The ocean has always been an important part of many cultures and a great influence on Man. It has been reflected in various myths and legends from around the world. In the centuries of exploration and trade, sailors were regarded as explorers in the dangerous expanses of water, adventuring to discover new riches and lands; people knew little of the sea in those times, and little of the lands that it separated them from. The ocean possessed an aura of mystery, adventure and intrigue; it was the great barrier that distanced exotic lands.