Creation Stained Glass Window in the Parish Church of St Anietus in village of St Saint Neot Bodmin Moor Cornwall England UK United Kingdom GB Great Britain British Isles Europe EU Window is early 16th sixteenth century and shows God creating the universe

History of Teaching Livre de la Propiete des Choses Property of things book Miniature showing a professor teaching the Universe to his student Chantilly of France France

Mithras, ancient Persian god of light and ruler of universe, slaying the bull. Roman marble sculpture. AD100-150, Vienna, Kunsthistorische Museum.

Hindu concept of the universe, showing it encircled by a serpent, the symbol of eternity. Mount Meru represents paradise, earth below it supported by six elephants, and below this is the infernal region carried by a tortoise resting on serpent snake. Wood engraving c1880

Ptolemaic (Geocentric/Earth-centred)) system of universe, showing Earth surrounded by water air and fire (4 Greek elements) and the spheres of the planets and stars. From Andreas Cellarius Harmonia Macrocosmica Amsterdam, 1708

Geocentric universe and the hierarchies of cherubims and seraphims, etc., leading to God, From Liber Chronicarum Mundi, (Nuremberg Chronicle) by Hartmann Schedel, 1493, Woodcut

Copernican (Heliocentric/Sun-centred) system of universe showing the ecliptic and the orbit of the earth and the planets and demonstrating reason for night and day. From Andreas Cellarius Harmonia Macrocsmica Amsterdam 1708. Hand-coloured engraving

The divine harmony existing between Man, the microsm, the universe, macrocosm, with God at the top. From "Utriusque cosmi...historia" by Robert Fludd (Oppenheim, 1617-1619) Engraving

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher and mathematician. Plate published Paris, 1761. In the centre is Descartes' system of the universe showing Descartes' idea of the formation of the stars in vortices. Colour

Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, weighing and comparing systems of the universe and giving greater weight to Tycho's system, right, than to that of Copernicus. Ptolemy's system is discarded at her feet. From Almagestum Novum by Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Bologna, 1651

Rene Descartes' universe showing matter filling it collected in vortices with star at centre of each, often with orbiting planets. Path of comet shown by wavy line starting at N. From Descartes Epistolae, Amsterdam, 1668

Galileo's diagram of the Copernican (heliocentric) system of the universe showing also his own discovery, the four satellites (moons) of Jupiter. From Galileo Galilei Dialogo, Florence, 1632, Engraving

Copernican sun-centred (Heliocentric) system of universe showing orbit of earth and planets round the sun, including Jupiter and its moons. Figure on bottom right represents Copernicus. , From Andreas Cellarius Harmonia Macrocosmica Amsterdam, 1708, Hand-coloured engraving

Mexico, Federal District, Mexico City, inside of Palacio de Bellas Artes, detail of Diego Rivera fresco the man manager of the Universe

Having created the universe, the Earth and all living creatures, including man, God put Adam into a deep sleep and created Eve from Adam's rib. From "Liber Chronicarum Mundi" (Nuremberg Chronicle) by Hartmann Schedel 1493, Woodcut

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher and mathematician. Plate published Paris, 1761. In the centre is Descartes' system of the universe showing Descartes' idea of the formation of the stars in vortices. Colour