Geminos´s Introduction to the Phenomena: A Translation and Study

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:

List of Illustrations ix
List of Tables xiii
Preface xv

INTRODUCTION 1

1. Significance of Geminos´s Introduction to the Phenomena 2
2. Geminos´s Other Works 3
3. On "The Phenomena" in Greek Astronomy 4
4. The Greek Genre of Astronomical Surveys 8
5. Geminos´s Sources for His Introduction 12
6. Geminos´s Country and Date 15
7. Geminos and the Stoics 23
8. Geminos on Astronomical Instruments and Models 27
9. Geminos on Mathematical Genres 43
10. Reality and Representation in Greek Astronomy 49
11. Heliacal Risings and Settings 58
12. Astronomical Applications of Arithmetic Progressions 73
13. Lunar and Lunisolar Cycles 82
14. On the Text and Translation 101

Introduction to the Phenomena: TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY

I. On the Circle of the Signs 113
II. Aspects of the Zodiacal Signs 125
III. On the Constellations 137
Geminos´s Stars and Constellations: A Supplement to Chapter III 140
IV. On the Axis and the Poles 146
V. The Circles on the Sphere 149
VI. On Day and Night 161
VII. On the Risings of the 12 Signs 169
VIII. On Months 175
IX. On Phases of the Moon 186
X. On the Eclipse of the Sun 189
XI. On the Eclipse of the Moon 191
XII. That the Planets Make the Movement Opposite to That of the Cosmos 195
XIII. On Risings and Settings 200
XIV. On the Paths of the Fixed Stars 205
XV. Concerning the Zones on Earth 208
XVI. On Geographical Regions 210
XVII. On Weather Signs from the Stars 217
XVIII. On the Exeligmos 227
Parapegma 231

FRAGMENTS 1 AND 2, FROM GEMINOS´S OTHER WORKS

Fragment 1. From Geminos´s Philokalia: Geminos on the Classification of the Mathematical Sciences 243
Fragment 2. From Geminos´s Concise Exposition of the Meteorology of Poseido¯nios: Geminos on the Relation of Astronomy to Physics 250

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Appendix 1. Textual Notes to Geminos´s Introduction to the Phenomena 257
Appendix 2. The Geminos Parape¯gma 275
Appendix 3. Glossary of Technical Terms in Geminos´s Introduction to the Phenomena 291
Appendix 4. Index of Persons Mentioned by Geminos 301