Heaven and Earth in Ancient Greek Cosmology: From Thales to Heraclides Ponticus

280 Pages·2011·5.16 MB·English

by  Dirk L. Couprie (auth.)

Heaven and Earth in Ancient Greek Cosmology
Astrophysics and Space Science Library
EDITORIALBOARD
Chairman
W.B.BURTON,NationalRadioAstronomyObservatory,Charlottesville,Virginia,
U.S.A.([email protected]);UniversityofLeiden,TheNetherlands
([email protected])
F.BERTOLA,UniversityofPadua,Italy
J.P.CASSINELLI,UniversityofWisconsin,Madison,U.S.A.
C.J.CESARSKY,CommissionforAtomicEnergy,Saclay,France
P.EHRENFREUND,LeidenUniversity,TheNetherlands
O.ENGVOLD,UniversityofOslo,Norway
A.HECK,StrasbourgAstronomicalObservatory,France
E.P.J.VANDENHEUVEL,UniversityofAmsterdam,TheNetherlands
V.M.KASPI,McGillUniversity,Montreal,Canada
J.M.E.KUIJPERS,UniversityofNijmegen,TheNetherlands
H.VANDERLAAN,UniversityofUtrecht,TheNetherlands
P.G.MURDIN,InstituteofAstronomy,Cambridge,UK
F.PACINI,IstitutoAstronomiaArcetri,Firenze,Italy
V.RADHAKRISHNAN,RamanResearchInstitute,Bangalore,India
B.V.SOMOV,AstronomicalInstitute,MoscowStateUniversity,Russia
R.A.SUNYAEV,SpaceResearchInstitute,Moscow,Russia
Dirk L. Couprie
Heaven and Earth in Ancient
Greek Cosmology
From Thales to Heraclides Ponticus
DirkL.Couprie
St.Maartenslaan51d
6221AWMaastricht
Netherlands
ISBN978-1-4419-8115-8 e-ISBN978-1-4419-8116-5
DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-8116-5
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011923655
#SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011
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Dedicated to the memory of my father
Leendert Couprie
September 20, 1896 – September 16, 1983
who showed me the panorama of the
celestial vault
MOTHER
THERE’S SOMETHING
WRONG WITH THE SKY
RADIANT THE OCEAN SKY
SERENITY AND BLIGHT
graffiti by
somewhere in Amsterdam
Contents
ListofFigures .................................................................. ix
ListofTables................................................................... xv
ForewordbyDmitriPanchenko............................................. xvii
PrefaceandAcknowledgements............................................. xix
Introduction................................................................... xxi
PartI ArchaicAstronomyandtheWorld-PictureofaFlatEarth
1 TheArchaicWorldPicture............................................. 3
2 ArchaicAstronomicalInstruments .................................... 15
3 HowThalesWasAbletoPredicttheSolarEclipse
of28May585B.C....................................................... 51
4 TheShapeoftheEarthAccordingtoThales ......................... 63
5 TheRiddleoftheCelestialAxis........................................ 69
6 TheFirstMapoftheEarth............................................. 79
PartII AnaximanderandtheDiscoveryofSpace
7 Anaximander:ASurveyofHisIdeas.................................. 89
8 TheDiscoveryofSpace:Anaximander’sCosmology................. 99
TheCelestialBodiesMakeFullCirclesAroundtheEarth ............. 100
vii
viii Contents
TheEarthFloatsFreeinSpace.......................................... 104
TheCelestialBodiesLieBehindOneAnother.......................... 114
9 Anaximander’sNumbers:TheDimensionsoftheUniverse......... 121
10 TheVisualizationofAnaximander’sWorldPicture ................. 137
11 BellowsorLightning?ACuriousTerminologyExplained .......... 145
12 CritiqueofanAllegedCosmicArchitecture.......................... 153
PartIII TheCompletionoftheNewWorld-Picture
andtheDebateontheShapeoftheEarth
13 ASurveyfromAnaximandertoAristarchus ......................... 163
14 WithFearforHisOwnLife:AnaxagorasasaCosmologist......... 175
15 TheSunattheHorizon,Anaxagoras’Proof
oftheFlatnessoftheEarth............................................. 181
16 TheSunIsasBigasthePeloponnesus................................. 189
