In on the circular motions of the celestial bodies, cleomedes credited him with having calculated the earths circumference around 240 bc, with a. Eratosthenes was a famous greek philosopher, mathematician and geographer who is credited for the measurement of earths circumference. The greeks made remarkable development in the field of physical geography. In mathematics, eratosthenes discussed doubling a cube and is thought to have worked to find a solution. In a letter to eratosthenes, in manuscripts discovered in 1906, archimedes outlines his thought processes. Such was the volume of knowledge compiled thereafter that strabos geography, published three centuries later, comprised 17 volumes. O eratosthenes, an ancient greek scholar first coined the term geography. In number theory, he introduced the sieve of eratosthenes, an. Click download or read online button to get evolution of geographical thought book now. His outstanding contribution for which he is renounced throughout the world is his measurement of the circumference of world. The measurement of the sunearth distance, now called the astronomical unit 804,000,000 stadia.
Sauer argued that landscapes should provide the focus for the scientific study of geography because they. In this article we will discuss about the contribution of carl ritter to the development of modern geography. This is the first modern edition and first english translation of one of the earliest and most important works in the history of geography, the thirdcentury geographika of eratosthenes. With these qualifications, greek contribution to geography cant be much except to their own country. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Ancient greek contributions eratosthenes 276194bc first time use the word of geography by eratosthenes its described the known world and correctly divided earth into 5 climatic regions a torrid zone across the middle, two frigid zones at the extreme north and south, and two temperate bands in between eratosthenes also prepared one of the. Before that time there had been interest in the surface of the earth, its formative processes, and its shape and structure, but it was eratosthenes who brought these divergent streams of thought and experience together to create a new scholarly discipline. Evolution of modern geographical thinking and disciplinary trends in india dr. The sieve of eratosthenes as a way of finding prime numbers.
Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word geography and other geographical terms that are still in use today, and his efforts to calculate the circumference of the earth and the distance from the earth to the sun paved the way for our. He is perhaps best known for being the first person to calculate the. Eratosthenes made maps, both of the world and sky and is said to have made a map that includes 675 stars. It shows eratosthenes teaching geography, the academic discipline he founded.
Development of geographical thoughts and explanation in. Eratosthenes first measure the circumference of the earth. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the library of alexandria. Eratosthenes an eminent greek scholar has been rightly regarded as father of geographyhe put a stamp on the subject of geography as the study of earth as the home of man. Eratosthenes geography isbn 9780691142678 pdf epub. Eratosthenes lost geographical treatise, the geography, the main purpose of which was cartographic. This is one of the most important and most demanded book for ias as well as pcs exam. Read this article to learn about the contribution of greeks in the field of geography. Eratosthenes biography childhood, life achievements. Eratosthenes of cyrene descripti cartographic images. The only contribution can be traced to the legacy of alexander and his courtiers.
This document is known as the archimedes palimpsest. Eratosthenes made major contributions to geography. The discipline of geography began with eratosthenes of kyrene and the. Contribution of greeks to mathematical and physical geography. Eratosthenes was educated in philosophy and mathematics in athens. In this work, which for the first time described the geography of the entire inhabited world as it was then known, eratosthenes of kyrene ca. His assistant, seleucus who inherited alexanders asian empire had. Eratosthenes was called beta the second letter of the greek alphabet because he was never first, but he is more famous than his alpha teachers because his discoveries are still used today. Multiple choice solved objective practice questions practicetest 117 of 118 for competitive exams for geography subject as per the revised syllabus for year 2019. The geographical fragments of eratosthenes and hipparchus were com. Each fragment is accompanied by an english translation, a summary, and commentary. Contribution by greek roman scholars with special reference to eratosthenes. A decisive development in modern geographic thought came in 1925 with a paper written by carl sauer, a professor of geography at the university of california, berkeley. Contributing to eratosthenes scholarship in geogra.
