47° THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Even before man essayed to group the stars into constellations he 

 naturally raised the question of the origin, and the manner of the pro- 

 duction of the world itself. He then believed it to be flat and immov- 

 able, and its seagirt disk supported the sapphire vault above. Gods, 

 men, monsters and heroes familiarly associated and acted their parts, 

 before man had learned to judge by evidence and to place a limit on 

 probability. The sun, the moon and the earth were living beings filled 

 with demons, and sorcery governed belief. Under these conditions 

 there arose no astronomical or geographical difficulties, for where 

 superstition rules evidence becomes useless. 



The astronomical ideas of primitive people have been similar the 

 world over. The cosmogony of the Mahometans, as presented in the 

 Koran, is so puerile as to be unworthy of serious consideration. It 

 teaches that the earth is flat and floats in the sea. It is kept in bal- 

 ance by the mountains, and the sky is supported above by a huge dome 

 so perfect that it is impossible to discover a crack in it. Above are 

 the seven heavens, ranged one over the other, the uppermost being the 

 abode of God, which does not rest on the earth, but is supported by 

 winged animals. Meteors are red-hot stones thrown by angels at bad 

 spirits, when they approach too near the seventh heaven. Of the many 

 creation myths, the Jewish story is the one most familiar to us. Ac- 

 cording to this narrative the universe was miraculously created in six 

 days. The earth is the fixed center enclosed in a great hemisphere 

 called the firmament, which divides the seas above it from those below. 

 More space is devoted to describing the creation of the firmament — now 

 known to be an optical illusion — than to the creation of man himself. 

 The sun, moon and stars were made " to give light upon the earth," 

 and the whole universe was purely anthropocentric, that is, man was the 

 preordained center and aim of all creation. This anthropocentric 

 dogma is closely connected with all three of the great Mediterranean 

 religions, Mosaic, Mohammedan and Christian, hence it has for cen- 

 turies dominated the beliefs of the greater part of the civilized world. 



Many of the most charming legends of Greek and Eoman mythology 

 were drawn from astronomical subjects. There is no more beautiful 

 illustration of Eoman superstition than that shown in Guido's familiar 

 fresco of " Aurora." Why this picture is called Aurora and not Apollo 

 is difficult to explain. The noble sun god is the most important figure 

 of the picture, and he dominates all the rest. He is surrounded by the 

 light tripping Hours, each a very queen of loveliness. Aurora, the god- 

 dess of the dawn, leads the throng. From the crown of her beautiful 

 head to the soles of her rosy feet, she is grace incarnate. As she flies 

 she scatters flowers and dew from her hands upon the verdant fields 

 below. 



The Eoman child was taught that the sun was the actual wheel of 

 Apollo's chariot. In the morning this god arose from the eastern sea 