17 TheDodecahedron,ortheShapeoftheEarth
AccordingtoPlato....................................................... 201
18 FearofFalling:AristotleontheShapeoftheEarth................. 213
19 HeraclidesPonticusandtheInfiniteUniverse........................ 221
Bibliography.................................................................. 231
NameIndex ................................................................... 247
IndexofClassicalAuthors................................................... 255
List of Figures
Fig.0.1 Artist’simpressionofAnaximanderteaching
hiscosmologicalconceptions..................................... xxv
Fig.1.1 Thearchaicworldpictureofaflatearthwith
thecelestialvault................................................. 4
Fig.1.2 GodtheFatheronachurchwindowinPerugia................. 4
Fig.1.3 TheEgyptianhieroglyphfor“heaven”.......................... 5
Fig.1.4 Thehieroglyphfor“heaven”paintedinthetomb
ofNefertari....................................................... 5
Fig.1.5 CurvedcelestialvaultonthesteleofTanetperet................ 6
Fig.1.6 CurvedceilingoftheburialchamberofRamessesVI
withastronomicalpainting....................................... 7
Fig.1.7 ArchingNutonthebacksideofthesteleofTanetperet......... 8
Fig.1.8 NutastheMilkyWay ........................................... 8
Fig.1.9 Shu,standingupontheearthgodGeb,supportsNut,
thegoddessoftheheaven........................................ 9
Fig.1.10 Therainbowsupportsthecelestialvault ........................ 10
Fig.1.11 ThemantleoftheheavenonanAssyriansealcylinder......... 10
Fig.1.12 AtlasandPrometheusonaGreekbowl......................... 12
Fig.2.1 Starscirclingaroundthecelestialaxisonarecent
timeexposure .................................................... 16
Fig.2.2 Thedailyorbitofthesuninthedifferentseasons .............. 16
Fig.2.3 Severalmannersofmeasuringdistancesatthefirmament
onanengravingfrom1533A.D................................. 20
Fig.2.4 Somemoreexamplesofmeasuringanglesbetweenstars....... 20
Fig.2.5 PartofthestarclockinthetombofRamessesIX.............. 21
Fig.2.6 Findingnorthwiththehelpofanartificialhorizon............. 23
Fig.2.7 Thepersonificationofastronomywithasightingtube.
Drawing(ca.1880A.D.)aftermedievalmanuscript
(1241A.D.) ...................................................... 24
Fig.2.8 Theangulardiameterofthesun................................. 25
ix
x ListofFigures
Fig.2.9 AsimpleGreekclepsydra(waterclock)........................ 26
Fig.2.10 ThemonthscalesontheinsideoftheKarnakclepsydra ....... 27
Fig.2.11 Thedeterminationofthenoonlinewiththehelp
ofagnomon...................................................... 30
Fig.2.12 Thenorth–southorientationofapyramidion ................... 31
Fig.2.13 Fixingtheshadowpointsoftheequinoxandthesolstices,
andmeasuringtheobliquityoftheeclipticwiththehelp
ofagnomon...................................................... 32
Fig.2.14 Measuringtheobserver’slatitudewiththehelp
ofagnomon...................................................... 33
Fig.2.15 Measuringtheazimuthwiththehelpofagnomon ............. 34
Fig.2.16 FloorofaRomansundial(firstorsecondcenturyB.C.),
withhourlines,equinoctiallineandsolstitialcurves........... 35
Fig.2.17 HowThalesmeasuredtheheightofapyramid ................. 37
Fig.2.18 MeasuringthedistanceGP ...................................... 37
Fig.2.19 Transversesectionofabowlwithanuprightgnomon.......... 39
Fig.2.20 StatueofAmenhotepIIholdingastaffwithameasuring
scaleonitsshaft.................................................. 40
Fig.2.21 ThehandlingofamerkhytaccordingtoIsler ................... 41
Fig.2.22 DescriptionofamerkhytfromthecenotaphofSetiI........... 43
Fig.2.23 TwoEgyptianinstruments,abay(left),andamerkhyt
withplumbline .................................................. 45
