Hicetas

Hicetas of Syracuse (Greek Ἱκέτας ) was an ancient Greek philosopher ( Pythagoras ) and astronomer. Its life time is only approximately known; presumably it falls into the late 5th and the 4th century BC

Life

Over the life of the Hicetas sources report anything. Because of the history of science classification of his astronomical doctrine is suspected in the research, that he was a contemporary of Ekphantos and Philolaus. Thus he lived in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC Since his astronomy partially coincides with that of the Ekphantos, it has been suggested that he was his teacher; both were Pythagoreans ( followers of the teachings of the philosopher Pythagoras ). The assumption of a teacher-student ratio remains hypothetical because of the unfavorable source location; plausible however, is the assumption that the two were in contact and that they are not each other applies irrespective to their views.

Teaching

Since no writings of Hicetas have survived, his teachings must be reconstructed from a few scarce details in later sources. The Doxograph Aetios reported Hicetas was just as Philolaos been a proponent of the hypothesis that there is a from the inhabited part of the earth always invisible " Counter-Earth ". Thus he belonged to the group mentioned by Aristotle, but not mentioned by name "so-called Pythagoreans " who held this view. Cicero reports with reference to Theophrastus, Hicetas have explained the apparent motions of the night sky with an axis of rotation of the earth. This was either - as is usually assumed in research - meant its own axis or outside the Earth axis extending through the center of the cosmos. Cicero represents the information Theophrastus, the exact wording is not known, strong vergröbernd and simplistically, by implying Hicetas the assertion that the earth is indeed the only celestial body that is moving. All other movements, including those of the sun, the moon and the planets, be apparent, and this appearance was due equally to all on the axis of rotation of the earth; the entire sky stand still in reality. The Doxograph Diogenes Laertius gives details of some of his sources again, after which Hicetas the earth is not presented in the center of the universe, but as Philolaos zuwies her a circular path, and remarks that it was unclear who came from the first two on this idea. The Hicetas ascribed hypothesis of Counter-Earth is in fact preceded by a model in which the earth revolves. Thus Hicetas was in this issue 's second novel minority position, because at that time dominated a geocentric worldview. It is unclear to what extent his astronomical model coincides with that of Philolaus.

Reception

After an earlier opinion research that has not prevailed, Heraclides Ponticus wrote a dialogue, the protagonist Hicetas and Ekphantos were; this dialogue is the source for the ancient tradition about the alleged teachings of the Pythagoreans. With this assumption, the assumption was connected Hicetas was possibly not a historical figure, but a literary fiction of the Heraclides, or at least were, even if he had actually lived, faked the teachings attributed to him by Heraclides.

Nicolaus Copernicus mentioned Hicetas, which he calls by mistake " Nicetus ", under the ancient astronomers, who taught a movement of the earth and which he therefore regarded as a precursor of his views on the mobility of the earth.

Swell

  • Maria Timpanaro Cardini: Pitagorici. Testimonianze e frammenti. Vol 2, La Nuova Italia, Florence 1962, pp. 406-415 ( Greek source texts with Italian Translation )
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