A quote by Socrates, recorded in Phaedo, reads: “Well then, my friend to begin with, the earth when seen from above is said to look like those balls that are covered with twelve pieces of leather; it is divided into patches of various colours, of which the colours which we see here may be regarded as samples, such as painters use.

“And in this fair earth the things that grow, the trees, and flowers and fruits, are correspondingly beautiful; and so too the mountains and the stones are smoother, and more transparent and more lovely in colour than ours.”

As a result, some have interpreted this as being a sign that Socrates, who lived from 470 BC to 399 BC, had been on a plane and seen the world from above – potentially even from space.

Website Ancient Origins said: “Socrates’ description of the earth appearing like a colourful ball from above sounds a lot like the planet Earth viewed from orbit to modern ears.