Aristarchus believed in heliocentric theory and also stated that distant stars were suns as well. We know that Greece's neighbors used astronomy for harvest seasons, rituals and reading omens (Egypt & Babylon) the Greeks believed the earth was spherical due to Pythagoras, the Greeks also tried to rationalize the night sky in a strictly scientific sense rather than a supernatural one.Īfter the 4th century the Greeks believed that the earth was the center of the universe (geocentric), they did not have scientific proof, but rather based this upon observations of the night sky (Plato & Aristotle), this was generally accepted as true, but there were some Greek astronomers who believed the sun was the center. The civilization of Egypt obviously did not spring fully formed from the Nile mud although the massive pyramids at Giza may appear to the uninitiated to have appeared out of nowhere, they were founded on thousands of years of cultural and technological development and experimentation. Then, in 332 BC, the arrival of Alexander the Great. For almost 30 centuries Egypt remained the foremost nation in the Mediterranean world. Great Question! Honestly most of what we know about Greek astronomy before the 4th century is based on Aristotle (and it's not much!). Almost instantly a highly distinctive culture developed.