Roman+View+of+the+World+Map+Activity

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Student Worksheet

 * Introduction:**

The Romans, like the Greeks, created maps showing the world as they understood it to look. The Romans inherited much of their knowledge of the world from the Greeks, who conducted their own explorations and acquired information from the accounts of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians had traded extensively via the sea and thus learned about far-flung lands in this manner (although they didn't leave written records of their journeys), but they had also been influenced by the Egyptians. Thus, Roman knowledge of the world built upon the explorations of several other civilizations.

In this activity, you'll look at three Roman maps and compare and contrast what they show. You'll also need to look at a modern world map so you can see how the Roman view of the world compares with our own. Please keep in mind that although the Romans did not know the geography of the entire planet, they did know that the earth is round.


 * Directions:**

Spend a minute looking at a modern world map to review your knowledge of the world's continents and bodies of water.

Look at each of these Roman maps. As you look at them, notice how different they look from modern maps.

Orbis Terrarum According to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (20 CE) http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/118.html

World Map According to Pomponius Mela (c. 40 CE) http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/116.html

World Map According to Dionysius (124 CE) http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/117.html

Use your browser's Back and Forward buttons to go back and forth between the maps you've just seen.

**Answer these questions about the maps:**
1. What lands existed on the outer edges of the known world in these maps? Provide at least four examples.

2. According to these maps, did the Romans know about these places?

a. the Nile River

b. the British Isles

c. India

d. Japan

e. North America

**Compare the Orbis Terrarum (the first map) with one of the other maps.**
3. Write the name of the second map you've chosen here.

4. Where are Rome and the Italian peninsula located (center, left, right, top, etc.): on the Orbis Terrarum? on the other map?

5. Why do you think the Italian Peninsula is located in this position on each map?

6. Which map is more detailed, with more place names?

7. Which map is more accurate in terms of the shape of landforms and bodies of water? (compare the maps to a modern map)

8. Which parts of the maps are the most accurate: the parts closest to Rome or the parts farther from Rome? Why?

9. Our world map today looks very similar to the world map 100 years ago, but the Roman maps you've seen look rather different from each other even though only 104 years passed between the making of the earliest and the latest maps. Why do you think this difference exists? Why would the Romans have created world maps that looked this different from each other within such a relatively short time span?