How Wide Spans the Ocean Sea

Herodotus recorded several nautical accounts; however, are they trustworthy and, if positive, to what extent? The Phoenician ship replica attests to the seaworthiness of their vessels rather than to the details of the epic 2700-year-old voyage across Africa. For most intellectuals of the European Middle Ages, the ocean was a dangerous place. Only toward the close of the fifteenth century, some mapmakers endeavored to visualize the 'latitudinal' route connecting the remote West with the Far East. Columbus was a diehard prisoner of his ambition; he could not help manipulating his figures and engaged in wishful thinking to make his dream come true.