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A New View of Early Greek Astronomy

THE STANDARD HISTORY OF GREEK ASTRONOMY emphasizes the role of planetary theory in its earlier stages, by supposing that the early astronomers aimed primarily to explain planetary phenomena. This view derives from a passage in Simplicius (sixth century A.D.), based on the lost History of Astronomy by Eudemus (fourth century B.C.), in which Plato is said to have set astronomers the task of saving planetary phenomena by means of uniform circular motions.1 Many scholars doubt Simplicius's authority and question Plato's putative role in the development of astronomical theory.2 But their alternative accounts, while none too clear, likewise assume that the early period of Greek astronomy was concerned mainly with planetary motion. Some assign Plato's role to the Pythagoreans who preceded him, following Geminus (first century A.D.), who reports: