The first edition of the work “Introduction to Geography and Astronomy” by Chrysanthos Notaras (1655/1660–1731), Patriarch of Jerusalem, astronomer, and mathematician. A forerunner of the Modern Greek Enlightenment, Notaras presents in this book (Paris 1716) the heliocentric theory of Copernicus for the first time in Greek. He complements this account with a reference to the ancient astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus, the first known advocate of the heliocentric theory. Notaras himself, like most educated people of his time, supported Ptolemy’s geocentric system; for this reason, his arguments against Copernicus are scientific rather than theological. The book includes many, exquisitely detailed engravings that bring these concepts to life.
