In Aristotle’s words, “In the whole range of time past, so far as our inherited records reach, no change appears to have taken place either in the whole scheme of the outermost heaven or in any of its proper parts.” It’s important to keep in mind that in Aristotle’s time there simply were not extensive collections of observational evidence. Things that looked like they were moving in the heavens, like comets, were not problematic in this model because they could be explained as occurring in the terrestrial realm.
Ancient Greek Astronomy and Cosmology
As the stars move across the sky each night people of the world have looked up and wondered about their place in the universe. Throughout history civilizations have developed unique systems for ordering and understanding the heavens. Babylonian and Egyptian astronomers developed systems that became the basis for Greek astronomy, while societies in the Americas, China and India developed their own.
Ancient Greek astronomers’ work is richly documented in the collections of the Library of Congress largely because of the way the Greek tradition of inquiry was continued by the work of Islamic astronomers and then into early modern European astronomy. This section offers a tour of some of the astronomical ideas and models from ancient Greece as illustrated in items from the Library of Congress collections.
The Sphere of the World
By the 5th century B.C., it was widely accepted that the Earth is a sphere. This is a critical point, as there is a widespread misconception that ancient peoples thought the Earth was flat. This was simply not the case.
In the 5th century B.C., Empedocles and Anaxagoras offered arguments for the spherical nature of the Earth. During a lunar eclipse, when the Earth is between the sun and the moon, they identified the shadow of the Earth on the moon. As the shadow moves across the moon it is clearly round. This would suggest that the Earth is a sphere.
Experiencing the Sphere of the Earth
Given that opportunities for observations of a lunar eclipse do not come along that often, there was also evidence of the roundness of the earth in the experiences of sailors.
When a ship appears on the horizon it’s the top of the ship that is visible first. A wide range of astronomy texts over time use this as a way to illustrate the roundness of the Earth. As the image suggests this is exactly what one would expect on a spherical Earth. If the Earth were flat, it would be expected that you would be able to see the entire ship as soon as it became visible.
Of Planets and Pigments
The lowest point of the cosmos, place of densest and final manifestation, is the terrestrial sphere, which is formed of the four elements: the four central rings in this piece. Their arrangement is not spatial, nor does “low” imply “less good”, but corresponds to density.
There are alchemical elements (such as sulphur and salt) associated with the elements, but no particular metals, so I went by colour correspondences.They are outlined, rather than solid, to set them apart from the planetary spheres which are rather more individually embodied.
Earth الأرض
Colour: green. Pigment: Terre verte (literally “green earth”)
Water الماء
Colour: blue. Pigment: Azurite
Air الهواء
Colour: yellow. Pigment: Tin Yellow
Ether الأثير or Fire
Colour: red. Pigment: Cinnabar
THE PLANETARY SPHERES
Moon القمر : The metal corresponding to the Moon is Silver, and I used genuine silver leaf. This was sealed with an acrylic varnish to prevent it from tarnishing with time.
Mercury العطارد (also الكاتب): The metal is, unsurprisingly, Mercury. The pigment is cinnabar, a rock formed when mercury meets sulphur deeps inside the earth, where pressure and temperature are high. An explosion ensues and this red rock is formed. Uniquely, the more finely cinnabar is ground, the more vivid its red colour.
Venus الزهرة rules Copper, which is found in a range of blue and green minerals suitable for painting: azurite (once the most expensive blue), malachite (green) and chrysocolla (blue-green). I chose Chrysocolla, which I ground myself.
Sun الشمس : Its metal is Gold, and correspondingly I used 23.75 ct gold leaf. Although it doesn’t tarnish, I also varnished it as a measure against scratches and curious fingers.
Mars المرّيخ : rules Iron, which is all the earth pigments: umbers, siennas and ochers, some of which can even be greenish or purple in color. I used Burnt Sienna, to stand out between its neighbours gold and yellow.
Jupiter المشتري : Its metal is Tin, and corresponding pigment, Tin Yellow, yields a particularly luminous yellow.
Saturn الزحل (also المقاتل) rules Lead, a black metal that oxidizes into the purest white pigment, Lead White or Flake White.
THE OUTER SPHERES
The first two straddle the line between the physical world and that of the immutable archetypes.
The Sky of Fixed Stars فلك الكواكب (also فلك المنازل ): The zodiacal constellations. This is the extreme limit of the sensible world.
The Sky of No Stars فلك الأطلس (also فلك البروج) : The twelve signs of the zodiac, which are not identical with the constellations above but correspond to the archetypes that manifest as constellations. This sphere is the place of archetypes, i. e the “ideas” or “essences” behind the physical stars. As we are here venturing beyond the physical world, I used Indigo, a plant-based pigment of deep blue, and the transition symbolized by this pair of spheres is marked by a shift from solid colour to outlines again.
The two supreme spheres are the beginning of the super-celestial realm. They were never meant to represent spatial entities, but symbolize the passage from astronomy to metaphysics.
The Divine Pedestal الكرسي contains the skies and the earth.
The Throne العرش , which is as far as we can conceive of the Divine, encompasses the whole cosmos, all manifestation.
I used precious metals again, silver contrasted with gold, to express their particular status. The “silver” is in fact palladium, which doesn’t tarnish so I didn’t need to use varnish again, and 23.5 ct gold, both in “shell” form and burnished after painting to make them shine.
Beyond all of these extends the infinite darkness of Nothingness العمى, the unknown and unknowable. I used lamp black mixed to a matte consistency. I chose it for its bluish tinge, but also for its symbolic associations. It is made, as the name indicates, from soot, and in Ottoman Istanbul that soot came from the lamps inside mosques, caught in ventilation grates, and then made into the ink used by calligraphers, the material containing prayers as well as writing them.
