Chapter I: Preface

The Book which is here presented to the public is founded upon a French work by M. Flammarion which has enjoyed considerable popularity. It contained a number of interesting accounts of the various ideas, sometimes mythical, sometimes intended to be serious, that had been entertained concerning the heavenly bodies and our own earth; with a popular history of the earliest commencement of astronomy among several ancient peoples. It was originally written in the form of conversations between the members of an imaginary party at the seaside. It was thought that this style would hardly be so much appreciated by English as by French readers, and therefore in presenting the materials of the French author in an English dress the conversational form has been abandoned. Several facts of extreme interest in relation to the early astronomical myths and the development of the science among the ancients having been brought to light, especially by the researches of Mr. Haliburton, a considerable amount of new matter, including the whole chapter on the Pleiades, has been introduced, which makes the present issue not exactly a translation, but rather a book founded on the French author's work. It is hoped that it may be found of interest to those who care to know about the early days of the oldest of our sciences, which is now attracting general attention again by the magnitude of its recent advances. Astronomy also, in early days, as will be seen by a perusal of this book, was so mixed up with all the affairs of life, and contributed so much even to religion, that a history of its beginnings is found to reveal the origin of several of our ideas and habits, now apparently quite unconnected with the science. There is matter of interest here, therefore, for those who wish to know only the history of the general ideas of mankind.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE CLIFFS OF FLAMANVILLE _Frontispiece._
THE ANNUAL REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH ROUND THE SUN, WITH
THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND THE CONSTELLATIONS Page ix
THE EARTH'S YEAR, AND THE MONTHS " xiv
AN ASTRONOMER AT WORK To face page 1
THE NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS " 49
THE CONSTELLATIONS FROM THE SEA-SHORE " 65
THE ZODIAC OF DENDERAH " 102

I. BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMERS 19
II. DRUIDICAL WORSHIP 37
III. CHALDEAN ASTRONOMERS 87
IV. THE ZODIAC AND THE DEAD IN EGYPT 108
V. THE LEGENDS OF THE DRUIDS 123
VI. THE NEMAEAN LION 146
VII. HEAVENS OF THE FATHERS 191
VIII. DEATH OF COPERNICUS 208
IX. THE SOLAR SYSTEM 225
X. THE DISCOVERY OF THE TELESCOPE 227
XI. THE FOUNDATION OF THE PARIS OBSERVATORY 229
XII. THE LEGEND OF OWEN 315
XIII. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE ECLIPSE OF THE MOON 336
XIV. PRODIGIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES 358
XV. AN ASTROLOGER AT WORK 385
XVI. THE END OF THE WORLD 429

1. THE EARLIEST (ARYAN) REPRESENTATION OF THE EARTH 12
2. ANCIENT GAULISH MEDALS, BEARING ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS 42
3. ANCIENT CELESTIAL SPHERE 58
4. POSITIONS OF THE GREAT BEAR ON SEPTEMBER 4 62
5. CONSTELLATION OF THE BEAR 63
6. CONSTELLATION OF ORION 73
7. CHART OF CONSTELLATIONS IN SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES 78
8. FLAMSTEED'S CHART 79
9. ARABIAN SPHERE OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY 84
10. ANCIENT CHINESE PIECES OF MONEY, BEARING REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE ZODIAC 93
11. THE ZODIAC 96
12. DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE POSITION OF CERTAIN STARS, B.C. 1200 98
13. CURIOUS FIFTEENTH CENTURY FIGURE, REPRESENTING ELEVEN
DIFFERENT HEAVENS 150
14. PTOLEMY'S ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEM 181
15. THE EPICYCLES OF PTOLEMY 184
16. HEAVENS OF THE MIDDLE AGES 188
17. EMBLEMATIC DRAWING FROM ANCIENT ASTRONOMICAL WORK 193
18. EGYPTIAN SYSTEM 194
19. CAPELLA'S SYSTEM 195
20. THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM 205
21. TYCHO BRAHE'S SYSTEM 212
22. DESCARTES' THEORY OF VORTICES 216
23. VORTICES OF THE STARS 218
24. VARIATION OF DESCARTES' THEORY 219
25. THE EARTH FLOATING 237
26. THE EARTH WITH ROOTS 237
27. THE EARTH OF THE VEDIC PRIESTS 238
28. HINDOO EARTH 239
29. THE EARTH OF ANAXIMANDER 240
30. PLATO'S CUBICAL EARTH 241
31. EGYPTIAN REPRESENTATION OF THE EARTH 243
32. HOMERIC COSMOGRAPHY 247
33. THE EARTH OF THE LATER GREEKS 256
34. POMPONIUS MELA'S COSMOGRAPHY 257
35. THE EARTH'S SHADOW 262
36. DITTO 263
37. DITTO 264
38. DITTO 264
39. THE COSMOGRAPHY OF COSMAS 268
40. THE SQUARE EARTH 269
41. EXPLANATION OF SUNRISE 271
42. THE EARTH AS AN EGG 273
43. THE EARTH AS A FLOATING EGG 274
44. EIGHTH-CENTURY MAP OF THE WORLD 276
45. TENTH-CENTURY MAPS 277
46. THE MAP OF ANDREA BIANCO 283
47. FROM THE MAP IN HEREFORD CATHEDRAL 285
48. DITTO 286
49. COSMOGRAPHY OF ST. DENIS 291
50. THE MAP OF MARCO POLO 293
51. MAP ON A MEDAL OF CHARLES V 294
52. DANTE'S INFERNAL REGIONS 311
53. PARADISE OF FRA MAURO 322
54. THE PARADISE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 324
55. REPRESENTATION OF A COMET, SIXTEENTH CENTURY 349
56. AN EGG MARKED WITH A COMET 352
57. THE ROMAN CALENDAR 403
58. DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE ORDER OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK 413

CONTENTS.

PAGE
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST BEGINNINGS OF ASTRONOMY 1

CHAPTER II.
ASTRONOMY OF THE CELTS 29

CHAPTER III.
ORIGIN OF THE CONSTELLATIONS 49

CHAPTER IV.
THE ZODIAC 89

CHAPTER V.
THE PLEIADES 111

CHAPTER VI.
THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE HEAVENS ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENTS 138

CHAPTER VII.
THE CELESTIAL HARMONY 161

CHAPTER VIII.
ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEMS 179

CHAPTER IX.
THE TERRESTRIAL WORLD OF THE ANCIENTS.--COSMOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY 231

CHAPTER X.
COSMOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE CHURCH 258

CHAPTER XI.
LEGENDARY WORLDS OF THE MIDDLE AGES 300

CHAPTER XII.
ECLIPSES AND COMETS 330

CHAPTER XIII.
THE GREATNESS AND THE FALL OF ASTROLOGY 360

CHAPTER XIV.
TIME AND THE CALENDAR 387

CHAPTER XV.
THE END OF THE WORLD 418

HISTORY OF THE HEAVENS.