Ancient ideas about the universe presentation. How ancient people imagined the Universe is a presentation for a geography lesson (grade 5) on the topic. Ancient China and world harmony

In this lesson we will learn about what the Universe is and how it works. We will discover the world of mysterious and incomprehensible outer space. Let's talk about how ancient civilizations imagined the Universe. Let's get acquainted with scientists whose ideas have occupied an important place in the development of science.

Theme: Universe

Lesson: How Ancient People Pictured the Universe

As we found out, methods of cognition can be different. The tasks and goals set for the study are also different. But the single most important thing will remain the interest of understanding the world, the Universe, living and nonliving things. What is the Universe?

Definition.Universe - this is limitless outer space and everything that fills it: celestial bodies, gas, dust.

If we look into the starry sky, we will see different star constellations, solar systems, the Moon - they are all components of the Universe, even stars that cannot be seen without the help of special instruments - telescopes (Fig. 1).

In ancient times, such telescopes did not exist, and people watched the movement of the Moon, Sun, and planets for thousands of years, so it is clear that modern views about the structure of the Universe did not arise instantly, but developed gradually, and the earliest views were significantly different from what we know today . Different peoples of the world imagined the Universe differently.

According to the ideas of the ancient Indians, our Earth was like a hemisphere, which rested on the backs of huge elephants that stood on a giant turtle. The turtle rested on a snake, which closed the space and personified the world (Fig. 2).

For example, the Egyptians had a different idea of ​​the structure of the Universe. Their views were expressed in the form of myth.

The god of the earth - Geb and the goddess of the sky - Nut loved each other very much, and therefore at first our Universe was fused together. Every evening Nut gave birth to stars that appeared in the sky. Every morning before sunrise she swallowed them. And this continued day after day, year after year, until Geb began to get irritated, which is why he called Nut a pig who eats his piglets. Then the sun god Ra intervened and called the wind god Shu to separate heaven and earth. So Nut ascended to heaven in the form of a cow. Sometimes Tehnud came to the aid of her husband Shu, but she very quickly got tired of supporting the heavenly cow and began to cry, and her tears fell like rain to the ground (Fig. 3).

The ancient Babylonians imagined the earth as a huge mountain. In the west of this mountain was Babylonia, which was surrounded by mountains on the east, and the sea in the south. The sea as a whole surrounded this entire mountain, and on top of it, in the form of an inverted bowl, was the sky. The inhabitants of Babylonia thought that there was also land and water in the sky, perhaps even life. The celestial land is the belt of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. They also believed that the sun goes out and goes back into the sea (Fig. 4). They were never able to explain the observed natural phenomena.

The ancient Jews imagined the Earth differently. They lived on a plain, and the Earth seemed to them to be a plain, with mountains rising here and there. Jews assigned a special place in the universe to the winds that bring rain or drought. The abode of the winds, in their opinion, was located in the lower zone of the sky and separated the Earth from the celestial waters: snow, rain and hail. Under the Earth there are waters, from which canals run up, feeding seas and rivers. The ancient Jews apparently had no idea about the shape of the entire Earth.

The ancient Greeks made a great contribution to the development of views about the structure of the Universe. For example, the philosopher Thales (Fig. 5) imagined the Universe as a liquid mass, inside of which there is a large bubble shaped like a hemisphere. The concave surface of this bubble is the vault of heaven, and on the lower, flat surface, like a cork, it floats flat earth. It is not difficult to guess that Thales based the idea of ​​the Earth as a floating island on the fact that Greece is located on islands. Pythagoras (Fig. 6) was the first to suggest that our Earth is not flat, but similar to a ball. And Aristotle (Fig. 7), developing this hypothesis, created a new model of the world, according to which the motionless Earth is located in the center and is surrounded by eight solid and transparent spheres. The ninth - ensured the movement of everyone celestial spheres. According to these views, the Sun, Moon and the planets known at that time were attached to the eight spheres (Fig. 8). Aristotle's views were not shared by all scientists. Aristarchus of Samos came closest to the truth, because he believed that at the center of the Universe was not the Earth, but the Sun, but he could not prove this. Subsequently, his views were forgotten for many years.

