----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
Darius-
 
A short explanation of the origin of the names is found on p. 101 of _The
Discoverers; a history of man's search to know his world and himself_ by
Daniel Boorstin.  Random House, 1983.
 
"According to Scripture, as Isidore of Seville explained, the inhabited
earth had been divided among the three sones of noah: Shem, Ham, and
Japheth. Asia was named after Queen Asia 'of the posterity of Shem, and is
inhabited by 27 peoples ... Africa is derived from Afer, a descendant of
Abraham [Ham], and has 30 races of 360 towns,' while Europe, named after
the Europa of mythology, 'is inhabited by the 15 tribes of the sones of
Japheth and has 120 cities.'"
 
David Lundquist
Map Librarian
Shields Library
Univ. of California, Davis
 
 
On Tue, 12 Aug 1997, Darius Bartlett wrote:
 
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I know it isn't strictly cartographic, but you folks are so
> good at answering obscure questions that I thought I would
> take advantage of the (northern hemisphere) summer lull to ask...
>
> Can anyone enlighten me regarding the origins of the names
> "Asia", "Europe" and "Africa"? Where did these names come
> from, who first coined them ... and why?
> "Australia" and "America" are more straightforward and, I
> think, reasonable well documented, but the old world seems
> less so.
>
> Hope those of you who, like me, have been given time off for
> good behaviour are enjoying your vacation :-)
>
> Darius Bartlett
>