Medieval astronomy in Europe
Astrolabe in Hebrew, probably from Spain (1300s AD) In the early Middle Ages, most people in Europe were too poor to have much time for astronomy. But some people were still interested in [...]
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08, 2017
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07, 2017
Who was Eratosthenes? Astronomy and math
Eratosthenes of Cyrene went to school here! A classroom at the University of Alexandria (al-Ahram 2004). Who was Eratosthenes of Cyrene? Eratosthenes of Cyrene was born about 276 BC. He was [...]
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07, 2017
Who was Aristarchus of Samos?
A copy of Aristarchus of Samos' work on parchment from Constantinople, about 950 AD. It shows the relative sizes of the sun, the Earth, and the moon Aristarchus of Samos [...]
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07, 2017
Ancient Greek astronomy
Greek astronomy: Eclipse of the sun Astronomy before the Greeks The art of astronomy was already very advanced before the Greeks began to interest themselves in the stars. The Egyptians and especially [...]
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07, 2017
The earth in Greek astronomy
The earth in Greek astronomy: The Greeks never saw this view of the earth from space! Gaia and the Earth Early Greeks thought of the Earth as the goddess Gaia, the mother of [...]
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07, 2017
What is an astrolabe? Greek science
An Islamic astrolabe (832 AD) Who invented the astrolabe? About 140 BC, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes invented the science of trigonometry. What's trigonometry? Greek astronomy History of astronomy All our [...]
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07, 2017
Herakles and the hydra – Labors of Herakles
Herakles fights the Hydra (Athenian red-figure vase, ca. 475 BC, Palermo, Sicily) Another labor for Herakles King Eurystheus then told Herakles he had to go kill the Hydra for another one of [...]
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07, 2017
Who was Antaeus? Labors of Herakles
Herakles wrestling Antaeus, on a red figure vase from Athens, 400s BC Herakles and Antaeus For one of his labors, Herakles had to fight a very strong man named Antaeus. More [...]
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07, 2017
Who is Gaia? Early Greek gods
Gaia is the earth. In the beginning... Many people in classical Greece believed that at the beginning of time there was only one being, which they called Chaos. (This is not unlike the Jewish [...]
