The World and the Ancients Again.
Not long since the question was asked, "How the ancients knew there were poles without having some idea of the roundness of the earth." A phrase, intonnere poli, was quoted from Virgil which is certainly translated "The poles resound with thunder." As I interpret this it means the heavens thunder—the "heavens" being symbolized by the "poles" upon which they were supposed to revolve. According to the ancient idea the earth was a circular disk, above which was the "starry vault of heaven," of solid metal, and below which was the deep cave of Hades.
Around the earth flowed the black waters of the River Ocean, and beyond this the heavens met the lower world in much the same manner as the one half of a hollow sphere joins the other. But the shape was not spherical, it was elliptical, and this peculiar mass whirled on an axis extending from the highest point of heaven down through the centre of the earth to the lowest point of Hades. Either extremity of this axis was a pole, hence the use of "poles" for "heavens," but whether this axis was an imaginary one or whether it is to be taken literally I have been unable to ascertain.
The earth was thus completely enveloped by the upper and lower worlds, separated from them by strong horizontal pillars, and held in its place by Atlas; but notwithstanding the fact that an axis passed directly through it, the earth had no rotary motion; in other words, the earth was in the interior of a spinning mass. These are some of the most important facts, and I hope an answer to the question. In looking over the Grecian and Roman mythology a great many conflicting theories are noticed, and the ancient mind appears to have been most unstable and unsatisfied in regard to the idea of the construction and arrangement of the universe.
Paul A. Sinsheimer.
San Luis Obispo, Cal.