After two thousand years of Western science making excuses for the problems of a geocentric model of the universe, Galileo finally did the unthinkable; declared that the sun does not orbit the earth. This not only invalidated nearly everything astronomers of the time believed to be true, but it called into question humanity's place in God's plan. If He didn't put us at the center of the universe, perhaps it meant He didn't value us as much as we thought previously? This revelation of a heliocentric universe threw the world of astronomers out of the beautiful, orderly spheres of the Ptolemaic system and into a random, chaotic existence, without equally clear evidence of a divine plan. Milton took up this idea of ​​a reversal of God's plan when he wrote his epic poem, Paradise Lost. Milton's Eve and Satan, two of the most maligned figures in Judeo-Christian theology, represent freedom of thought, curiosity, and the desire for equality, qualities that Milton himself espoused. When Galileo tracked the sun and moon and found spots of imperfection on their faces, he rebuked the previously held idea that superlunar spheres were perfect. Likewise, by letting Satan into the Garden of Eden, Milton allows for the possibility of malformations occurring in a place designed by God. Like Galileo's spots, Milton's placement of Satan reflects an idea of ​​corruption in lurk in a seemingly innocent and spotless place, and challenge the illusion of a perfect and divine sanctuary. If the Garden of Eden had been a perfect divine garden, God would have made it impervious to evil. Likewise, if perfect space existed outside the Moon, Galileo would not have found spots on the Sun and Moon. After Galileo's proclamation of imperfections in a seemingly perfect spiritual... middle of paper... the existence of a perfect superlunar realm, and realized that the movements of the planets indicated a heliocentric universe. Milton's Paradise Lost allows the main demon of Western and Arab religion to enter God's perfect enclosure for His perfect creations, and does not condemn Eve for placing sensory knowledge and reason before God's demands. After centuries of Church and God dictated thought, science, art and morality, Galileo chose to ignore the doctrine of the Church and, a few decades later, Milton collected these ideas in his great epic, both fearlessly challenging the iron. the Church's take on intellectualism and ushering in a new era of freedom, knowledge and artistic expression. Work cited Milton, John, Paradise Lost. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume C. 3rd ed. Martin Puchner et al. eds. New York: W. Nortan, 2012. 656-751. Press.