Ancient Greek

Models of the
Universe
 Goal
Explain how Plato’s Problem of “saving the
appearances”and the two domain system
constrained the Greek models of the
Universe.
Ancient Greek Philosophers

Pythagoras Plato

Eudoxus Aristotle
 Two-domain view of the Universe
DOMAIN ELEMENTS MOTION

Celestial domain “ether” perfect motion:

“perfect” circular and
-made up of the perfect constant speed
substance

Terrestrial domain Fire Alteration

“imperfect” air natural motion
❑ the tendency of water violent motion
things to attain Earth
perfection is the -tend to move towards
cause of their motion the center of the
Universe or away from
the earth naturally
Guessing Game
Ancient Greek
Models of the
Universe
 Greek Astronomy
Thales

▪ About 624 BC to 547 BC

▪ famous for discovering
why eclipses happened
and that could predict
them
▪ There are no books or
writings that have
survived from Thales.
 Greek Astronomy
Anaximander
▪ c. 610- c. 546
▪ great early philosopher,
better known for his ideas
about evolution, was the
first Greek philosopher to
create a cosmological model

▪ believed that the earth was

cylindrical in shape, and
imagined it to be surrounded
by air and then fire, 'like the
bark of a tree'
 Greek Astronomy
Pythagoras
● c. 570 - c. 495 BC
● He thought that the universe
could be explained with
mathematics.

● He was also the first ancient

astronomer to suggest that there
was a harmony of the spheres,
and that the movement of the
planets, sun, moon and stars
could be described by whole
numbers and mathematical
precision.
 Greek Astronomy
Empedocles

▪ 492 BC - 432 BC
▪ He devised the theory that
all substances are made of
four pure, indestructible
elements: air, fire, water,
and earth.
 Greek Astronomy
Plato
▪c. 427 - c. 347 BC
▪ He was the student of Socrates.

▪ proposed that the stars formed

the outermost crystal sphere,
followed by the planets, the sun,
the moon, and the spherical
earth at the center.
 Greek Astronomy
Eudoxus
▪ envisioned the universe as
containing the static earth at
the centre, with the stars
occupying the outermost
crystal sphere. The sun, inside
this sphere, rotated around
the earth at the same speed
as the stars,
 Greek Astronomy
Eratosthenes

● 276 BC to 194 BC
● Librarian at the Great Library
of Alexandria in Egypt.

● Developed a calendar with a

leap year.
● Measured the circumference
of the Earth in 325 BC
 Greek Astronomy
Hipparchus

▪ 190 BC to 120 BC
▪ considered the first great
astronomer and scientist

▪ He used his trigonometric

methods to calculate
eclipses of the sun and
moon.
 Greek Astronomy
Ptolemy

▪ About 85 AD - 165 AD
▪ the most influential
astronomer in his day and a
great admirer of Hipparchus

▪ great proponent of the

geocentric model
 Greek Astronomy
Aristotle
▪ 384 BC to 322 BC
▪ Founded his own school called the Lyceum
in Athens

▪ one of the first to attempt to create a

scientific model of the universe
▪ This model has now become known as the
“Geocentric Model” which places the
“imperfect” Earth at the center and all of
the “perfect” celestial objects go around us
in perfect circular motion
 Greek Astronomy
Aristarchus

▪ About 310 BC to 230 BC

▪ teacher of the better-
known Archimedes

▪ the first to attempt to measure the

relative distance between the Earth-
Moon and the Earth-Sun without the
aid of trigonometry
Development
of the Greek
models of the
Universe
● Before the telescope was invented,
ancient astronomers only used
their unaided eyes to observe the
sky and the stars.

● Eventually they created basic

models of the universe.
 Eratosthenes
explain
the circumference
of the earth
NORTH STAR
 Plato’s Model of Universe

*The Universe is consists of crystalline spheres

containing Moon, Sun and the five planets
(Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn)

▪ The stars are fixed in the outermost crystalline

sphere that rotates annually.
 spherical
crystalline
shell of Plato
Eudoxus of Cnidus

❑He was considered as the first astronomer

to explain the retrograde motion of the
planets in the sky.
▪ He found out the differences in the
motion of each planet should be
considered to give an accurate
description of the Universe.
 Aristotle’s Model of Universe

❑ Aristotle somehow patterned his model to the

model of Eudoxus.
❑ It showed that the universe was spherical and finite.
❑ Just like Eudoxus, he perceived Earth was at the

center of the universe and was stationary because

he believed that Earth is too big to move; thus it
could not rotate.
 Aristotle’s Model of Universe
❑ Other celestial bodies were
built up symmetrically in
concentric spherical rings
around the Earth
❑ 57 auxiliary spheres
❑ All bodies have natural motion
❑ All motion is circular with
constant speed.. Nothing ever
changes.
 Aristotle’s Model of
Universe
❖ He further described that each ring was in physical
contact with one another,
which means..

❖the motion of a heavenly body in one

sphere will affect the motion of a nearby
heavenly body..
● Due to complications, the Aristotelian Prime
Mover is ignored and instead other philosophers
concentrated on the production of retrograde
devices”.
motion of all planets using “
● Among the devices, one can specifically focus on
the combination of different and the epicycles.
These devices, though complicates the original
model, is most practically accurate during that
era.
astrolabe
➢ an instrument that once was the most used,
multipurpose astronomical instrument.
➢ two-dimensional model of the celestial
sphere.
➢ The name has its origins from the Greek
words astron and lambanien meaning "the
one who catches the heavenly bodies.
Geocentric
Models
of
Universe
 Ancient Greece
Ptolemic Model
If you were given a chance to
talk for your chosen Greek
Philosopher, who will it be
and what will you tell him
about his findings on ancient
history?
Ready?
KRGEES
 TOBALE
RODIHSPE
THONR
SRAT
SARTITLOE
CEILSPE
HSAWOD
RAETOSHTENSE
TRERGRODAE
MOITON
TRSIMEGOENC
LLIEAGO
GIALILE
 April 8,2024
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