Ancient Greek Astronomy

There is without a doubt a correlation between astronomy and the ancient Greeks. This correlation became more prominent as the curiosity of the idea of not being alone in the universe and scientifically explaining what's out there became stronger. The idea that the Greeks relied on their religion to explain the things they did not understand is a great one. It is clear and easily proven that astronomy played a huge role in the religion, even in the beginning of it. "The nocturnal character of some Greek religious festivals (e.g., the Arrephoria, the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Thesmophoria) performed in open space, with little artificial light, suggests the importance of the celestial dome that encircled these performances, integrating the sky in the cult …show more content…
They became the driving force behind the development of western astronomy. " The Ancient Greek philosophers refined astronomy, dragging it from being an observational science, with an element of prediction, into a full-blown theoretical science. The ancient astronomers used astronomy to track time and cycles, for agricultural purposes, as well as adding astrology to their sophisticated purpose" ("Ancient Astronomy" par. 5). This did not infer that they stopped worshipping their gods and goddess, just that they focused some of their time on reasoning. " The Greeks kept the idea of Gods and omens, but began to theorize about the underlying structure of the universe, pondering why the Sun, planets, and stars moved" ("Ancient Astronomy" par. 6). They became to realize that every element they could see was there for a scientific reason, not because of a god willing it to be there. The relationship between the Greeks and astronomy is undeniable and understandable. This correlation remained intact throughout the duration of the religion itself. As humans, we