When did People First Realize that the Earth is Round?

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It was as early as 350 B.C. when Greek scholars decided that Earth must be round. But in other countries, people continued to believe that the Earth is flat. Even as late as the time of Christopher Columbus, at the end of the 15th century, a fear of falling off the edge of the Earth existed among seamen. According to Hindu Mythology, the Earth is a slab which is supported by four pillars. These pillars rest on four elephants. These elephants stand on a giant turtle which swims in a huge ocean. The Greek philosopher Anaximander of Miletus (611-546 B.C.) thought that man might be living on the surface of a cylinder, which was curved from north to south. He was the first to suggest a shape of the Earth other than from being flat.

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