Anaxagoras was a pre-Socratic philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. He is considered to be one of the first philosophers to propose a naturalistic explanation for the cosmos, rather than relying on religious or mythological explanations. He is best known for his theory that the sun and stars are made of burning rocks, which he called "seeds." According to Anaxagoras, these seeds were constantly moving and colliding, giving off heat and light as they did so. He also believed that the moon was a rocky body that reflected sunlight, and that the stars were other suns located at a great distance from the Earth.
Anaxagoras's ideas were considered revolutionary at the time, and he was charged with impiety and exiled from Athens. Nevertheless, his ideas had a significant impact on the development of philosophy and science. His belief that the sun and stars were made of burning rocks influenced later philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus, who also proposed naturalistic explanations for the cosmos. Additionally, his belief that the stars were other suns located at a great distance from the Earth was later supported by the work of astronomers such as Galileo and Kepler.
Anaxagoras also had interesting views on Meteorology and even proposed that the Moon is not a goddess, but a rock reflecting sunlight, his ideas on the subject were considered crazy but they were in the right track, a couple of centuries later, philosophers like Aristotle and the Aristotelian school would use Anaxagoras ideas as a foundation on their own naturalistic explanations.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the stars were the souls of deceased gods and pharaohs. They also believed that the stars were a means of communication between the gods and the people on earth. The stars were considered to be the eyes of the gods, and by studying the stars, the ancient Egyptians believed they could predict the future and gain insight into the will of the gods. They used the stars for both religious and practical purposes, such as determining the correct time to plant crops and navigate the Nile River.
The most famous example of the ancient Egyptians’ interest in the stars is the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu and is believed to have been aligned with cardinal points of the compass, as well as with the star Sirius. The Egyptians also developed a complex system of astrology, which they used to predict events and guide decision making.
The god of the sky, Ra or Horus were often depicted as falcon or hawk. This association is due to the fact that these birds have the ability to soar high in the sky and have a commanding view of the earth below. They also associate the star, Sirius to the goddess Isis, and the star, Orion to the god, Osiris. They believe that these star are the representations of the dead pharaohs in the afterlife.
In ancient China, it was believed that the stars were simply holes in the "celestial sphere," which was thought to be a solid, crystalline dome that surrounded the earth. The stars were believed to be the shining light of the "celestial realm" that shone through these holes in the celestial sphere. The ancient Chinese believed that the stars were the abodes of the gods, and that the movement of the stars across the sky was controlled by the gods.
In ancient China, the stars were also used for practical purposes, such as navigation and agriculture. The Chinese developed a sophisticated system of astronomy and astrology, which they used to predict eclipses, comets, and other celestial events.
The stars were also used to make a calendar, to predict the best time to plant crops, and to determine auspicious times for important events such as weddings and coronations. They also believed in certain constellations that were related to certain characters like the Big Dipper (a group of seven stars) is associated to the god, Dou Mu, who was the goddess of the North Star.
The Ptolemaic system, also known as the Ptolemaic geocentric model, was an astronomical model developed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. This system proposed that the Earth was at the center of the universe, and that all the celestial bodies including the stars, planets, and the Moon orbited around it in a series of complex, nested orbits.The Ptolemaic system was based on the idea that the natural motions of the celestial bodies should be uniform, circular, and directed towards the Earth. To account for the observed phenomena such as the apparent change in speed and direction of the planets, Ptolemy proposed the idea of 'epicycles', small circles that were added to the main orbit.
This system was widely accepted by the scientific community and was used by other philosophers and astronomers as the basis of their own theories. It was also adopted by the Catholic Church and was considered as the official explanation of the universe until the 16th century. The Ptolemaic system was ultimately replaced by the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus and later developed by Galileo and Kepler, which placed the sun at the center of the Solar system and the planets including Earth orbiting around it.However, It's worth noting that Ptolemy's works were not just simply astronomical tables, it also included extensive mathematical explanations, and discussions of observational instruments, and methods. The Almagest, one of Ptolemy's major work, had a lasting impact on the scientific community for over a millennia, and his work was still used as reference by the scholars even after the heliocentric system was proposed.
According to the ancient Hindu Vedic texts, the stars are seen as being "fixed" in the sky and are considered to be eternal and unchanging. The stars, as well as other celestial bodies, such as the Sun and Moon, were seen as divine and were associated with various deities.
In the Vedic cosmology, the stars are thought to be a part of the 'divine light' which sustains the universe, and it was believed that by contemplating on the stars, one could gain a deeper understanding of the divine and achieve spiritual enlightenment.
The ancient Hindus also used astronomical observations to track the motions of the celestial bodies and to create a calendar for timing important religious ceremonies. They also believed that the stars had a profound influence on human affairs, and that the positions of the stars at the time of a person's birth could reveal much about their character and destiny.
The Nakshatras ( Lunar mansion) system was used to track the position of Moon among the stars, this system was an important part of the Jyotisha ( Hindu astrology) which still being used today. The Rishis (sages) of the Vedic period believed that the stars were the key to understanding the workings of the universe, both on a physical and spiritual level.
