The Farnese Atlas

myminifactory

The Farnese Atlas gets its name from being part of the Farnese collection in Rome, which was moved to Naples by Charles VII in 1734. For centuries, people have been fascinated by the detailed way it shows the basic geometry of the geocentric cosmological model of the celestial sphere, held up by Atlas on his shoulders. This is the oldest known picture of the celestial sphere and demonstrates the advanced level of astronomical knowledge achieved during the Hellenistic period.