8 | Antarctica Destination Guide
Antarctica, the southernmost continent,
has long been regarded with intrigue and
a sense of myster y. The final continent to
be discovered, mapped and char ted, its icy
terrain remained little more than speculation
until the 19th centur y.
The ancient Greeks were among the first
to hypothesise the existence of a southern
continent. They believed in the concept
of "Terra Australis Incognita" (Unknown
Southern Land), which was thought to
balance the landmasses in the Nor thern
Hemisphere. This idea was based on the
principle of symmetr y and balance in nature.
The Greeks named this hypothetical land
"Antarktikos," meaning "opposite the Arctic."
e history of Antarctic exploration: from early
expeditions to modern research stations
e Intrigue of the
WHITE CONTINENT
Recent studies suggest that Polynesian
explorers might have reached the Antarctic
waters long before Western explorers. Oral
histories and traditional stories from Māori
and other Polynesian cultures describe
voyages to a distant, icy land, possibly as early
as the 7th centur y.
During the Age of Exploration, from the 15th
to the 18th centuries, European explorers
and car tographers continued to speculate
about a southern continent. But it wasn't
until 1820, that explorers from Russia, Britain
and the United States first star ted to claim
to have seen the continent – all within days
of each other. These early expeditions were
perilous, with explorers facing extreme cold,
EXPLORERS' LOUNGE DISPLAY CASE
