The ancient Greek thinker Anaximander lent his prodigious talents to pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, geography, geometry, and cosmology.

Early maps often charted constellations. They were painted onto cave walls or carved into stone. As people began to travel and explore more of the world, geographical maps started to come together.

This story appears in the July 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine ... He decided that a magnificent gift—a lavish map of the world—might maneuver him into the new king’s good ...