Images

The Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece c. 500 BCE.

The Temple of Aphaia, a local fertility goddess of the island of Aegina, Greece, c. 500 BCE.

The temple of local fertility goddess Aphaia whose role was eventually assumed by Athena; c. 500 BCE.

A modern statue in County Cork of the 5th century CE Irish monk Saint Brendan who features in the 'Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis'.

A modern painting showing the voyage of the 5th century CE Irish monk Saint Brendan, as told in the 'Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis'. Artist: Edward Reginald Frampton. (Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, USA)

St. Brendan’s voyage, 1460 CE manuscript image. From a book illustration Manuscriptum translationis germanicae, Cod. Pal. Germ. 60, fol. 179v (University Library Augsburg, Germany)

A model of one of the fleets used by the mariner and explorer Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433 CE) who made seven voyages from China to India, Arabia and East Africa under the auspices of Emperor Yongle of the Ming dynasty between 1404 and 1433...

A model of the mariner and explorer Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433 CE) who made seven voyages from China to India, Arabia and East Africa under the auspices of Emperor Yongle of the Ming dynasty between 1404 and 1433 CE. (Quanzhou Maritime Museum...

A silk scroll painting by Shen Du depicting a giraffe given in tribute by King Saif Al-Din Hamzah Shah of Bengal to the Yongle Emperor (r. 1403-1424 CE) of China's Ming Dynasty. The tribute was one of the many collected by Admiral Zheng He...

A 19th century CE oil painting of a traditional Chinese junk ship, used for ocean-going trade voyages since medieval times. (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)