Photo courtesy of weebly.com
Greek Astronomers Think InitiallyGenerally Greek Astronomers agreed that the universe was earth centered. They did agree on the stars and the planets were carried on a geocentric, spherical model arranged in a concentric fashion. Plato believed that the planets were seen as examples of natural laws not accounting for all the laws of nature. Although we know now that the Earth orbits around the sun, we must agree with astronomers proposing a spherical earth. Around 200BCE, the conventional circles that they anticipated were replaced by eccentric circles, saying the planets moved in a circular motion but instead of Earth being in the center of the circle, it was rather offset.
Some Symbolism of an EclipseAccording to the Spiritual Research Foundation (SSRF), they explore the significance of an eclipse whether solar or lunar. They explain two impacts of an eclipse:
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Greek Mythology of the MoonAccording to the Greeks, the moon is associated with love and unattainable beauty. Since it grows large and small, it is also a symbol of time, change, and repetitive cycles such as birth and death or creation and destruction. Additionally, from the Encyclopedia of the Moon, it is a possible home for the dead. The moon is often depicted as female with the Greek Goddesses Hecate, Selene, and Artemis. The story goes Selene (the goddess of the moon) fell in love with a king, Endymion, and made fifty daughters. To prevent him from dying, Selene placed him in an eternal sleep to preserve his beauty.
From the University of Michigan, the moon represents (wo)man’s inner knowledge, reflecting the conditions of the earth such as the tides, rains, waters, and the seasons. It also is the middle ground between light and dark representing the conscious and unconscious. The moon also symbolizes the stages of human development:
Photo courtesy of Space.com, Lunar Eclipses
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