References to identifiable stars and constellations appear in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, the earliest surviving examples of Greek literature. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer refers to the following celestial objects: the constellation Boötes the star cluster Hyades the constellation Orion the star cluster Pleiades the Dog Star Sirius the constellation Ursa Major Hesiod, who wrote in the early 7th century BC, adds the star Arcturus to this list in his poetic calendar Works and Days. Though neither Homer nor Hesiod set out to write a scientific work, they hint at a rudimentary cosmology of a flat earth surrounded by an Ocean River. Some stars rise and set (disappear into the ocean, from the viewpoint of the Greeks) others are ever-visible. At certain times of the year, certain stars will rise or set at sunrise or sunset.Speculation about the cosmos was common in Pre-Socratic philosophy in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Anaximander (c. 610 BC–c. 546 BC) described a cylindrical earth suspended in the center of the cosmos, surrounded by rings of fire. Philolaus (c. 480 BC–c. 405 BC) the Pythagorean described a cosmos with the stars, planets, Sun, Moon, Earth, and a counter-Earth (Antichthon)—ten bodies in all—circling an unseen central fire. Such reports show that Greeks of the 6th and 5th centuries BC were aware of the planets and speculated about the structure of the cosmos. The name planet comes from the Greek term planētēs, meaning wanderer, as ancient astronomers noted how certain lights moved across the sky in relation to the other stars. Five planets can be seen with the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Sometimes the luminaries, the Sun and Moon, are added to the list of naked eye planets to make a total of seven. Since the planets disappear from time to time when they approach the Sun, careful attention is required to identify all five. Observations of Venus are not straightforward. Early Greeks thought that the evening and morning appearances of Venus represented two different objects, calling it Hesperus (evening star) when it appeared in the western evening sky and Phosphorus (light-bringer) when it appeared in the eastern morning sky. They eventually came to recognize that both objects were the same planet. Pythagoras is given credit for this realization.The planets eventually received names drawn from Greek mythology. The equivalent names in Roman mythology are the basis for the modern English names of the planets. theseus-aegean.blogspot.gr/2013/01/the-planets-in-early-greek-astronomy.html
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 14:33:09 +0000
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