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Reach for the Stars: Marcus Tullius Cicero and the Classical Constellations
- dr_dshiv 5y agoEpimenedies is the pagan poet quoted in the new testament: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimenides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimenides
- dr_dshiv 5y agoHelps to know that the constellations looked nothing like their referent back then, either.
- coyotespike 5y agoThis awesome book helped me "see" the constellations (sometime I'll really take the time to learn more of them!) https://www.amazon.com/Stars-H-Rey/dp/0547132808 https://www.amazon.com/Stars-H-Rey/dp/0547132808
- nescioquid 5y agoThis was an interesting subject to learn about, however the writing and argumentation is a little confusing. > It is less known, however, that through his [Cicero's] striking and often beautifully illustrated work the Aratea, he was also responsible for introducing many a medieval and early modern reader to the Classical constellations. This seems to imply Cicero also illustrated the work, rather than it merely being the subject of much later illuminated medieval texts (though the rest of the article hopefully makes clear the construction of this sentence is bad). Later, the article claims Cicero must have translated the Phaenomena because it was popular. As evidence it cites Paul's quotation of it in his address on the Areopagus. Is the claim warranted? Paul, a Roman citizen, was born about 48 years after Cicero's death. Did Cicero translate it because it was popular, or did he have a hand in popularizing it, leading to Paul's quotation?