Flat Earth: History and Evolution of an Archaic Cosmography
Flat Earth is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of the Earth's shape as a plane or disk. Many ancient cultures subscribed to a flat-Earth cosmography. The model has undergone a recent resurgence as a conspiracy theory in the 21st century.
Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Perspectives
In early Egyptian and Mesopotamian thought, the world was portrayed as a disk floating in the ocean. The Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts of ancient Egypt show a similar cosmography where Nun (the Ocean) encircled dry lands or islands. The Israelites also imagined the Earth to be a disc floating on water with an arched firmament above it that separated the Earth from the heavens. The sky was a solid dome with the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars embedded in it.
The Flat Earth in Ancient Philosophy and Poetry
The early Greek cosmological view of a flat Earth persisted among most pre-Socratics (6th–5th century BC). Several pre-Socratic philosophers believed that the world was flat: Thales (c. 550 BC) according to several sources, and Leucippus (c. 440 BC) and Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) according to Aristotle. Thales thought that the Earth floated in water like a log. Anaximander (c. 550 BC) believed that the Earth was a short cylinder with a flat, circular top that remained stable because it was the same distance from all things. This was echoed in literature, as both Homer and Hesiod described a disc cosmography on the Shield of Achilles.
Historical Shift to a Spherical Model
The idea of a spherical Earth appeared in ancient Greek philosophy with Pythagoras (6th century BC). In the early 4th century BC, Plato wrote about a spherical Earth. By about 330 BC, his former student Aristotle had provided strong empirical evidence for a spherical Earth. Knowledge of the Earth's global shape gradually began to spread beyond the Hellenistic world. By the early period of the Christian Church, the spherical view was widely held, with some notable exceptions.
Regional Cosmographical Beliefs
As history progressed, different regions maintained varying views on the shape of the world:
- Islamic World: Muslim scholars in early Islam maintained that the Earth is flat. However, since the 9th century, Muslim scholars have tended to believe in a spherical Earth.
- China: Ancient Chinese scholars consistently describe the Earth as flat, and this perception remained unchanged until their encounters with Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century.
- Europe: It is a historical myth that medieval Europeans generally thought the Earth was flat. This myth was created in the 17th century by Protestants to argue against Catholic teachings.
Comparative Table of Historical Conceptions
| Culture / Source | Description of Earth's Shape |
|---|---|
| Ancient Egypt / Mesopotamia | A disk floating in the ocean |
| Ancient Israel | A disc floating on water with a solid arched dome sky |
| Anaximander | A short cylinder with a flat, circular top |
| Ancient China | Consistently described as flat until the 17th century |
| Early Islamic Scholars | Flat (prior to the 9th century) |
Modern Resurgence of Flat Earth Theory
Despite the scientific facts and obvious effects of Earth's sphericity, pseudoscientific flat-Earth conspiracy theories persist. Since the 2010s, belief in a flat Earth has increased, both as membership of modern flat Earth societies, and as unaffiliated individuals using social media. In a 2018 study reported on by Scientific American, only 82% of 18- to 24-year-old American respondents agreed with the statement "I have always believed the world is round". However, a firm belief in a flat Earth is rare, with less than 2% acceptance in all age groups.