Ortelius's Map of World

The text at the top of this world map by Abraham Ortelius reads: Typus Orbis Terrarum (Map of the World). The map dates to 1570 and is the first map of the world to appear in a standard atlas and is thus of fundamental importance to the history of cartography. Centered on the Atlantic Ocean, the map covers the entire world from pole to pole. The general presentation of an oval projection derived from earlier maps by Appianus and Bordonius, Cartographically it is derived from the world of Gerard Mercator (1569), Gastaldi (1561) and Gutierrez. The text at the bottom is a quote attributed to the Roman orator Cicero: Quid ei potest videri magnum in rebus humanis, cui aeternitas omnis totiusque mundi nota sit magnitude (For what can seem of moment in human occurences to a man who keeps all eternity before his eyes and knows the vastness of the universe). Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) was a Dutch cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. (Photo by: Ivy Close Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)