Philolaus of Crotona
fl.
fifth century B.C.
Pythagorean philosopher whose idea of a spherical universe exerted considerable influence on later Greek astronomy. According to Philolaus, the universe consisted of concentric, or nested, spheres at the center of which was a central fire that was never visible to man because Earth is always turned away from it. Earth, an anti-Earth, and the other heavenly bodies, including the Sun, all moved in circular orbits about this central fire.
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