Maps / 20 weeks ago

What the ancient Greeks’ 'Seven Seas' mean

The idea of “sailing the seven seas” has fascinated sailors and storytellers for centuries. Yet the phrase has meant different things at different times. In ancient Greece, it referred not to the world’s oceans but to a handful of familiar seas that surrounded their world. A new infographic depicts these seas — the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black, Caspian, Red, Persian Gulf and Arabian — and reveals how geography and culture shaped the way Greeks imagined the world’s waters.