Geographical thoughts and explanation in geography 3. Analysis of the latitudinal data of eratosthenes and hipparchus 1. Greeks invented latitude, longitude and projection of the earth. Archimedes was the greatest mathematician and inventor of the age, so perhaps the beta nickname was not unjust. The greek scholars provided a framework of concepts and models that guided the western thinking for many centuries. Contribution of phoenicians in the field of geography. Writings range from biblical texts and early greek explanations to the first formal statements on geography as a. Some of his other important contributions include the creation of three different methods for projecting the earths surface on a map, the calculation of coordinate locations for some eight thousand places on the earth, and development of the concepts of geographical latitude and longitude figure 1a1.
Development of geographical thoughts and explanation in greek period 1. Eratosthenes simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roller provides a rich background, including a history of the text and its reception, a biography of eratosthenes, and a comprehensive account of ancient greek geographical thought and of eratosthenes pioneering contribution to it. Contributions of greeks in the field of physical geography. The frontiers of the known and inhabited world were empirically investigated, from india in the east to the iberian peninsula in the west, and from ethiopia in the south to scandinavia in the north. Eratosthenes made several important contributions to mathematics and science, and was a friend of archimedes. Development of geographical ideas ancient india development of geography during 19th and 20th centuries. Eratosthenes was a friend of archimedes, who also lived and worked in alexandria.
Eratosthenes of cyrene 276 bc194 bc was a third century bc greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer. He was head of the library of alexandria from 240 bc until his death. Download majid hussain geography book pdf ias 2016 majid hussain geography book pdf ias 2016 geography of india free e book. The image above is from a painting by bernardo strozzi in the year 1635, nineteen centuries after the era of eratosthenes. What is herodotus contribution to geography answers. Carl ritter exercised a much more direct influence on the development and growth of geography in germany than did humboldt. Chief among these is the calculation of the circumference of the earth and the development of a mathematical sieve named after him. The greeks made tremendous advancements in the fields of geomorphology. By blending aspects of early greek geographical thought with new ideas about. The contributions of indian scholars in the ancient period are parallel to that of chinese. The greeks not only extended the horizon of geography from the aegean sea to spain and gaul, the russian steppes in central asia, the indus river in the east and ethiopia in the south, but also put the subject on a sound footing by making remarkable contributions in the field of mathematical, physical, historical and regional. In astronomy he also calculated the angle that the earths axis is tilted on.
Eratosthenes extensively utilised the reports of early hellenistic exploration to. Eratosthenes became the second head librarian of the famous library of alexandria in 236 b. Anaximandros other great contribution to geography was his theori. I main stages of development of geography maria sala encyclopedia of life support systems eolss directions have developed within geography, mainly due to the introduction of quantitative and technical tools and to the recent globalization. Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word geography and other geographical terms that are still in use today, and his efforts to calculate the circumference of the earth and the distance from the earth to the sun paved the way for our modern understanding of the cosmos.
Eratosthenes was the chief librarian at the library of alexandria, and he also invented the discipline of geography. Evolution of geographical thought download ebook pdf. Certain theorems first became clear to me by means of a mechanical method. The greeks not only extended the horizon of geography from the aegean sea to spain and gaul, the russian steppes in central asia, the indus river in the east and ethiopia in the south, but also put the subject on a sound footing by making remarkable contributions in the field of mathematical, physical, historical and regional geography. The discipline of geography began with eratosthenes of kyrene and the publication of hisgeographikain the last third of the third century bc. Situated in the east asia, quite far away from the greeks and romans, the chinese made an important contribution to geography, between 200and 1500 a.
The geographical achievements of greeks greeks discovered that, the earth is round. O geography is the study of relation between the society and natural environment. Atiur rahman assistant professor, department of geography and environmental science, begum rokeya university, rangpur course code. Eratosthenes of cyrene 276 194 bc was a 3rd century bc greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer. Geography babasaheb bhimrao ambedkar bihar university. Then, however, they had to be proved geometrically since the method provided no real proof. Pdf long desired, gladly welcomed, rollers presentation of the. The works eratosthenes wrote are known to us only indirectly. Lalita rana associate professor of geography, shivaji college, university of delhi, new delhi 110027. He worked in geography to try to figure out why the nile river had such a regular flood pattern, and hypothesized that it was because of heavy rain upstream. From those beginnings the study of the earth as the home of humans, of earth processes, and of the distribution of terrestrial phenomena has continued to our day.
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