Centuries ago, cartographers placed sea monsters in nautical maps to both illsutrate the wonders of the ocean and educated their viewers about what were believed to be real sea creatures. Richly decorated, these maps weren't used for any real navigational purpose, but rather as beautiful, whimsical artwork for the wealthy to display. Many of the cartographers believed in that every land animal had a water-based equivalent that lived in the ocean, a theory populariexed by Pliny the Elder. With this belief in mind, cartographers would learn about these monsters from sailing lore and sailors--who were often uneducated--and would depict these creatures with strange combinations of limbs, fins, tails, and heads. Sea monsters would often also reference Greek mythology, Biblical events, and ongoing political conflicts and leaders. It was during the Enlightenment, in the 18th century, that cartographers would stop adding sea monsters to maps and would instead emphasize new, scientific illsutrations of the ocean. With growing interest in science rather than mythology and increasing access to maps and other printed material, sea creatures were considered too whimsical and nonsensical.