What did the ancient civilizations of 1,500+years ago call the body of water we now know as the Atlantic Ocean? Has it always been the Atlantic Ocean? Is it the same as Plato's "Sea of Atlas?"
2007-02-12 18:24:17 · 2 answers · asked by havish 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Most of the civilizations bordering the Atlantic 1500 years ago didn't know it was a defined body of water with a continent on the other side - it was simply 'the Ocean' to them. Herodotus apparently mentioned a 'Sea of Atlas' about 450 BC but no maps of it beyond the area around western Europe appear until the 15th century.
2007-02-12 18:45:55 · answer #1 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oceanus.
The name Atlantic goes back to the word "Atlantis" which goes back to the word "atala".
We do know that the Ancient Egyptians knew of the Atlantic Ocean:
American Drugs In Egyptian Mummies
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1737047/posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_contact
2007-02-13 02:49:13 · answer #2 · answered by a bush family member 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