The Flat Earth Society
Flat Earth Discussion Boards => Flat Earth Investigations => Topic started by: Connor on February 03, 2025, 10:56:25 PM
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While I was talking about my project with a teacher, she brang up of where the flat earth theory had originated.
When did the flat earth theory originate from
As there is evidence of a flat earth theory dating back to the 1500s, I am wondering if it dates back further and by who?
(I checked FAQ and there was nothing on the topic)
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The Ancient Babylonians and many other cultures depicted the earth as a flat plane.
If you look at this Wiki (https://wiki.tfes.org/Flat_Earth_Historical_Figures) link, you can find some more history.
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As far as can be determined most civilizations concluded that the Earth was flat, even those who were highly adept at astronomy and astronomical prediction such as the Babylonians. The Greeks were the first to speculate on a round earth. It is not a view which appeared organically in any other civilization.
See this quote from https://wiki.tfes.org/The_Ancient_Greeks
“ Although we condemn flat-Earth thinking as an example of foolish ignorance, a spherical Earth is actually counterintuitive. It’s such a radical idea that it has been ‘discovered’ only once, in Athens after 400 BCE. The concept of the Earth being round didn’t appear in any other civilisation. India and the Islamic world learnt it from the Greeks, while China had to wait until the Jesuits arrived in the 16th century and turned the Chinese view of the Universe upside down. ” —Historian of science Dr. James Hannam, author of "God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science" (bio (https://web.archive.org/web/20200816163409/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2981365.James_Hannam), source (http://archive.vn/wip/zNwpk))