Pseudo-Proklos’ Sphaera : : Die Sphaera-Gattung im 16. Jahrhundert / / Johanna Biank.

• Superior document: Sources 12: Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge
• VerfasserIn: Biank, Johanna,
• Place / Publishing House: Germany : : Edition Open Access,, 2019
• Year of Publication: 2020; 2019
• Language: German
• Series: Sources 12: Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (302 pages) :; digital, PDF file(s).
• Other title: Pseudo-Proklos’ Sphaera
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references.
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Johanna Biank.

Pseudo-Proklos' Sphaera (Σφαῖρα) is a Greek introduction to astronomy originally written by the Stoic Geminos (Εἰσαγωγὴ εἰς τὰ φαινόμενα) from the 1st century BC. BC, but was attributed to the Neoplatonic Proclus in the late 15th century. At the end of the 16th century, translations and commentaries on the text appeared in 23 manuscripts and 92 printed editions in various languages. Although it was known at the time that the text was not from Proclus, it continued to be taught and translated across Europe. The widespread use of the text is not only due to the popularity of the name Proklos, but also underlines the great importance of its content. This book contrasts the Sphaera of the pseudo-Proclus with the standard astronomical textbook for astronomy from the 14th century - the Sphaera of Johannes de Sacrobosco. The use of the Sphaera was preferred at European universities, colleges and schools because it was shorter and more elementary than the text of the Sacrobosco and because the simple Greek syntax could also be used to teach the Greek language. As a Greek textbook, the Sphaera was printed together with various types of text such as treatises and poems on astronomy and was distributed in particular in humanistic centers around Erasmus and Melanchthon. This text edition of Pseudo-Proklos' Sphaera contains a detailed description of the content, tracks its distribution and places it in a temporal context. The appendix contains transcriptions and facsimiles of the oldest Greek manuscript, the oldest Greek-Latin print, a German translation of the Greek text and paraphrases of the Latin early modern commentaries.