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Seleucus of Seleucia

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Seleucus of Seleucia
Σέλευκος ὁ Σελεύκειος
Bornc. 190BC
Seleucia,Seleucid Empire
Diedc. 150BC
unknown
Scientific career
Fields

Seleucus of Seleucia(Greek:ΣέλευκοςSeleukos;born c. 190 BC;fl.c. 150 BC) was aHellenistic astronomerand philosopher.[1]Coming fromSeleucia on the Tigris,Mesopotamia,the capital of theSeleucid Empire,or, alternatively, Seleukia on theErythraean Sea,[2][3]he is best known as a proponent ofheliocentrism[4][5][6]and for histheory of the causes of tides.

Heliocentric theory[edit]

Seleucus is known to have supported the heliocentric theory ofAristarchus of Samos,which stated that theEarth rotatedaround its own axis which in turn revolved around theSun.[7][8]According toPlutarch,Seleucus was the first to demonstrate the heliocentric system throughreasoning,but it is not known what arguments he used.[9]According toBartel Leendert van der Waerden,Seleucus may have constructed his heliocentric theory by determining the constants of ageometricmodel and by developing methods to compute planetary positions using this model, asNicolaus Copernicuslater did in the 16th century. He may have usedtrigonometricmethods that were available in his time, as he was a contemporary ofHipparchus.[10]

Since the time ofHeraclides Ponticus(387 BC–312 BC), theinferiorplanetsMercuryandVenushave been at times namedsolar planets,as their positions diverge from the Sun by only a small angle.

According to the Greek geographerStrabo,Seleucus was also the first to assume the universe to be infinite.[11]None of his original writings have survived,[citation needed]though a fragment of his work has survived only inArabictranslation, which was later referred to by thePersian philosopherMuhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi(865–925).[12]

Tides[edit]

According toLucio Russo,Seleucus' arguments for a heliocentric theory were probably related to the phenomenon oftides.[13]The annual cycle of tides (which was studied by Seleucus) can indeed hardly be explained in a geocentric system. Seleucus correctly theorized thattideswere caused by theMoon,explaining that the interaction was mediated by thepneuma.He noted that the tides varied in time and strength in different parts of the world. According to Russo, Seleucus ascribed tides both to the Moon and to a whirling motion of theEarth,which could be interpreted as the motion of the Earth around the Earth-Mooncenter of mass.

According toStrabo(3.5.9), Seleucus was the first to state that the tides are due to the attraction of the Moon, and that the height of the tides depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun.[11]

Seleucus in Strabo[edit]

Seleucus is known from the writings ofPlutarch,Aetius,andStrabo,all of whom were Greeks, and the PersianMuhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi.Strabo lists Seleucus as one of the four most influential "Chaldean"astronomers:

In Chapter XVI of hisGeographia,Strabo mentions several "Chaldaen" astronomers. At the end he adds: "Seleukios of Seleukia was a Chaldaean too."... Babylonian astrologers and astronomers were often called "Chaldaeans." Strabo calls them "the so-called Chaldaeans". Their writings were translated into Greek and used by later authors like Geminos. The "Chaldaean" astronomers mentioned by Strabo areKidenas,Naburianos,Sudines, and Seleukos. The first two are also known from astronomical cuneiform texts under their Akkadian names Nabu-Rimannu and Kidinnu.[11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Greek astronomer:
    The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS):

    Greek philosopher, born in Seleucia,...

    ScienceWorld:

    Greek philosopher who was the one astronomer of note who championed Aristarchus's heliocentric theory.
  2. ^Neugebauer 1945,pp. 39–42:

    Among several cities named Seleukia, the best known is Seleukia on the Tigris, the capital of the Seleucid kingdom. It is possible that the astronomer Seleukos lived or was born in this city, but it is also possible that his native town was Seleukia on the Erythrean Sea.
  3. ^Describing his studies in the tides,Straboclaims that Seleucus was "from the region of the Erythraean Sea" (3.5.9).
  4. ^Index of Ancient Greek Philosophers-ScientistsArchived2009-03-21 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Seleucus of Seleucia (c. 190 BC–?),The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
  6. ^Seleucus of Seleucia (ca. 190–unknown BC),ScienceWorld
  7. ^Russell, Bertrand —History of Western Philosophy(2004) – p. 215
  8. ^We do not know other names of ancient astronomers or scientists who supported the heliocentric system:Hipparchusand laterPtolemycontributed to the success of the geocentric system; however, in the writings of Plutarch and Sextus Empiricus we read of "the followers of Aristarchus", thus it is probable that other people we do not know of adhered to the heliocentric view.
  9. ^Van der Waerden 1987,p. 528
  10. ^Van der Waerden 1987,pp. 527−529
  11. ^abcVan der Waerden 1987,p. 527
  12. ^Shlomo Pines(1986),Studies in Arabic versions of Greek texts and in mediaeval science,vol. 2,Brill Publishers,pp. viii & 201–17,ISBN965-223-626-8
  13. ^Russo 2003.

Sources[edit]

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