Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 75.djvu/474

470 Even before man essayed to group the stars into constellations he naturally raised the question of the origin, and the manner of the production of the world itself. He then believed it to be flat and immovable, 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 balance 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. According 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 centuries dominated the beliefs of the greater part of the civilized world.

Many of the most charming legends of Greek and Roman mythology were drawn from astronomical subjects. There is no more beautiful illustration of Roman 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 goddess 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 Roman child was taught that the sun was the actual wheel of Apollo's chariot. In the morning this god arose from the eastern sea