The Ancient Mariners of the Mediterranean and Ming Dynasty China: A Comparison of Seafaring in the Ancient World “Audaces fortuna iuvat!” This Roman motto which literally means “fortune favors the bold” has been cited as a common adage used by business men during the apogee of Roman Imperial domination. Most historians who have studied the Roman world of the first and second centuries AD would most likely agree that the seafarers under the protection of the Roman Empire would have held this motto dear to their own hearts. The Mediterranean Sea of this time has been referred to as a “Roman Lak