What does the name Antarctica: myths and reality

Two of the most mysterious continent of our planet-the Arctic and the Antarctic – continue to bring surprises scientists and researchers. Since paleontological remains and ending with the traces of meteor strikes in the distant past. But what does the name Antarctica and where it came from, don't know everything.

Mythology

What does the name Antarctica, to give a brief answer will not work. The name of the mythological Greek sailors. The myth tells the story of how the chief God of Greek mythology fell in love with the nymph Callisto. The other gods, envious of their love, transformed the nymph into a bear. But before that she gave birth to a son – arcade. The son grew up hunting and took aim at the bear that was his mother. Zeus saved them both by turning into constellations-the Big and Small dipper. It is these constellations and today the main guiding landmarks for travelers.

Some languages

The word Literally translates from Greek as “opposite of a bear”. Ancient Greek cartographers called the icy Northern continent ‘arktikos” in honor of the Great bear constellation, which was the main landmark in the naval campaigns. Opposite the Northern mainland has the prefix "ant" "on the contrary". So, what does the name Antarctica, it becomes clear to everyone.

A Little history

In the year 350 BC in his book “Meteorology” the Greek naturalist and philosopher Aristotle mentioned the existence of “Antarctic Peninsula region”. A geographer and cartographer of Ancient Greece of the second century of our era Martin tyre has already identified this region on maps. The writers of Ancient Greece I-II century ad, Gaius Julius Hyginus, Apuleius coined mythologized name for the South pole P&mónica;lus antarcticus, in the meaning opposite of North. Such a designation of the southern continent and became the basis of modern names pôle antarctique recorded in old French documents 1270 and converted to treatises the Englishman Geoffrey Chaucer in 1391.

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Antarctic variations

“in front of the North” and called for a long time a variety of regions. Thus, in the XVI century, in Brazil, the French colony was called Antarctic France. Under the land, which meant the name of the Antarctic continent, knew all the island territories of the extreme South. The term "Antarctica" was used in the cartography of the middle ages and meant the southern part of the planet.

How is the Antarctica called Antarctica

Officially, the name was assigned to the mainland by a cartographer from Scotland John George Bartholomew. It was in the 90-ies of the XIX century the so-called land of the South of the planet, which was designated as Antarctica.

By the Way, its discoverers, F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev in 1820, called the open lands of the “livnim the mainland". And Charles Wilkes, Explorer and leader of many expeditions of the naval forces of America, in 1840, called the land of the Antarctic continent.

But no matter how we call the most southern continent of the planet and in whatever way explained, what does the name "Antarctica," his riddles are not over. New research methods, remote sensing and radiation the typing lead to a lot more unraveling the mysteries of the amazing ice continent.