Historical Glossary of Importantterms in Hellenistic Astronomy
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Historical Glossary of Important Terms in Hellenistic Astronomy This Glossary collects terms found in the texts and contexts of Hellenistic astronomy. In keeping with the conception of Hellenistic astronomy developed in the present vol- ume, it aims not so much to understand these terms and their related concepts as they are understood today but, so far as possible, to decipher their sense as they were understood by those engaged in the various Hellenistic astronomies. Accordingly, this Glossary is historical, indeed philological, in nature and it assumes a geocentric cos- mology.1 It is also incomplete in two senses: first, it does not collect all the terms used in Hel- lenistic astronomy and its diverse contexts but focuses mainly on those that figure in this particular volume; and second, most of the entries concern terms as they were used in only some of the relevant languages. There is, then, much work to be done before we have a proper historical Glossary of Hellenistic astronomy. The present offering is but a first step. Anomaly (ἀνωμαλία, anomalia) If a motion (κίνηϲιϲ) varies, that is, if it is not always the same (ὁμαλή: cf. ὁμή) and so is uneven, unsmooth, or irregular (ἀνωμάλη), it has anomaly. The angular motion of all the planetary bodies is anomalous because it is faster at perigee and slower at apogee. a. Moon 1. first lunar The periodic variation in the Moon’s velocity or daily progress in longitude, i.e., its variable angular velocity.The period of this anomaly is the anomalistic month [see Month, lunar: a]. 2. second lunar This is the periodic variation in the Moon’s motion as its elongation from the Sun increases and decreases. This second lunar anomaly is also called evection. b. Sun The periodic variation in the Sun’s angular velocity or daily progress in longitude as it revolves around Earth. The period of this anomaly is the tropical year [see Year: b]. 1 Terms given in italics are defined elsewhere in the Glossary. In lists of terms in more languages than Greek and Latin, the terms are preceded by letters as follows: A for Akkadian Ar for Aramaic E for Egyptian G for Greek L for Latin © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004400566_050Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg - 9789004400566 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 07:00:17PM via free access 632 historical glossary c. Planets 1. first or solar To an observer on Earth, each of the five planets appears in the course of its direct motion eastward to vary in the amount and direction of its daily progress as it makes stations and retrogradations. Such periodic variation in eastward motion is an anomaly with respect to the Sun because it is a matter of the planet’s elon- gation from the Sun. 2. second or zodiacal Again, to an observer on Earth, the five planets make a periodic variation that correlates to the variation in the longitude where their stations and retrograda- tions are observed to occur as well as to a variation in the distance between their first and second stations. This variation is an anomaly with respect to the ecliptic or zodiacal circle [see Circle: k] because it relates to the planet’s longitude. Ascendant. See Horoscopus Aspect (aspectus, facies) There are two ways of defining aspects. In the first, the aspects are defined in terms of how the seven planets—that is, the five planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury) and the two luminaries (the Sun and Moon)—stand in relation to one another and thus look (aspicere) to one another. Thus, a. opposition (κατὰ διάμετρον) Two such planets standing at the ends of the same diameter of the zodiacal circle [see Circle: k], that is, 180° from one anther, are in opposition. b. quartile (κατὰ τετράγωνον) Two planets that are 90° from one another are in a quartile aspect and form a side or sides of tetragon (τετράγωνον, quadratum). c. sextile (κατὰ ἑξάγωνον) Planets that are 60° from one another are in a sextile aspect and form a side or sides of a hexagon (ἑξάγωνον, hexagonum). d. syzygy (κατὰ ϲυζυγίαν) or antiskian (κατ᾿ ἀντιϲκίαν) Two planets that are contained by the same parallel circles (defined by the rotation of the celestial sphere [see Circle: b]) and thus rise from the same place and set at the same place are in syzygy. Such planets “cast shadows” in opposite directions. They are also equidistant from Midheaven or Lower Midheaven. e. trine (κατὰ τρίγωνα) Planets that are 120° from one another are in a trine aspect and form a side or sides of a trigon (τρίγωνον, trigonum, trigon). In the second, the aspects are relations between zodiacal signs [see Sign, zodiacal: b]. The definition of the particular aspects in this second sense are analogous to those above. Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg - 9789004400566 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 07:00:17PM via free access historical glossary 633 Astrology, Hellenistic: types a. catarchic The determination of the astrological circumstances for or at the occurrence of some undertaking or event. 1. election The determination of the best time to begin some undertaking. 2. event The interpretation of an event that has occurred based on the time of its occur- rence. 3. decumbiture (κατάκλιϲιϲ) The determination of the course and outcome of an illness based on the time when the invalid took to his or her bed. 4. interrogation The determination of the outcome of an event such as a burglary or of a horo- scope cast at the time when the question about the event was asked of the astrologer. b. general (universal, mundane) The prediction of events for countries, cities, states, and their populations based on periodic celestial phenomena. It may include the determination of the best time for founding a city or the interpretation of the horoscope cast at the time the city was founded. c. natal (genethlialogical) The interpretation of the native’s life based on the birth horoscope, which connects the time and place of birth to the positions of the Sun, Moon, and five planets as well as to the orientation of the zodiacal circle [see: Circle: k]. d. hororary. See Astrology, Hellenistic: types a.4 Astronomy, Hellenistic: names a. Babylonian There was no Akkadian term for either astronomy or astrology. Astronomy was sub- sumed under the scribal art (ṭupšarrūtu) and also classified with wisdom (nēmequ). Neither «ṭupšarrūtu» nor «nēmequ» should be translated by “astronomy”. Although there was no term for astronomy/astrology, the term for astronomer/ astrologer was “ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil” (“scribe of [the celestial omen series] Enūma Anu Enlil”).This title has traditional roots going back centuries, at least to the seventh century bce in the celestial-divination advisers to the Neo-Assyrian royal court. However, the title itself, “ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil”, is much more frequently attested in the colophons of Seleucid astronomical texts that identify the scribal owner or copyists of astronomical tables (tērsītu). Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg - 9789004400566 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 07:00:17PM via free access 634 historical glossary b. Early Christian For early Christians, astronomy and astrology were analogous terms, almost invari- ably considered negatively. Following Jewish apocryphal tradition, knowledge of the stars was taught to humans by fallen angels. Christians continued, in the main, to consider astronomy to be demonic. The Christian idea that astrology was demonic knowledge derives from two influential texts: 1 Enoch and the interpretation of Gen. 6:1–4 by Philo Judaeus (Alexandrinus). On the development of this claim by Chris- tian writers to persuade one another and to separate themselves from non-believers, see Greenbaum 2009, app. 3A. c. Egyptian The Egyptian language did not have a general term for either astronomy or astrol- ogy, though there is evidence that both subjects were known to them under some description and practiced. First is the documentary evidence of lunar omens and horoscopes in Demotic and belonging to that period from the sixth century bce onward in which Egyptian astronomy, while continuing a traditional interest in matters of timekeeping (divi- sions of the day or hours, lengths of daytime and nighttime, the risings and settings of fixed stars and planets, the lunar and solar calendars), acquired new practices and knowledge due to the influence of Babylonian astronomy. Next is the evidence of the titles of those who had knowledge of the heavens. In a lin- guistic tradition over four millennia, Egyptian vocabulary shifted considerably. Old Egypt records the words for “teach” and “star” as homophones («sbꜢ») but no astro- nomical texts have survived from this early era. In Middle Egyptian and Demotic, the phrase «imy-wnw.t» (“who is in the hour”) described a class of priests charged with a body of astronomical knowledge that was extended under the influence of Babylonian astronomy. An autobiographical inscription on the funerary statue of the imy-wnw.t priest Harkhebi lists his competencies. Although this list details a wide range of observations, calculations, and predictions, it does not record a lex- ical category analogous to astronomy. A similar list of astronomical skills appears in the Temple of Edfu. In some cases, the imy-wnw.t priest is expected to know (rḫ) astronomical topics that included astrological prognostication. The verb «rḫ» may be connected with calculations, especially those computed by tables; but the word has a wide semantic range. In Coptic, the most recent phase of the Egyptian lan- guage, two terms referred to practitioners of astral sciences. The first term, «ρεϥωπ μνϲιου» (“man who calculates the stars”), may be a calque for the Greek «μαϑημα- τικόϲ».