Philolaus Proposes Central Fire Cosmology

Around 440 BCE, Philolaus of Croton, a Pythagorean philosopher, proposed a cosmological model where Earth, the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars revolve around a "Central Fire" rather than Earth being the center. His system included a counter-Earth positioned opposite Earth relative to the Central Fire to explain certain lunar eclipses. This represented the first known non-geocentric model, establishing the concept that Earth moves in orbit. The model influenced later astronomical developments and served as a precursor to heliocentric theories.