Still More Views...

Found some great other maps, feel free to look over or not at your leisure...

Equal-area projection of the world represents land masses in correct proportion to each other in terms of land area.
There are various types of these projections, but biggest thing to notice is how big the equatorial countries are compared to a "normal" projection; those we see everyday in school/on tv.

A "normal" (Mercator) projection of the world. Compare to above image.

Another equal-area projection, this time flipped "upside-down" with South at the top. Also centred on Asia, India, and Australia. Why is North always up?

There's no scientific reason for it.

Korean map of the world, mid-eighteenth century.

From (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/heavens.html)

A map of the universe, earth-centric,
representing the planets in horizontal layers above us with Heaven at the very top.

From Konrad von Megenberg's Buch der Natur, mid 14th century.

From (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/heavens.html)

And finally:

"Map" from a 1976 New Yorker cover. Illustrates a New Yorker's view of the world, from 9th avenue, with vague lumps denoting other cities, and some flattish landmasses describing the edges of the New Yorker's awareness: China, Japan, Russia. From (http://www.adambaumgoldgallery.com/steinberg/posters/view_of_new_york.jpg)

Homer: The Iliad: Book 18, The Shield of Achilles

LINK TO SYNOPSIS: http://oldweb.uwp.edu/academic/english/canary/iliad.html

Here is a link to the Homer selection online. Assigned section begins about three quarters of the way down the page with the paragraph:
"First he shaped the shield so great and strong, adorning it all over and binding it round with a gleaming circuit in three layers..."
and continuing to the end.

I will also send a scanned copy to each of you via email.

Watch for upcoming slides of maps from different points of view to be posted by Monday...

http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.18.xviii.html

Questions to Ponder:
How does the Homeric shield represent a Greek worldview - and what does that say about maps in general?
Does it mean anything special that this map is a piece of armor used to fight a rival who was culturally different?
How do we use our maps to contextualize ourselves in the world and "defend" ourselves against others?
What within the map seems truly odd (to us) to be included? Longhorn cattle, perhaps?
How is this shield also similar to an auto-ethnography of Greek life?
How does this piece of literature work to let us into the mind of someone from the Greek culture? What inhibits us from being able to truly experience that culture?

Another Worldview

Original Stone Map ca 500-700BC

probably from Sippar (modern day Iraq)

Map Interpreted

What the heck is it?

"This celebrated map shows the world as a disc, surrounded by bitter water. Babylon is in the centre of the River Euphrates, which flows south through the marshes to the Gulf. Circles are used to indicate cities or countries. Eight outlying regions, triangular in shape, are the home of strange or legendary beings. At the top the scribe has written 'Where the sun is not seen,' to indicate north. The accompanying text, describing these regions, mentions Utnapishtim and Sargon of Akkad." (http://www.roie.org/bab.htm)

Why is it relevant

Another view of the world as others have explained it.

Questions:

So how does this differ from our maps, exactly?

What the heck does this have to do with literature?

Is this the same worldview as would be described, say, in the Epic of Gilgamesh (ancient Babylonian myth-history)?

Confusion and Perpective

What the heck is it?
It's a map - a very early map. From Turkey, ca 6200 BC. Volcano erupts behind the town. (A colored illustration of a stone painting in an ancient tomb near Ankara).

Why is it relevant?
It shows how humans have objectified the world, and tried to describe and preserve the understanding of their surroundings, even before written language.

Questions:
How does this describe the mindset of the people themselves? (What does it say about them?)
Why this point of view (literally)?
Why this particular scene?
Does it remind you of anything (your own maps, other maps, things found in nature, etc?)