Astronomy, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient World
Cambridge University Press, 8/23/2007
EAN 9780521851817, ISBN10: 0521851815
Hardcover, 580 pages, 24.7 x 17.4 x 3.8 cm
The focus of this book is the interplay between ancient astronomy, meteorology, physics and calendrics. It looks at a set of popular instruments and texts (parapegmata) used in antiquity for astronomical weather prediction and the regulation of day-to-day life. Farmers, doctors, sailors and others needed to know when the heavens were conducive to various activities, and they developed a set of fairly sophisticated tools and texts for tracking temporal, astronomical and weather cycles. Sources are presented in full, with an accompanying translation. A comprehensive analysis explores questions such as: What methodologies were used in developing the science of astrometeorology? What kinds of instruments were employed and how did these change over time? How was the material collected and passed on? How did practices and theories differ in the different cultural contexts of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome?
Part I. Parapegmata and Astrometeorology
1. The rain in Attica falls mainly under Sagitta
2. Spelt and Spica
3. De signis
4. When is thirty days not a month?
5. Calendars, weather, and stars in Babylon
6. Egyptian astrometeorology
7. Conclusion
Part II. Sources
Catalogue of extant parapegmata
Extant parapegmata
Appendix 1. Authorities cited in parapegmata
Appendix 2. Tables of correspondence of parapegmata.
'This is the first monograph on parapegmata in some time and the most comprehensive to date. ... Lehoux has provided [an] exhaustive study ... with an engaging discussion of the historical and intellectual implications of these sources. This work will be essential for anyone working on ancient astronomy, calendrics or related areas.' Journal of the History of Astronomy