Farnese Atlas

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Ancient measurements of the circumference of the earth

Indian astronomers also propounded the theory that the earth was a sphere. Aryabhatta was the first one to have propounded this theory in the 5th century. Another Indian astronomer, Brahmagupta estimated in the 7th century that the circumference of the earth was 5000 yojanas. A yojana is around 7.2 kms. Calculating on this basis we see that the estimate of 36,000 kms as the earth's circumference comes quite close to the actual circumference known today.

Ancient India's contributions to astronomy

Spherical Earth

The round earth and Christopher Colombus

reply to post by Christarella


OK, I pulled the book off the shelf, and its title is "The True Story of How America Got Its Name," by Rodney Broome. Not a big book, only 188 pages, but it's well written, and a good read. To whet your interest some more, the author states that the Stars & Stripes come directly from Richard Amerike's coat of arms. Broome does not have a web site that I can find.

Here's a bit from the dust jacket:

"In the late 15th century, Bristol, England was an extremely important port city. Teeming with merchants and traders eager for new markets for their wares, it was the harbor from which John Cabot sailed in 1497 to become the first European to be credited with "discovering" North America

Cabot's voyage was partly funded by one of Bristol's wealthiest merchants, Richard Amerike. He had been financing expeditions since the 1870's [1470's?] and was appointed the King's Customs Agent for Bristol in 1486. Did Cabot honor his benefactor by naming the land he "discovered" after him?"

A bit more from my Persian friend - in ancient Persia, all the eligible young men of the kingdom assembled in a plaza when the king died, and an eagle was released. The young man on whom the eagle chose to perch became the next king.

Originally posted by ReVoLuTiOn76
You raise a great point, however I believe it can be explained. The thought that the Earth is flat comes from Europe. Well during this time literally all of Europe was controlled darn near totally, by the Catholic Church. They were very corrupt, and anything that was decreed, or saw as truth by the Church, was truth, and anything that was questioned was considered heresy, and the person was often either put to death, or excommunicated. This led the trend of people not really trying to see or figure out things for themselves, but rather relying solely on what the Church said.

Furthermore, people of old, (ancients), tended to have more of grip on reality, because they questioned things, instead of being told what to think. Ancient people seem to know more than we do now, but all of their knowlegde is either currently lost or being withheld.

Yes,the Catholic Church is the king of disinformation.They have had many years of experience,and who knows what secrets they hold in there coffers!

Thank you Toreishi, Lazarus and Kdog! I will check out the website and the book as well.

Kdog, I am in total agreement!