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The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era beginning at the end of the 19th century and closing with Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the survivors stepping ashore in Wellington, New Zealand February 9th 1917.〔 *〕 Historian Aant Elzinga gives the much later date of 1945, considering World War II to be the turning point in Antarctic research.〔 *〕 During this period the Antarctic continent became the focus of an international effort that resulted in intensive scientific and geographical exploration and in which 17 major Antarctic expeditions were launched from ten countries.〔Barczewski, pp. 19–20. (Barczewski mentions a figure of 14 expeditions)〕 The common factor in these expeditions was the limited nature of the resources available to them before advances in transport and communication technologies revolutionized the work of exploration.〔〔Huntford, p. 691 – "before machines took over."〕 This meant that each expedition became a feat of endurance that tested its personnel to physical and mental limits, and sometimes beyond. The "heroic" label, bestowed later, recognized the adversities which had to be overcome by these pioneers, some of whom did not survive the experience; during this period 19 expedition members died. Furthermore, the heroic label recognizes the romanticism with which the Antarctic landscape was dealt with. The explorers of this age are not remembered merely as scientists and sailors; stereotyped as on one hand objective, calculating, and on the other rude, unrefined. Rather, these men are remembered also as poets, photographers and artists.〔 *〕 Ernest Shackleton is often considered the greatest poet of all the Antarctic explorers.〔 His poem 'A Tale of the Sea' is reminiscent of Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, though Murray, Scott, Amundsen and many others have made notable contributions to Antarctic literature and art.〔 Moreover, this artistic expression is closely knitted with the nationalism that is prevalent leading into and including World War I, making these men more than explorers but heroes of the nation.〔 Consider the following patriotic lines found in Shackleton's 'A Tale of the Sea': ::Where nailed to the rotting flagstaffs: ::The old white Ensigns flew ::Badge of our English freedom ::Over all waters blue. The ability to express their impressions of the Antarctic landscape separates these explorers from sailors and makes them heroes to the publics of their respective nations. During the course of these expeditions the geographical and magnetic poles were both reached.〔Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole in 1909 was widely accepted at the time – see Amundsen, p. 42, Barczewski, pp. 61–62. It later became the subject of dispute – see Berton, pp. 614–625.〕 The achievement of being first to the geographical South Pole was a primary object in some expeditions, and was the sole rationale for Roald Amundsen's venture. However, this was not the only aspect of polar exploration during this time; other expeditions worked with defined objectives in different areas of the continent. As a result of all this activity, much of the continent's coastline was discovered and mapped, and significant areas of its interior were explored. The expeditions also generated large quantities of scientific data and specimens across a wide range of scientific disciplines, the examination and analysis of which would keep the world's scientific communities busy for decades.〔For example, the scientific results of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902–04 were still being published in 1920 (Speak, p. 100). 25 volumes of results from the Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13 had been published by 1925. ((【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/95/95247.html ))〕 ==Origins== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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