“People used to believe the Earth was flat.”

The idea that people in the Middle Ages widely believed the Earth was flat is a pervasive misconception, often used to paint earlier times as unenlightened. This myth largely gained prominence in the 19th century, propagated by writers who sought to highlight the supposed conflict between science and religion, or to depict previous eras as inherently ignorant and superstitious compared to their own. Figures like Washington Irving, in his 1828 fictionalized biography of Christopher Columbus, are often credited with popularizing the notion that Columbus faced resistance due to a belief in a flat Earth, when in reality, the debates were about the size of the Earth and the length of the journey, not its shape.

In truth, the sphericity of the Earth was a concept understood by educated individuals and scholars as far back as ancient Greece. Philosophers like Aristotle and mathematicians like Eratosthenes provided compelling evidence for a spherical Earth centuries before the Middle Ages, with Eratosthenes even accurately calculating its circumference. This knowledge was preserved and continued through the Roman Empire and into the Middle Ages, where prominent thinkers like Bede and Thomas Aquinas explicitly discussed the Earth as a sphere. Maps from the period, while often symbolic, did not depict a flat world.

Despite the historical and scientific evidence to the contrary, the myth persists for several reasons. It offers a simple, compelling narrative of progress, where modern enlightenment triumphs over ancient ignorance. It also fits into a broader, often oversimplified, understanding of history that pits scientific discovery against religious dogma, even when historical evidence suggests a more nuanced relationship. This makes the "flat Earth" myth a powerful, albeit inaccurate, symbol in popular culture.