Ptolemy’s model of the Solar System

A superbly decorated map illustrating Ptolemy's geocentric Solar System. At the centre is the world, showing the Northern Hemisphere (with California as an island), surrounded by rings of cloud and fire, followed by the orbits of the Moon, Sun and the known planets, represented by the Roman gods in chariots. Bottom right is a portrait of Claudius Ptolemy; bottom left is another astronomer, believed to be Aristotle. It was engraved by Jan van Loon and published in the 'Atlas Coelestis; seu Harmonia Macrocosmica', the only celestial atlas to be produced in the Netherlands before the nineteenth century. It was a compilation of maps of the Ptolemaic universe and the more modern theories of Copernicus and Brahe, and remains the finest and most highly decorative celestial atlas ever produced. Originally published by Jan Jansson in 1660, this example comes from Schenk & Valk's reissue.