Aristotle’s views were strengthened in science for a long time, for example, the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy also located a stationary Earth in the center of the Universe, around which Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn revolved. The entire Universe was limited by the sphere of fixed stars. The scientist outlined all these views in his work “Mathematical Construction in Astronomy.” The views of Claudius Ptolemy lasted more than the 13th centuries and for a long time were a reference book for many generations of astronomers.

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In the next lesson we will talk about the further development of views on the Universe.

1. Melchakov L.F., Skatnik M.N. Natural history: textbook. for 3.5 grades avg. school - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 1992. - 240 pp.: ill.

2. Andreeva A.E. Natural history 5. / Ed. Traitaka D.I., Andreeva N.D. - M.: Mnemosyne.

3. Sergeev B.F., Tikhodeev O.N., Tikhodeeva M.Yu. Natural history 5.- M.: Astrel.

1. Melchakov L.F., Skatnik M.N., Natural history: textbook. for 3.5 grades avg. school - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 1992. - p. 150, assignments and questions. 3.

2. Outline Interesting Facts, which relate to the views of the ancient Greeks on the structure of the Universe.

3. Imagine that you need to observe the starry sky. Think over and describe the sequence of actions you will perform.

4. * Invent a new Universe. Describe what is in it. What are the names of the planets and constellations? How do they interact with each other?

“The Development of Ancient People” - Ancient people (Neanderthals). Further. First modern people(Cro-Magnons). On the menu. Ancient people arose about 200 thousand years ago. To butcher killed animals, they used hewn stones. The most ancient people. The most ancient people successfully hunted buffalo, rhinoceroses, deer, and birds. One line went in the direction of powerful physical development.

"Game Universe" - Celestial bodies. World of stars. General lesson on the topic: “Universe” “Big Game”. Crossword "solar system". Ancient people about the universe, celestial bodies, neighbors of the sun, giant planets. What people represented the Universe this way? Neighbors of the sun. Galaxies. Crossword. The Ancients about the Universe.

“Universe 5th grade natural history” - The Soyuz spacecraft is approaching the interplanetary space of Mars and Jupiter. Milky Way. Attention attention! Author: Burlakova N.N. Galaxy 205. Malfunctions have been detected on the ships. Andromeda. Galaxy (from the Greek word “galaktikos” - milky, milky.). Scheme appearance galaxies. Horsehead Nebula.

"Universe" - Planets. What is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? the smallest is Pluto. Ideas about the structure of the Universe. Assignments: Ptolemy. Solar system. Name the constellations you know. What is the Universe? Earth group Mercury Venus Earth Mars. Uranus. Giant planets Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune. Planets Stars Asteroids Comets Meteors and meteorites The Sun is the center solar system.

“Evolution of the Universe” - For the existence of life, it is also important that the Metagalaxy is expanding. It is with such civilizations that earthlings are interested in establishing contact. The evolution of the Universe includes the evolution of matter and the evolution of structure. And therefore it is difficult to come to terms with the idea that we are alone in the limitless Universe.

"Universe" - the Sun. The world through the eyes of an astronomer. 4) Specialists who study astronomy are called astronauts. 5) The Earth moves around the Sun. 6) You can observe the Sun by looking through binoculars or a telescope. Universe.

People began to think about what the Universe is in ancient times, before the advent of writing and more or less scientific methods knowledge of the surrounding world. Ancient man in his ideas he proceeded from the limited knowledge that he could obtain through observations of the nature among which he lived.


Rough understanding of ancient cosmogonic theories modern science borrowed from the worldviews of the peoples of Africa and Northern Siberia, whose culture for a long time did not come into contact with the universal one.

