answersLogoWhite

0

The word Antarctica comes from the Greek. It means "south of the bear". The Greeks were referring to the word Arcos, which is a constellation that can only be seen in the northern hemisphere.

More than 2000 years ago, Greek writers described a large mass of land in the south of the world. Even though they had never seen it, they believed it must exist so that it could 'balance' the land they knew about in the northern half of the world. They named this imagined land 'Anti-Arkitos', meaning the 'opposite of the Arctic'.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?