Spherical Earth by the Greeks

• Spherical Earth


  Proposed by ancient Greek philosophers
• Pythagoras


  • Influential figure in ancient Greece
  • Known for work in mathematics and philosophy
  • Proposed Earth was a sphere based on observations of celestial phenomena, particularly during lunar eclipses
• Plato


  • Student of Socrates, founder of the Academy in Athens
  • Made significant contributions to philosophy, mathematics, and cosmology
  • Presented the concept of a spherical Earth at the center of the universe in his dialogue "Timaeus"
• Aristotle


  • Student of Plato, one of the most influential philosophers in history
  • Contributed extensively to natural philosophy, including the study of the Earth's shape
  • Presented empirical evidence supporting the idea of a spherical Earth based on observations of lunar eclipses and the changing positions of stars
• Eratosthenes


  • Polymath, chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria
  • Made a groundbreaking contribution to understanding the Earth's size and shape
  • Calculated the Earth's circumference with remarkable accuracy using simple geometry and observations of the Sun's angle at different locations
• These ancient Greek philosophers not only proposed the idea of a spherical Earth but also provided empirical evidence and mathematical reasoning to support their claims
• Their contributions laid the foundation for the scientific understanding of the Earth's shape and its place in the cosmos, influencing later generations of scientists and thinkers