Representations of prehistoric peoples

Prehistoric people believed the world a single living being, huge and incomprehensible. Thus, until recently, one of the Siberian tribes had the idea of ​​the world as a huge deer grazing among the stars. Her wool is endless forests, and animals, birds and people are just fleas living in her wool. When they are too annoying, the doe tries to get rid of them by swimming in the river (rainy autumn) or lying in the snow (winter). The Sun and Moon are also giant animals grazing next to the Earth deer.

Ancient Egyptians and Greeks

Peoples whose level of development was higher received the opportunity to travel to distant countries and saw that there are not only mountains, or steppes, or forests in the world. They imagined the Earth as a flat disk or a high mountain, surrounded on all sides by an endless sea. The vault of heaven in the form of a huge overturned bowl sank its edges into this sea, enclosing the small Universe ancient world.


Such ideas existed among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. According to their cosmogonic version, the Sun deity rolled across the firmament in a fiery chariot every day, illuminating the plane of the Earth.

Wisdom of Ancient India

The ancient Indians had a legend that the plane of the Earth does not just float in the sky or float in the oceans, but rests on the backs of three giant elephants, which, in turn, stand on the shell of a turtle. Considering that the turtle, in turn, rested on a coiled snake, which personified the firmament, we can assume that the described animals are nothing more than symbols of powerful natural phenomena.

Ancient China and world harmony

In ancient China, they believed that the Universe was like an egg split in half. The upper part of the egg forms the vault of heaven and is the focus of everything pure, light and bright. Bottom part eggs are the Earth, floating in the world's oceans and having a square shape.


Earthly manifestations are accompanied by darkness, heaviness and dirt. The combination of two opposite principles forms our entire world in its richness and diversity.

Aztecs, Incas, Mayans

In the ideas of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, time and space were a single whole and were designated by the same word “pacha”. For them, time was a ring, on one side of which there was the present and the visible past, i.e. what was stored in memory. The future was in the invisible part of the ring and at some point merged with the deep past.

Scientific thought of Ancient Greece

More than two thousand years ago ancient greek mathematicians Pythagoras, followed by Aristotle, developed the theory of a spherical Earth, which, in their opinion, was the center of the Universe. The Sun, Moon and numerous stars revolved around, mounted on several crystal celestial spheres nested within one another.

Aristotle's universe, developed and supplemented by another ancient scientist - Ptolemy - lasted for one and a half millennia, satisfying the intellectual needs of the majority of the learned minds of antiquity.


These ideas formed the basis for the research of the great mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who, based on his observations and calculations, compiled his own heliocentric picture of the world. Its center was occupied by the Sun, around which were seven planets, surrounded by a fixed celestial sphere with stars placed on it. The teachings of Copernicus gave impetus to modern astronomy, the emergence of such scientists as Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and others.

For a long time, the Earth was considered the center of the Universe. 4) The system of the world according to Aristotle (philosopher). The center is the stationary Earth, around there are 8 rotating spheres (they are solid and transparent). Celestial bodies are fixedly fixed on the spheres. The 9th sphere ensures the movement of the remaining spheres - the engine of the Universe. The Universe is limited by the fixed sphere of stars.

For many centuries, the teachings of Ptolemy dominated, but in the Middle Ages science and trade began to actively develop... In the 14th - 16th centuries. Portugal and Spain were discovered - this changed geographical map peace. Trip around the world F. Magellan finally proved the sphericity of our planet.

System of the world according to Copernicus 7) System of the world according to N. Copernicus. Nicolaus Copernicus created a new model of the Universe. He observed celestial bodies, studied works, and performed mathematical calculations. 1) The Earth revolves around the Sun 2) The center of the world is the Sun 3) The planets rotate around the Sun and around their axis 4) The stars are motionless, they are at great distances from the Earth and form a sphere that limits the Universe.

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You have probably heard the word “Universe” more than once. What it is? The Universe usually means outer space and everything that fills it: cosmic or celestial bodies, gas, dust. In other words, it's the whole world. Our planet is part of the vast Universe, one of countless celestial bodies.

