Anyone who lived on the seacoast, particularly from the time of ships with masts, knew the world was round, because they could watch the ship sink below the horizon as it sailed away (or rise above it sailing landward). In fact, back around 200 BC, Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth with surprising accuracy.
Anyone who lived on the seacoast, particularly from the time of ships with masts, knew the world was round, because they could watch the ship sink below the horizon as it sailed away (or rise above it sailing landward). In fact, back around 200 BC, Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth with surprising accuracy.