Zum rätselhaften Bild des Kosmos bei Camille Flammarion

In 1888 the French astronomer, Camille Flammarion, published in one of his popular books a picture of a man breaking through the confinement of the old cosmos. This picture has been reproduced frequently and has served as an attractive illustration for many purposes ever since. There was a long debate on the origin of this picture: does there exist an original Renaissance source of it or is it a creation of Flammarion or of one of his illustrators? This Paper introduces a new and so far unrecognized element into this discussion. The ancient greek philosopher, Archytas, is said to have asked the question: is it possible for a man to stretch his hand or his stick out of the edge of the cosmos? The picture of Flammarion seems to be a precise and almost literal illustration of this question.