What ancient peoples represented the universe in this way. Presentation on theme: "How did ancient people imagine the Universe?". How ancient people imagined the Earth

You have probably heard the word "universe" more than once. What it is? The Universe is usually understood as outer space and everything that fills it: cosmic, or celestial, bodies, gas, dust. In other words, it's the whole world. Our planet is part of the vast universe, one of the countless celestial bodies.

Representations of ancient peoples about the Universe

For thousands of years, people have admired the starry sky, watched the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets. And they always asked themselves an exciting question: how does the Universe work?

Modern ideas about the structure of the universe evolved gradually. In ancient times, they were not at all what they are now. For a long time, the Earth was considered the center of the universe. The ancient Indians believed that the Earth was flat and rested on the backs of giant elephants, which, in turn, rest on a turtle. A huge turtle stands on a snake, which personifies the sky and, as it were, closes the earthly space.

The Universe was seen differently by the peoples living on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The earth, in their opinion, is a mountain, which is surrounded on all sides by the sea and which rests on twelve columns.

The ideas of ancient Greek scientists about the universe

Ancient Greek scientists did a lot for the development of views on the structure of the Universe. One of them - the great mathematician Pythagoras (c. 580-500 BC) - was the first to suggest that the Earth is not flat at all, but has the shape of a ball.

The correctness of this assumption was proved by another great Greek - Aristotle (384-322 BC).

Aristotle proposed his model of the structure of the Universe, or the system of the world. In the center of the Universe, according to the scientist, there is a motionless Earth, around which eight celestial spheres, solid and transparent, revolve (translated from the Greek "sphere" - a ball). Celestial bodies are motionlessly fixed on them: planets, the Moon, the Sun, stars. The ninth sphere ensures the movement of all other spheres, it is the engine of the Universe.

Aristotle's views were firmly established in science, although even some of his contemporaries did not agree with him. The ancient Greek scientist Aristarchus of Samos (320-250 BC) believed that the center of the universe is not the Earth, but the Sun; The earth and other planets move around it. Unfortunately, these brilliant guesses were rejected and forgotten at that time.

Ptolemy's system of the world

The ideas of Aristotle and many other scientists were developed by the greatest ancient Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c. 90-160 AD). He developed his own system of the world, in the center of which, like Aristotle, he placed the Earth. Around the motionless spherical Earth, according to Ptolemy, the Moon, the Sun, five (known at that time) planets, as well as the "sphere of fixed stars" move. This sphere limits the space of the Universe. Ptolemy outlined his views in detail in the grandiose work "The Great Mathematical Construction of Astronomy" in 13 books.

The Ptolemaic system explained well the apparent movement of celestial bodies. It made it possible to determine and predict their location at one time or another. This system dominated science for thirteen centuries, and Ptolemy's book was the desktop for many generations of astronomers.

Two great Greeks

Aristotle- the greatest scientist of Ancient Greece, originally from the city of Stagira. He devoted his whole life to collecting and comprehending information known to scientists of his time. He was interested in everything: the behavior and structure of animals, the laws of motion of bodies, the structure of the universe, poetry, politics. He was the teacher of the outstanding commander Alexander the Great, who, having achieved fame, did not forget the great scientist. From his military campaigns, he sent him samples of plants and animals unknown to the Greeks. After himself, Aristotle left numerous works, for example, "Physics" in 8 books, "On Parts of Animals" in 10 books. The authority of Aristotle for many centuries was indisputable in science.

Claudius Ptolemy was born in Egypt, in the town of Pto le Mai-dy, and then studied and worked in Alexandria, the capital of the Egyptian kingdom. In his libraries were collected scientific works from the countries of the East and Greece. More than 700 thousand manuscripts were kept in the famous museum of Alexandria alone. Ptolemy was a comprehensively educated person: he studied astronomy, geography, and mathematics. Summarizing the work of ancient Greek astronomers, he created his own system of the world.

What is the Universe?
How did the ancient peoples imagine the universe?
What is interesting about the views of Aristarchus of Samos?

The Universe is outer space and everything that fills it: celestial bodies, gas, dust. Modern ideas about the structure of the universe evolved gradually. For a long time, the Earth was considered its center. It was this point of view that the ancient Greek scientists Aristotle and Ptolemy adhered to.

