Plato (428 BCE - 347 BCE), Greek philosopher. Plato's work was, and is, a major influence on the development of European philosophical and scientific thought. Plato saw the Earth as being imperfect, and therefore founded the tradition of mathematical analysis of nature. He helped to form the first coherent model of the motion of heavenly bodies, claiming that the planets moved in a circular motion. He also argued that the Earth was round. He claimed that the Universe was composed of four elements (water, earth, fire and air). Plato introduced the five platonic solids (cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, pyramid & dodecahedron), the only 5 regular solid shapes. This engraving first appeared in The History of Philosophy by Thomas Stanley, published in