The Cosmos
The universe seen not as random chaos but as kosmos — a single, beautiful, well-ordered whole.
Kosmos originally meant 'order' or 'adornment.' The Pythagoreans (and the tradition crediting Pythagoras, 6th c. BCE) were said to be the first to apply the word to the universe as a whole, declaring that the heavens are arranged in mathematical harmony. The term carries a conviction central to Greek thought from the Presocratics through Plato's Timaeus and the Stoics: that the universe is intelligible, structured, and beautiful. From it we get the very words 'cosmos' and 'cosmology.'
How it traveled
- TheogonyAscra · -650explains
- TimaeusAthens · -360explains
- StatesmanAthens · -358explains
- LawsAthens · -348explains
- EpinomisAthens · -345explains
- MetaphysicsChalcis · -322explains
- De caeloChalcis · -322explains
- PhaenomenaAlexandria · -265explains
- De Rerum NaturaRome · -55explains
- De RepublicaFormiae · -54explains
- TimaeusFormiae · -45explains
- de Natura DeorumFormiae · -43explains
- Tusculanae DisputationesFormiae · -43explains
- AeneidRome · -19explains
- GeorgicsRome · -19explains
- On ArchitectureRome · -15explains
- MetamorphosesTomis (Constanța) · 8explains
- Allegoriae (= Quaestiones Homericae)— · 75explains
- De Facie Quae in orbe Lunae ApparetChaeronea · 120explains
- De Defectu OraculorumChaeronea · 120explains
- De animae procreatione in TimaeoChaeronea · 120explains
- De Iside et OsirideChaeronea · 120explains
- Quaestiones ConvivalesChaeronea · 120explains
- Ad Se IpsumVindobona (Vienna) · 170explains
- IcaromenippusSamosata · 180explains
- Adversus MathematicosAlexandria · 190explains
- Vitae philosophorum— · 240explains
- EnneadesRome · 270explains
- Res GestaeRome · 400explains
- ChagigahSura (Babylonia) · 500parallel
Key passages(20)
Chagigah · Anonymous (Stammaim, redactors of the Bavli) · 450 CE
וְאָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: עֲשָׂרָה דְּבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ, אוֹר וָחֹשֶׁךְ, רוּחַ וּמַיִם, מִדַּת יוֹם וּמִדַּת לַיְלָה.
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Chagigah · Anonymous (Stammaim, redactors of the Bavli) · 450 CE
תָּנָא: תֹּהוּ — קַו יָרוֹק שֶׁמַּקִּיף אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ, שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ יָצָא חֹשֶׁךְ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו״. בֹהוּ — אֵלּוּ אֲבָנִים הַמְפוּלָּמוֹת הַמְשׁוּקָּע
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Chagigah · Anonymous (Stammaim, redactors of the Bavli) · 450 CE
רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר: שִׁבְעָה, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: וִילוֹן, רָקִיעַ, שְׁחָקִים, זְבוּל, מָעוֹן, מָכוֹן, עֲרָבוֹת. וִילוֹן — אֵינוֹ מְשַׁמֵּשׁ כְּלוּם, אֶלָּא נִכְנָס שַׁחֲרִית וְיוֹצֵא עַרְבִית, וּמְחַדֵּשׁ
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Fragmenta Logica et Physica · Chrysippus
Fragmenta Logica et Physica · Chrysippus
Fragmenta Logica et Physica · Chrysippus
Fragmenta Logica et Physica · Chrysippus
Fragmenta Logica et Physica · Chrysippus
Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius
Allegoriae (= Quaestiones Homericae) · Heraclitus the Allegorist (Homericus)
Hymn to King Helios Dedicated to Sallust · Julian, Emperor of Rome
Commentarium In Evangelium Matthaei (Lib. 12-17) · Origen
Naturalis Historia · Pliny, the Elder
Naturalis Historia · Pliny, the Elder