Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
He Said the Sun Was a Blazing Rock and Was Put on Trial for It
Anaxagoras taught that the Sun was not a god but a glowing lump of red-hot stone, larger than the Peloponnese, and that the stars were distant fiery bodies. In Athens the claim brought a charge of impiety, and he was forced to leave the city.
How we know
Anaxagoras c.500-428 BCE. Ancient sources (Plato's Apology, Diogenes Laertius, Plutarch) report he called the Sun an incandescent stone 'larger than the Peloponnese' and the stars fiery bodies; charged with impiety at Athens and withdrew to Lampsacus.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.