EPISODE PLOT

Aristarchus of Samos was a Greek astronomer and mathematician. He is considered the “father” of the heliocentric model, according to which the center of the universe is not the Earth but the Sun. We know him as a man who possessed a spirit filled with curiosity, questions, and a thirst for discovery. In an attempt to answer the questions “How do eclipses occur? Where do the Sun and the Moon hide? How is it that we can explain so many other things, yet for this we must wait for an answer from the gods?”, Aristarchus discovered the heliocentric model. He tries to spread the word, but to no avail… His work is lost to history.

2,000 years later, in a library in Italy, we meet Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus (1473–1543) was born and died in Poland, and studied medicine, theology, law, Greek, mathematics, and astronomy at the University of Kraków and in Italy. In 1497, he was baptized by his uncle, a priest, at the Cathedral of Frauenburg. Copernicus first encountered the theories of Aristarchus of Samos during his studies in Italy through references to him in various writings. After conducting research, Copernicus proved what Aristarchus had first proposed: the heliocentric model. He refuses to publish his writings for fear of being prosecuted. Eventually, he relented, and his study was published; as a result, he is now considered one of the most important “Scientists Who Made Discoveries for Humanity.”

Narration: George Evgenikos

Research and Text Editing: Christina Ververidou

Music: Mara Kaisari

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