Fig.2.24 TheuseofmerkhytandbayaccordingtoSloley................ 46
Fig.2.25 TheuseofmerkhytandstickaccordingtoLull................. 46
Fig.2.26 AnEgyptianobservatorywithbayandplumb
line(2467B.C.).................................................. 48
Fig.2.27 Theplayoflightandshadowonthecannelures
oftemplecolumns ............................................... 49
Fig.3.1 Thepathofthecentralzoneofthesolareclipse
of28May585B.C............................................... 52
Fig.3.2 Howasolareclipseoriginates................................... 53
Fig.3.3 Howalunareclipseoriginates................................... 53
Fig.5.1 Celestialaxisandearth’saxisonaflatearth.................... 70
Fig.5.2 Theheightofthepoleonaflatearth............................ 71
Fig.5.3 Celestialaxis,equator,andeclipticonasphericalearth........ 71
Fig.5.4 Thepositionofthecelestialaxisbeforeandafter
itstilting,accordingtoAnaxagorasc.s.......................... 73
Fig.5.5 AccordingtoAristotletheNorthPoleis“below”
andtheSouthPole“ontop”..................................... 74
Fig.5.6 Thepositionoftheearthbeforeandafteritstilting,
accordingtothedoxographyonLeucippus
andDemocritus .................................................. 75
ListofFigures xi
Fig.6.1 Modelofaflatandcircularearthwith“equator”
andframeof“tropics”........................................... 80
Fig.6.2 ReconstructionofAnaximander’searthmap.................... 83
Fig.6.3 Babylonianearthmap............................................ 85
Fig.6.4 Egyptianearthmap .............................................. 86
Fig.7.1 Transcriptionofatext,foundinTaormina...................... 90
Fig.7.2 AstatueofAnaximander,foundinthemarketplace
atMiletus......................................................... 97
Fig.8.1 Detailofatube-shapedsunwheelwithitsaperture
accordingtoNaddaf.............................................. 101
Fig.8.2 Claymodelofafour-wheeledvehicle,Athens720B.C........ 102
Fig.8.3 ColumnsandcolumndrumsatPrie¨ne........................... 105
Fig.8.4 ThisishowAnaximandermusthaveimagined
theearth.......................................................... 107
Fig.8.5 TheultimateproofofAnaximander’sconception
ofafree-floatingearth........................................... 107
Fig.8.6 AllegedcentrifocaldynamicsonAnaximander’searth......... 112
Fig.8.7 AllegedcentrifocaldynamicsonAnaximander’searth,
versionRovelli(2009a).......................................... 112
Fig.8.8 AllegedcentrifocaldynamicsonAnaximander’searth,
versionRovelli(2009c).......................................... 113
Fig.9.1 Diels’drawingofamapofAnaximander’scosmos............ 123
Fig.9.2 Naddaf’sversionofamapofAnaximander’scosmos.......... 125
Fig.9.3 Rescher’sdrawingofamapAnaximander’scosmos........... 127
Fig.9.4 Author’scopyofConche’sversionofamap
Anaximander’scosmos .......................................... 129
Fig.9.5 MydrawingofamapofAnaximander’scosmos............... 130
Fig.9.6 Theproblemoftheangulardiameterofthesun ................ 132
Fig.9.7 OnAnaximander’searththesunneverstands
inthezenith...................................................... 135
Fig.9.8 Onaflatearththesunmustbenearbyandrathersmall........ 136
Fig.10.1 DetailofAnaximander’swheelofacelestialbody............. 138
Fig.10.2 Author’scopyofMugler’sdrawingofAnaximander’s
universe .......................................................... 140
Fig.10.3 Thesunwheel.................................................... 141
Fig.10.4 Thedailytrackofthesunduringtheseasonsasvisible
abovethehorizon................................................ 142
Fig.10.5 Thefulldailyorbitsofthesunduringtheseasons.............. 142
Fig.10.6 Anaximander’suniverseonasummermorning................. 143
Fig.10.7 Anaximander’suniverseonanightinwinter................... 144