In his 'Natural History' Pliny quotes Eratosthenes as measuring the circumference of the Earth at 252,000 stadia (~39.000 km) which is very close to the actual ~40,075 km. He also very clearly calls it a globe.
Erastosthenes was born in 276 BC.
In his 'Natural History' Pliny quotes Eratosthenes as measuring the circumference of the Earth at 252,000 stadia (~39.000 km) which is very close to the actual ~40,075 km. He also very clearly calls it a globe.
Erastosthenes was born in 276 BC.
Imagine Eratosthenes looking at such a view and then saying to himself he could measure the world by presupposing sun rays are parallel and allegedly knowing the straight-line distance from Alexandria and Syenne(?)
