Early Circumnavigation of Africa
Of the eastern coast and the interior of Africa Pomponius Mela, whose book was written about AD 50, knew less Ptolemy a century later, but of the Atlantic coast he knew more than Ptolemy. The fact that the former geographer was a native of Spain and the latter a native of Egypt no doubt had something to do with this. Mela had profited by the Carthaginian discoveries.
The general conception of the earth of Eratosthenes was what has been styled the "oceanic" theory, in contrast with the "continental" theory of Ptolemy. In the unvisited regions on all sides of the known world Eratosthenes imagined vast oceans, Ptolemy imagined vast deserts or impenetrable swamps. The former doctrine was of course much more favorable to maritime enterprise than the latter. The works of Ptolemy exercised over the mediaeval mind an almost despotic sway, which, in spite of their many merits, was in some respects a hindrance to progress; so that, inasmuch as the splendid work of Strabo, the most eminent follower of Eratosthenes, was unknown to mediaeval Europe until about 1450, it was fortunate that the Latin treatise of Mela was generally read and highly esteemed.
People in those days were such uncritical readers that very likely the antagonism between Ptolemy and Mela may have failed to excite comment, especially in view of the lack of suitable maps such as emphasize that antagonism to modern minds [just as some used to read the Bible without noticing such points as the divergences between the books of Kings and Chronicles, the contradictions between the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, the radically different theories of Christ's personality and career in the Fourth Gospel as compared with the three Synoptics, etc].
As to the possibility of crossing the torrid zone, opinion was not unanimous. Greek explorers from Alexandria (cir. BC 100) seem to have gone far up the Nile toward the equator, and the astronomer Geminus quotes their testimony in proof of his opinion that the torrid zone is inhabitable. Panaetius, the friend of the younger Scipio Africanus, had already expressed a similar opinion. But the flaming theory prevailed. Macrobius, writing about six hundred years later, maintained that the southernmost limit of the habitable earth was 850 miles south of Syene, which lies just under the tropic of Cancer. Beyond this point no man could go without danger from the fiery atmosphere. Beyond some such latitude on the ocean no ship could venture with out risk of being engulfed in some steaming whirlpool.
It was a matter of undoubted belief with Herodotus, that Africa had been circumnavigated. Others of the ancients either doubted, or totally denied the fact. The most respectable of that class include Polybius and Ptolemy. The former, who it appears, had been employed by Scipio Africanus the Second, called also AEmilianus, in a voyage of discovery, or observation, and had penetrated, at least, to the point from whence Hanno returned, (about Serra Leona) says, "It has never been known with any certainty, whether Ethiopia be a continued tract, extending to the south, or whether it be surrounded by the sea." Lib. iii. 4. The infirmities of human nature might induce him to hope that no one had gone farther than himself: for certainly, a voyage to Serra Leona makes no figure when compared to the circumnavigation of Africa. Ptolemy not only denies the junction of the Atlantic and Indian seas, in which almost all the rest are agreed, however they may doubt of a circumnavigation having been effected, but by his system, shuts them completely up from each other, by giving such a direction to the opposite coasts of Africa, as to make them diverge from each other; instead of converging as others did.
Herodotus not only gives a short history of the navigation itself, undertaken by order of Necho (or Pharaoh Necho), and accomplished by the aid of Phoenician mariners; but in a second place remarks, that the Atlantic, the Indian, and the Mediterranean seas, formed but One Ocean : and moreover, in a third place, says that Xerxes commuted the capital punishment of an individual of high rank into that of sailing round Africa. And as no guilt is imputed to the ships' crews so employed, it must be supposed that the measure was deemed, and perhaps was known, to be practicable, although difficult and tedious. Herodotus was then addressing himself to a people who believed in the truth of the discovery, and may suppose that he collected the particulars concerning it during his residence in Egypt, about 175 years, or less, after the discovery, and while it remained fresh in the minds of the people at large.
Nor was Herodotus the only author of antiquity, amongst those whose works have come down to us, who believed that Africa had been sailed round ; for Pliny believed that it had been achieved by Hanno, Eudoxus, and others, but he is silent concerning the voyage of Necho, whence it may be suspected, that, as this navigation was made much about the same time with that of Hanno, Pliny may have confounded them together, referring the actions of the Egyptian to the Carthaginian. It is equally remarkable that Herodotus appears to be ignorant of the voyage of Hanno, unless he, in turn, may be supposed to confound it with the trading voyages noticed by him, of the Carthaginians to the western coast of Africa.
Pliny says, lib. v. c. 1. " that Hanno, a great commander amongst the Carthaginians, during the most flourishing times of Carthage, was directed to explore the whole extent of the coast of Africa."" And, lib. ii. 67, " that Hanno sailed round from Gades to the utmost extent of Arabia, and wrote an account of the voyage ; at which same time Hamilcar was sent to discover the remote coasts of Europe 3." In the same place he relates from Cornelius Nepos, "that, in his time, Eudoxus, a great mariner, sailed from the Arabian gulf to Gades." Lib. v. 1. Pomponius Mela has preserved the same fact. Lib. iii. c. 10. Probably Pliny collected his ideas from Xenophon of Lampsacus, as he quotes him, respecting the Gorgon, or Gorillean women, whom Hanno is said to have killed and flayed, and whose skins were hung up in a temple in Carthage. These were, in effect, a species of baboons.
It is equally certain that Eratosthenes believed (and perhaps knew, from circumstances) that Africa was surrounded by the ocean (Strabo, p. 56), as also that Strabo believed it, but doubted the fact of its having been sailed round. His idea was, that Africa formed a triangle, the base of which extended along the Mediterranean sea, and whose vertex was situated at no great distance beyond the fountains of the Nile. P. 825, 826. Thus he conceived that the western side was straight, or rather concave, instead of swelling out; as also that the Mediterranean lay nearly in the direction of the parallel, and the Arabian gulf, as near to the meridian ; consequently he must have supposed that the western side of Africa lay in a south-easterly direction. It was the opinion of most of the ancient geographers, in which they have been followed by the Arabians, that the coast of Africa, from about the termination of mount Atlas, trended to the south, or eastward of south. None suspected its swelling out 12 degrees nearly, beyond the straits.
Now as the difficulties of coasting voyages do not, in respect of their length, increase beyond arithmetical proportion, what should have prevented Scylax, Hanno, or the Phoenicians, from extending their voyages, had their employers been so inclined, and preparations had been made accordingly ? It is certain that the detailed voyage of Nearchus, and other histories of ancient navigations, show that the ships of those times advanced at a remarkably slow rate : and Nearchus slower than almost any other; perhaps, because his fleet was in a great part composed of vessels that were ill calculated for sea voyages; being such merely as could be procured: for his equipment was in some degree casual; and therefore, doubtless, in many respects deficient.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
