Buzz
There are over 100 bodies of water across the globe that are officially recognized as seas or commonly known by that name. So when someone mentions sailing the “seven seas,” which ones are they talking about?
The answer depends on who you ask and when. Often, the phrase isn’t used literally but refers broadly to all of the seas and oceans. However, as noted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the term originated in ancient Mesopotamia in a religious poem, and over time, different cultures have used it to describe specific sets of bodies of water. It has been applied to trade routes, regional waterways, and the oceans of distant, exotic lands.
The ancient Greeks, who introduced the concept to the Western world, applied the term to the Adriatic, Aegean, Black, Caspian, Mediterranean, and Red seas, as well as the Persian Gulf.
For Medieval Arabian geographers and explorers, the Seven Seas referred to the bodies of water they navigated during their voyages to the Far East. These included the Sea of Fars (the modern-day Persian Gulf), Larwi (Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea), Harkand (Bay of Bengal), Kalah or Kalahbar (Strait of Malacca), Salahit (Singapore Strait), Kardanj (Gulf of Thailand and the part of the South China Sea between Sumatra and Borneo), and Sanji (South China Sea).
Medieval Europeans, on the other hand, had several variations of the Seven Seas, which included the Adriatic, Aegean, Arabian, Baltic, Black, Caspian, Mediterranean, North, and Red seas, in addition to the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean.
During the Age of Exploration, as Europeans discovered the Americas, some sailors expanded the concept to include New World waters. The Seven Seas then encompassed the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas, and the Gulf of Mexico, with different groupings depending on the interpretation.
Today, the term is mostly used figuratively, but if one were to take it literally, according to NOAA, the world has five major oceans—the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Pacific—and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are divided into northern and southern parts by the equator, giving us seven 'seas' to explore.
