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Introduction to the Underwater World
The darp depths of the sea and the secrets it conceals
have always exerted both fear and fascination, but even
now, when man is exploring outer space, underwater exploration
is limited to a depth of a few hundred metres below the
surface.
The first diver was Gilgamesh, the hero of the Sumerian
epic of 5,000 years ago, who dived to the depths of the
sea with heavy stones tied to his legs to obtain the plant
of everlasting life, while in early Greek mythology Theseus
proved to Minos of Crete that he was the son of Poseidon
by throwing a ring into the sea and diving down to recover
it returning not only with the ring but also with a golden
crown given him by the goddess Amphitrite.
 The
first actual diver known by name is Skyllias, who, according
to Herodotus, was employed by the Persians to recover objects
of value from sunken ships. Thucydides mentions the use
of divers in the siege of Syracuse, while in the siege of
Tyre by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. divers wearing goat-skin
suits were employed to destroy underwater barricades.
Aristotle mentions a type of apparatus that would allow
divers to remain underwater for some time, while Pliny talks
of divers using air tubes. In 385 A.D. Vegetius describes
a diving-helmet with breathing tubes, while Leonardo da
Vinci has left sketches of both submarines and diving gear.
Throughout all this time, however, sponge divers continued
to use only to most primitive equipment, consisting of a
heavy stone attached to the legs or arms by means of which
the diver could descend to the seabed. Having gathered his
sponges he would release the stone, which would then be
drawn up again to the surface by a rope attached to it.
The sponge divers were very skilful indeed, and this accounts
for the outstanding excellence of the divers employed in
the Ottoman fleet from as early as the time of Mehmet the
Conqueror right up to Sultan Abdulaziz.
Activities
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