The focus of this study is to trace Plato’s myth back to its origins in order to attribute Atlant... more The focus of this study is to trace Plato’s myth back to its origins in order to attribute Atlantis to only one possible realistic location in time and space, that is to say the historical and cultural context of the Aegean. A comparative analysis of linguistic, archaeological and iconographic evidence is therefore conducted so as to recognize some distinctive features of the Minoan world which Plato seems to recall. Further clues to the Aegean ideology are also derived from an investigation of the Atlantean spatial configurations. In the light of our current archaeological and linguistic data, the references to Atlantis given by Plato in Critias and Timaeus seem to regard the historical, political and cultural events which characterized the Aegean world. The description of an Atlantean golden age followed by a period of decline, concomitant with violent earthquakes and floods, seems therefore to constitute the memory transfigured into a myth of the terrible eruption which took plac...
The Problem of Longitude: Vespucci and Verrazzano The aim of this study is to delineate the theor... more The Problem of Longitude: Vespucci and Verrazzano The aim of this study is to delineate the theoretical and methodological principles of two pioneering attempts to solve the longitude problem in the Atlantic Ocean, in the light of available documentation. As the great transoceanic voyages began, between the end of the XV century and Cook’s time, the problem of accurate measurement of longitude at sea, on long voyages out of sight of land, became crucial and its astronomical solution highly desirable. Vespucci adopted the “lunar distance” method, while Verrazzano’s method was based on the observation of the elevation of the sun. However, despite some inaccuracy, the two Italian navigators succeeded in identifying correct theoretical principles, providing a fundamental contribution to the solution of the longitude problem. This was solved many years later, thanks to more accurate astronomical data and careful observation. Le probleme de la longitude: Vespucci et Verrazzano Le but de c...
The focus of this study is to trace Plato’s myth back to its origins in order to attribute Atlant... more The focus of this study is to trace Plato’s myth back to its origins in order to attribute Atlantis to only one possible realistic location in time and space, that is to say the historical and cultural context of the Aegean. A comparative analysis of linguistic, archaeological and iconographic evidence is therefore conducted so as to recognize some distinctive features of the Minoan world which Plato seems to recall. Further clues to the Aegean ideology are also derived from an investigation of the Atlantean spatial configurations. In the light of our current archaeological and linguistic data, the references to Atlantis given by Plato in Critias and Timaeus seem to regard the historical, political and cultural events which characterized the Aegean world. The description of an Atlantean golden age followed by a period of decline, concomitant with violent earthquakes and floods, seems therefore to constitute the memory transfigured into a myth of the terrible eruption which took plac...
The Problem of Longitude: Vespucci and Verrazzano The aim of this study is to delineate the theor... more The Problem of Longitude: Vespucci and Verrazzano The aim of this study is to delineate the theoretical and methodological principles of two pioneering attempts to solve the longitude problem in the Atlantic Ocean, in the light of available documentation. As the great transoceanic voyages began, between the end of the XV century and Cook’s time, the problem of accurate measurement of longitude at sea, on long voyages out of sight of land, became crucial and its astronomical solution highly desirable. Vespucci adopted the “lunar distance” method, while Verrazzano’s method was based on the observation of the elevation of the sun. However, despite some inaccuracy, the two Italian navigators succeeded in identifying correct theoretical principles, providing a fundamental contribution to the solution of the longitude problem. This was solved many years later, thanks to more accurate astronomical data and careful observation. Le probleme de la longitude: Vespucci et Verrazzano Le but de c...
Uploads
Papers by Mario Negri