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For a long time, the Earth was considered the center of the universe. 4) The system of the world according to Aristotle (philosopher). Center - motionless Earth, around - 8 rotating spheres (they are solid and transparent). Celestial bodies are fixed on the spheres. The 9th sphere provides the movement of the remaining spheres - the engine of the Universe. The universe is bounded by the motionless sphere of stars.

For many centuries, the teachings of Ptolemy dominated, but in the Middle Ages science and trade began to actively develop ... In the 14th - 16th centuries. Portugal and Spain were discovered - this changed the geographical map of the world. The round-the-world trip of F. Magellan finally proved the sphericity of our planet.

The system of the world according to Copernicus 7) The system of the world according to N. Copernicus. Nicolaus Copernicus created a new model of the universe. He observed celestial bodies, studied works, made mathematical calculations. 1) The Earth revolves around the Sun 2) The center of the world is the Sun 3) The planets revolve around the Sun and around their own axis 4) The stars are motionless, they are at great distances from the Earth and form a sphere that limits the Universe.

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For thousands of years, people have observed the movement of celestial bodies and natural phenomena. And they always wondered: how the Universe works. In ancient times, the picture of the structure of the universe was greatly simplified. People simply divided the world into two parts - Heaven and Earth. About how the firmament is arranged, each nation built its own ideas.

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The earth in the view of the peoples of antiquity was a large flat disk, the surface of which is inhabited by people and everything that surrounds them. The sun, moon and 5 planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), according to ancient people, are small luminous celestial bodies attached to a sphere that continuously rotate around the disk, making a complete revolution during the day.

It was believed that the earth's firmament is motionless and is in the center of the Universe, that is, every ancient people, one way or another, came to the conclusion: our planet is the center of the world.

Such a geocentric (from the Greek word Geo - earth) view was present in almost all the peoples of the ancient world - Greeks, Egyptians, Slavs, Hindus…

Almost all theories about the world order, the origin of heaven and earth that appeared at that time were idealistic, since they had a divine beginning.

But there were differences in the representation of the structure of the universe, since they were based on myths, traditions and legends inherent in different civilizations.

There were four main theories: different, but somewhat similar ideas about the structure of the universe by the ancient peoples.

Legends of India

The ancient peoples of India represented the earth as a hemisphere, leaning on the backs of four huge elephants, standing, in turn, on a turtle, and the black snake Sheshu closed the entire near-earth space.

The idea of the structure of the world in Greece

The ancient Greeks claimed that the Earth has the shape of a convex disk, resembling a warrior's shield in shape. Around the land was surrounded by an endless sea, from which every night the stars came out. Every morning they drowned in its depths. The sun in the face of the god Helios on a golden chariot rose early in the morning from the eastern sea, made a circle in the sky and again returned to its place in the late evening. And the vault of heaven was held on its shoulders by the mighty Atlas.

The ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus imagined the Universe as a liquid mass, inside of which there is a large hemisphere. The curved surface of the hemisphere is the vault of heaven, and the lower, flat surface, freely floating in the sea, is the Earth.

However, this outdated hypothesis was refuted by the ancient Greek materialists, who provided convincing evidence of the roundness of the land. Aristotle was convinced of this, observing nature, how the stars change their height over the horizon, and the ships disappear behind the swell of the earth.

Earth through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians

The people of Egypt imagined our planet in a completely different way. The planet seemed flat to the Egyptians, and the sky in the form of a huge dome rested on four high mountains located at the four corners of the world. Egypt was located in the center of the earth.

The ancient Egyptians used the images of their gods to personify spaces, surfaces and elements. The earth - the goddess Gebe - lay below, above it, bending, stood the goddess Nut (starry sky), and the air god Shu, who was between them, did not allow her to fall to the Earth. It was believed that the goddess Nut swallowed the stars every day and gave birth to them again. The sun daily passed its way through the sky on a golden boat, which was ruled by the god Ra.

The ancient Slavs also had their own idea of the structure of the world. The world, in their opinion, was divided into three parts:

Between themselves, all three worlds are connected, like an axis, by the World Tree. In the branches of the sacred tree live the stars, the Sun and the Moon, and at the roots - the Serpent. The sacred tree was considered a support, without which the world would collapse if it was destroyed.

The answer to the question of how in ancient times people represented our planet helps to find ancient artifacts that have survived to this day.