Ancient peoples' ideas about the Universe

For thousands of years people have admired starry sky, observed the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets. And we always asked ourselves an exciting question: how does the Universe work?

Modern representations about the structure of the Universe emerged gradually. In ancient times they were completely different from what they are now. For a long time, the Earth was considered the center of the Universe. The ancient Indians believed that the Earth was flat and rested on the backs of giant elephants, which in turn rested on a turtle. A huge turtle stands on a snake, which personifies the sky and, as it were, closes the earthly space.

The Universe was seen differently by the peoples living on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The earth, in their opinion, is a mountain, which is surrounded on all sides by the sea and which is supported by twelve columns.

The ideas of ancient Greek scientists about the Universe

Ancient Greek scientists did a lot to develop views about the structure of the Universe. One of them - great mathematician Pythagoras (c. 580-500 BC) was the first to suggest that the Earth was not flat at all, but was spherical.

The correctness of this assumption was proven by another great Greek - Aristotle (384-322 BC).

Aristotle proposed his model of the structure of the Universe, or world system. In the center of the Universe, according to the scientist, there is a motionless Earth, around which eight celestial spheres, solid and transparent, revolve (translated from Greek “sphere” means ball). Celestial bodies are fixedly fixed on them: planets, Moon, Sun, stars. The ninth sphere ensures the movement of all other spheres; it is the engine of the Universe.

Aristotle's views were firmly established in science, although even some of his contemporaries did not agree with him. The ancient Greek scientist Aristarchus of Samos (320-250 BC) believed that the center of the Universe is not the Earth, but the Sun; The earth and other planets move around it. Unfortunately, these brilliant guesses were rejected and forgotten at that time.

System of the world according to Ptolemy

The ideas of Aristotle and many other scientists were developed by the greatest ancient Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c. 90-160 AD). He developed his own system of the world, in the center of which, like Aristotle, he placed the Earth. Around the motionless spherical Earth, according to Ptolemy, the Moon, the Sun, five (known at that time) planets, as well as the “sphere of fixed stars” move. This sphere limits the space of the Universe. Ptolemy outlined his views in detail in his grandiose work “The Great mathematical construction astronomy" in 13 books.

The Ptolemaic system explained well the apparent motion of celestial bodies. It made it possible to determine and predict their location at one time or another. This system dominated science for thirteen centuries, and Ptolemy’s book was a reference book for many generations of astronomers.

Two great Greeks

Aristotle- the greatest scientist Ancient Greece, originally from the city of Stagira. He devoted his entire life to collecting and understanding information known to scientists of his time. He was interested in everything: the behavior and structure of animals, the laws of motion of bodies, the structure of the Universe, poetry, politics. He was a teacher outstanding commander Alexander the Great, who, having achieved fame, did not forget the great scientist. From his military campaigns, he sent him samples of plants and animals unknown to the Greeks. Aristotle left behind numerous works, for example “Physics” in 8 books, “On the Parts of Animals” in 10 books. Aristotle's authority was unquestioned in science for many centuries.

Claudius Ptolemy was born in Egypt, in the town of Pto le Mai-dy, and then studied and worked in Alexandria, the capital of the Egyptian kingdom. His libraries contained scientific works from the countries of the East and Greece. The famous Alexandria Museum alone housed more than 700 thousand manuscripts. Ptolemy was comprehensive educated person: he studied astronomy, geography, mathematics. Having summarized the work of ancient Greek astronomers, he created his own system of the world.

1. What is the Universe?
2. How did ancient peoples imagine the Universe?
3. Why are the views of Aristarchus of Samos interesting?

The Universe is outer space and everything that fills it: celestial bodies, gas, dust. Modern ideas about the structure of the Universe developed gradually. For a long time, the Earth was considered its center. It was this point of view that the ancient Greek scientists Aristotle and Ptolemy adhered to.

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