THEA-

TER

OF THE

WORLD-

LY GLOBE

original: "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum". This translates literally to "Theater of the Circle of the Lands." This title conveys the idea that the world is a stage or a spectacle that can be viewed in its entirety within the pages of this book.

An architectural frontispiece for Abraham Ortelius's atlas, Theater of the World, featuring an allegorical representation of the continents. At the top, a personification of Europe sits enthroned beneath a wooden trellis entwined with grapevines. She wears a crown and holds a scepter and a globus cruciger, which is an orb topped with a cross symbolizing worldly power. Two terrestrial globes resting on scrolls flank the arbor. On the left, Asia stands dressed in an elaborate, classical style gown with a red bodice, holding an incense burner. On the right, Africa is depicted as a woman with a sunburst headdress, holding a leafy branch. At the base of the structure, America is shown as a reclining nude figure holding a severed human head and a bow, with arrows lying near her feet. Beside her, to the right, is a bust of a woman representing Magellanica, the hypothesized Southern Continent, positioned above a burning fire on a stone pedestal. The title is inscribed in gold Roman capital letters on a solid blue rectangular field. The text is framed by a stone monument decorated with Doric columns, animal skulls known as bucrania, and golden medallions.