Access
You are not currently logged in.
Access your personal account or get JSTOR access through your library or other institution:
If You Use a Screen Reader
This content is available through Read Online (Free) program, which relies on page scans. Since scans are not currently available to screen readers, please contact JSTOR User Support for access. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.
The Greek Heliocentric Theory and Its Abandonment
William Harris Stahl
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
Vol. 76 (1945), pp. 321-332
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: 10.2307/283344
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/283344
Page Count: 12
- Item Type
- Article
- Thumbnails
- References
Since scans are not currently available to screen readers, please contact JSTOR User Support for access. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.
Abstract
Copernicus' suppression of Aristarchus' name from his works must not be regarded as an attempt to conceal the source of his heliocentric inspirations. His observations on planetary motions are far too keen to have been much influenced by bare statements about Aristarchus' theory. This paper then examines possible reasons for the Greek abandonment of the heliocentric theory and concludes that there is no reason to deplore its abandonment. In developing the heliocentric theory the Greeks had run the gamut of theorizing. We are indebted to the Alexandrians and Hipparchus for turning away from speculation to take up the recording of precise astronomical data. Here was laid the foundation upon which modern astronomy was built.
Page Thumbnails
-
321
-
322
-
323
-
324
-
325
-
326
-
327
-
328
-
329
-
330
-
331
-
332
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association © 1945 American Philological Association