Spherical Heavens of Greek Cosmology
The ancient Greeks understood that the only way that the complicated circuits of heaven can work is if it’s in the form of a sphere. It also begs the question, how could they conclude as to what shape the heavens are if they can’t see the border of it? Parmenides (circa 515–450 BCE) Parmenides was an early pre-Socratic philosopher who contributed to the idea of a spherical cosmos. Fragment 1 of Parmenides (as quoted by Simplicius): “The solid heavens, being circular, surround all things within them.” Eudoxus of Cnidus (circa 390–337 BCE) Eudoxus was an influential Greek astronomer and mathematician who developed early models of the spherical cosmos. Eudoxus (as summarized by Hipparchus and reported by Simplicius): “Eudoxus made the fixed stars to move on a sphere, and the sun, moon, and planets to move on other spheres concentric with the sphere of the…