Martianus Capella's Partial Heliocentric Model

Martianus Capella described a modified geocentric model in 'De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii' where Earth remained at the universe's center with the Moon, Sun, outer planets, and stars orbiting it, but Mercury and Venus orbited the Sun. This partial heliocentric theory, possibly derived from earlier Greek astronomers including Heraclides Ponticus, explained why Mercury and Venus never appeared beyond a limited angle from the Sun. Capella's Latin exposition influenced medieval astronomy and Copernicus later acknowledged it as a precursor to his heliocentric system.