The initial sentence is very short , but all the details would be elaborated in the linked section , of how Aristotle wrote of the Earth as a flat pie plate , standing on edge , rotating on edge ( once per day ) , while Plato , holding 2 opposing views , stated ( 1 ) the Earth was a sphere , and ( 2 ) the sphere did not rotate ( but the cosmos spun around the sphere ) . The initial sentence is very short , but all the details would be elaborated in the linked section , of how Aristotle wrote of the Earth as a flat pie plate , standing on edge , rotating on edge ( once per day ) , while Plato , holding 2 opposing views , stated ( 1 ) the Earth was a sphere , and ( 2 ) the sphere did not rotate ( the cosmos spun about the sphere ) .