The Greeks were the first
people to use the idea of testing what they thought to be true.
Now this is called scientific method, which basically
means coming up with an idea and then testing it. The Greeks
often fell back on superstition if they felt that they could not
prove what they were trying to prove. The word geography comes
from the Greeks. In Greek ge means the earth and graphe is to
describe. The famous story The Odyssey by Homer is said to be
one of the first geographical statements since throughout the
story the people describe where they are going.
There were many Greeks who
were important in the starting of modern geography. Miletus used
mathematical equations in order to measure the earth. Anaximander was
the producer of the sun dial. The were also some more interesting
ways of finding out the distances between points. Eratosthenes
was able to tell the circumference of the earth from a shadow, a camel, and a triangle.
Study Questions
Is the word geography derived
from Greek? And if so what does it mean?
Describe one important person
involved in the Greek influence upon geography.
Field Question
Read the Odyssey and think
about where the actual areas are that they are describing.
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Chad Hamilton