Scientists find the first prototypes of geographical maps in different countries, they are known to us in the form of images on the walls of temples, frescoes, drawings in the first astronomical books. In ancient times, man sought to pass on information about the structure of the world to subsequent generations. Man's idea of the Earth largely depended on the relief, nature and climate of the places where he lived.

The ideas of the ancients about the Earth were based primarily on mythological ideas.
Some peoples believed that the Earth is flat and rests on three whales that swim in the vast world ocean. Consequently, these whales were in their eyes the main foundations, the foot of the whole world.
The increase in geographical information is associated primarily with travel and navigation, as well as with the development of the simplest astronomical observations.

Ancient Greeks imagined the earth was flat. This opinion was shared, for example, by the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, who lived in the 6th century BC. He considered the Earth to be a flat disk surrounded by a sea inaccessible to man, from which stars come out every evening and into which stars set every morning. Every morning the sun god Helios (later identified with Apollo) rose from the eastern sea in a golden chariot and made his way across the sky.

The world in the view of the ancient Egyptians: below - the Earth, above it - the goddess of the sky; left and right - the ship of the sun god, showing the path of the sun across the sky from sunrise to sunset.

The ancient Indians imagined the Earth as a hemisphere held by four elephant . Elephants stand on a huge turtle, and the turtle is on a snake, which, curled up in a ring, closes the near-Earth space.

Babylonians represented the Earth in the form of a mountain, on the western slope of which Babylonia is located. They knew that there was a sea to the south of Babylon, and mountains to the east, which they did not dare to cross. Therefore, it seemed to them that Babylonia is located on the western slope of the "world" mountain. This mountain is surrounded by the sea, and on the sea, like an overturned bowl, the firm sky rests - the heavenly world, where, like on Earth, there is land, water and air. The heavenly land is the belt of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. In each of the constellations, the Sun visits each year for about a month. The Sun, Moon and five planets move along this belt of land. Under the Earth is an abyss - hell, where the souls of the dead descend. At night, the Sun passes through this dungeon from the western edge of the Earth to the eastern, in order to begin its daytime journey through the sky again in the morning. Watching the sunset over the sea horizon, people thought that it goes into the sea and also rises from the sea. Thus, the basis of the ideas of the ancient Babylonians about the Earth were observations of natural phenomena, but the limited knowledge did not allow them to be explained correctly.

Earth according to the ancient Babylonians.

When people began to make long journeys, evidence gradually began to accumulate that the Earth was not flat, but convex.

Great ancient Greek scientist Pythagoras Samos(in the VI century BC) for the first time suggested the sphericity of the Earth. Pythagoras was right. But to prove the Pythagorean hypothesis, and even more so to determine the radius of the globe, it was possible much later. It is believed that this idea Pythagoras borrowed from the Egyptian priests. When the Egyptian priests knew about this, one can only guess, since, unlike the Greeks, they hid their knowledge from the general public.
Pythagoras himself, perhaps, also relied on the evidence of a simple sailor, Skilak of Karyanda, who in 515 BC. made a description of his voyages in the Mediterranean.

famous ancient greek scientist Aristotle(IV century BCe.) He was the first to use observations of lunar eclipses to prove the sphericity of the Earth. Here are three facts:

the shadow from the earth falling on the full moon is always round. During eclipses, the Earth is turned to the Moon in different directions. But only the ball always casts a round shadow.
Ships, moving away from the observer into the sea, are not gradually lost from sight due to the long distance, but almost instantly, as it were, "sink", disappearing behind the horizon line.
some stars can only be seen from certain parts of the Earth, while for other observers they are never visible.

Claudius Ptolemy(2nd century AD) - ancient Greek astronomer, mathematician, optician, music theorist and geographer. In the period from 127 to 151 he lived in Alexandria, where he carried out astronomical observations. He continued the teachings of Aristotle regarding the sphericity of the Earth.
He created his own geocentric system of the universe and taught that all celestial bodies move around the Earth in an empty world space.
Subsequently, the Ptolemaic system was recognized by the Christian church.

The universe according to Ptolemy: the planets revolve in empty space.

Finally, the outstanding astronomer of the ancient world Aristarchus of Samos(late 4th - first half of the 3rd century BC) suggested that it is not the Sun, together with the planets, that moves around the Earth, but the Earth and all the planets revolve around the Sun. However, he had very little evidence at his disposal.
And it took about 1700 years before the Polish scientist managed to prove it. Copernicus.