How many miles did Eratosthenes think the world was?
24,540 miles. or 250,000 stadia
how long is a stadia?
we think it is the distance of an event in the Greek athletic games, the distance a sprinter could run without getting out of breath.
These people were the greatest navigators and explorers of the
ancient world because they were traders.
The Phoenicians
Who was the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, who wrote about the Phoenician?
Homer
The height of the Phoenicians was around ________ BC
1200
How were the Phoenicians able to find there way on the open seas?
The stars
Which major star group (asterism) that helped sailors in ancient times?
The Big Dipper
What 4 names did the ancient world call the larger constellation around the big dipper?
The Great Bear, Big Bear, Ursa Major, and a sky chariot.
The Phoenicians traded many things, one being purple dye. What was the purple dye made from?
Snails
Which 2 elements make up bronze?
Tin and Copper
Which Phoenician king was behind the
building of the Jerusalem temple and two palaces for Solomon.
King Hiram
What were the 2 main cities of the Phoenicians?
Sidon and Tyre
Where does the word Phoenicians come from?
It comes from the Greek word
Phoinikes for Tyranian purple, the purple dye
Who gave us the alphabet?
The Phoenicians
Who was a Phoenician navigator who lived in Carthage, north Africa (when not sailing) around 530 B.C.?
Hanno
Who was the first European to sail out of the
Mediterranean Sea and south along the
coast of Africa?
Hanno
How wide is the Strait of
Gibraltar?
8 miles
what is the largest
landlocked sea in the world?
The Mediterranean
Which season was the most calm to sail on the Mediterranean?
Summer
Which season was the worst season to sail on the Mediterranean?
Winter
What does Mediterranean mean?
Middle earth
