(Callimachus) Hymns, Epigrams. Phaenomena. Alexandra

The division of the sky into named star constellations that has come down to us is the work of Eudoxus (ca. 390-340 B.C.), who codified and extended earlier Greek and Mesopotamian systems. Eudoxus' work itself has not survived, but is captured in the Phaenomena of Aratus. The first and longest part of Phaenomena is a versification of Eudoxus' treatise, giving a detailed description of the constellations and their relative positions. This naturally leads to a section on weather signs (based perhaps on Theophrastus' Concerning Weather Signs). Aratus' poem was among the most widely read in antiquity and was one of the few Greek poems translated into Arabic. This volume also contains the Hymns and Epigrams of Callimachus and the monodrama Alexandra attributed to Lycophron.

Series No. 129 / 480 pages / ISBN 0-674-99143-5