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Cover

Constellation Myths

with Aratus's Phaenomena

Eratosthenes, Hyginus, and Aratus
Robin Hard

14 May 2015

ISBN: 9780198716983

256 pages
Paperback
196x129mm

In Stock

Oxford World's Classics

Price: £8.99

This translation brings together ancient classical texts derived from Eratosthenes' handbook of astral mythology, Hyginus' guide to astronomy, and Aratus's astronomical poem Phaenomena to provide a complete collection of Greek astral myths.

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Description

This translation brings together ancient classical texts derived from Eratosthenes' handbook of astral mythology, Hyginus' guide to astronomy, and Aratus's astronomical poem Phaenomena to provide a complete collection of Greek astral myths.

  • The only comprehensive compendium of the ancient myths of the stars and constellations, including the two main sources, Eratosthenes and Hyginus, together with Aratus' Phaenomena, the earliest surviving account of the Greek constellations.
  • A fascinating collection of mythological stories covering the constellations of the zodiac, the northern and southern skies, and the Milky Way.
  • Myths include the stories of Europa, Orion's pursuit of the Pleiades, the kneeling Heracles, Pegasus, Perseus and Andromeda, the golden ram, and many more.
  • Includes an introduction that explains the nature and origin of the myths, notes, an index, and maps of the northern and southern skies, picturing the constellations at the time when the texts were written.
  • Appendix includes extracts from Geminos, Introduction to the Phaenomena, a textbook on astronomy from the 1st century AD.

About the Author(s)

Eratosthenes, Hyginus, and Aratus

Robin Hard, Independent scholar

Robin Hard has translated Apollodorus' Library of Greek Mythology, Diogenes' Sayings and Anecdotes, Marcus Aurelius Meditations, and Epictetus Discourses, Fragments, Handbook for Oxford World's Classics. He is the author of the Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology (2004).

Reviews

"Highly recommended." - Anna Maria Polidori, Al Femminile

"A useful, inexpensive, and comprehensive vade-mecum of the mythology that surrounds the constellations" - Colin Leach, Classics for All

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