Monument To The Discoveries And Astrolabe In Lisbon, Portugal Editorial Image

The Padrao dos Descobrimentos, or the Monument to the Discoveries, honors the intrepid Portuguese explorers whose influence was vast, in Asia, Africa, and South America. More specifically, the monuments celebrates the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries when Portuguese ships set off from this spot to explore and trade with India, the Orient and the Americas. Not forgotten is the large Astrolabe, the navigational device invented by the ancient Greeks and improved significantly by the Arabs. Ironically, the Arab Moors were expelled from Portugal just as Portugal was in its ascendency. The Portuguese dictator Salazar dedicated the monument in 1960 which marked 500 years since the death of Henry the Navigator. Thirty three Portuguese notables of the time are depicted in the statues in the lower portion of the 52 meter high monument. Among them were explorers Henry, Magellan, da Gama, Cabral, and King Alfonso V. The navigation instrument in the lower right is an astrolabe. This was invented by the ancient Greeks but was significantly improved by the Arabs, many of whom lived in Portugal. Ironically, these Arab Moors were expelled from Portugal even as the nation was reaching its ascendancy.