Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena : : A Translation and Study of a Hellenistic Survey of Astronomy / / J. Lennart Berggren, James Evans.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Evans, James,; Berggren, J. Lennart,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2018]; ©2007
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

This is the first complete English translation of Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena--one of the most important and interesting astronomical works of its type to have survived from Greek antiquity. Gracefully and charmingly written, Geminos's first-century BC textbook for beginning students of astronomy can now be read straight through with understanding and enjoyment by a wider audience than ever before. James Evans and Lennart Berggren's accurate and readable translation is accompanied by a thorough introduction and commentary that set Geminos's work in its historical, scientific, and philosophical context. This book is generously illustrated with diagrams from medieval manuscripts of Geminos's text, as well as drawings and photographs of ancient astronomical instruments. It will be of great interest to students of the history of science, to classicists, and to professional and amateur astronomers who seek to learn more about the origins of their science. Geminos provides a clear view of Greek astronomy in the period between Hipparchos and Ptolemy, treating such subjects as the zodiac, the constellations, the theory of the celestial sphere, lunar cycles, and eclipses. Most significantly, Geminos gives us the earliest detailed discussion of Babylonian astronomy by a Greek writer, thus offering valuable insight into the cross-cultural transmission of astronomical knowledge in antiquity.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Introduction -- Introduction to the Phenomena: TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY -- I. On the Circle of the Signs -- II. Aspects of the Zodiacal Signs -- III. On the Constellations -- IV. On the Axis and the Poles -- V. The Circles on the Sphere -- VI. On Day and Night -- VII. On the Risings of the 12 Signs -- IX. On Phases of the Moon -- X. On the Eclipse of the Sun -- XI. On the Eclipse of the Moon -- XII. That the Planets Make the Movement Opposite to That of the Cosmos -- XIII. On Risings and Settings -- XIV. On the Paths of the Fixed Stars -- XV. Concerning the Zones on Earth -- XVI. On Geographical Regions -- XVII. On Weather Signs from the Stars -- XVIII. On the Exeligmos -- Parapēgma -- Fragments 1 and 2, from Geminos's Other Works -- Fragment 1, From Geminos's Philokalia: Geminos on the Classification of the Mathematical Sciences -- Fragment 2, From Geminos's Concise Exposition of the Meteorology of Poseidōnios: Geminos on the Relation of Astronomy to Physics -- REFERENCE MATERIALS -- Appendix 1. Textual Notes to Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena -- Appendix 2. The Geminos Parapēgma -- Appendix 3. Glossary of Technical Terms in Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena -- Appendix 4. Index of Persons Mentioned by Geminos -- Bibliography -- Index