Why?

“...it is important to realize that the cosmic geography of ancient peoples was predominantly metaphysical and only secondarily physical and material: the roles and manifestations of the gods in the cosmic geography were primary. So, for example, in Mesopotamian thinking, cables held by the gods connected the heaven and earth and held the sun in the sky. In Egypt, the sun-god sailed in his barque across the heavens during the day and through the netherworld at night. The stars of the Egyptian sky were portrayed as emblazoned across the arched body of the sky goddess, who was held up by the god of the air. In another Egyptian depiction, the Cow of Heaven was supported by four gods who each held one of her legs. She gave birth to the sun every day, and the sun traveled across her belly and was swallowed by her at night...

“The apparent neglect of curiosity about the physical structure of the cosmos is therefore not simply a consequence of the ancients’ inability to investigate their physical world. In their thinking, the physical aspects of the cosmos did not define its existence or its importance; physical realities were merely the tools that the gods used for carrying out their own purposes. The purposes of the gods were of prime interest to the ancients.”—Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology, pages 89-90