Ancient Greek Heliocentric Views Hidden from Prevailing Beliefs?

Details Ancient Greek Heliocentric Views Hidden from Prevailing Beliefs? Ancient Greek Heliocentric Views Hidden from Prevailing Beliefs?

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008jahh...11...39l&link_type=abstract

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (ISSN 1440-2807), Vol. 11, No. 1, p. 39 - 49 (2008).

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Heliocentric Solar System, Geocentric Solar System, Spherical Universe, Impiety, 'Save The Appearances'

Scientific paper

We put forward the working hypothesis that the heliocentric, rather than the geocentric view, of the Solar System was the essential belief of the early Greek philosophers and astronomers. Although most of them referred to the geocentric view, it is plausible that the prevalent religious beliefs about the sacred character of the Earth as well as the fear of prosecution for impiety (asebeia) prevented them from expressing the heliocentric view, even though they were fully aware of it. Moreover, putting the geocentric view forward, instead, would have facilitated the reception of the surrounding world and the understanding of everyday celestial phenomena, much like the modern presentation of the celestial sphere and the zodiac, where the Earth is at the centre and the Sun makes an apparent orbit on the ecliptic. Such an ingenious stance would have set these early astronomers in harmony with the dominant religious beliefs and, at the same time, would have helped them to 'save the appearances', without sacrificing the essence of their ideas.
In Hellenistic and Roman times, the prevailing view was still the geocentric one. The brilliant heliocentric theory advanced by Aristarchos in the early third century B.C. was never established, because it met with hostility in Athens - Aristarchos was accused of impiety and faced the death penalty.
The textual evidence suggests that the tight connection which existed between religion and the city-state (polis) in ancient Greece, and which led to a series of impiety trials against philosophers in Athens during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., would have made any contrary opinion expressed by the astronomers seem almost a high treason against the state.

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