Astronomy and Rome
Unit 1 astronomy project~
Astronomy and Mathematics
In astronomy, mathematics, and, indeed, all areas of the sciences, the Romans were attracted to an easily learned, textbook format—the handbook, which were summaries of knowledge that the writers in Latin and Greek found useful for synthesizing and simplifying Greek learning.
Cosmic Theories
Some of the more educated Romans were familiar with the Greek philosophers who proposed cosmic theories, they also knew of Aristarchus’s geometrical proof of the relative distances between the sun, moon, and earth and of his theory that the earth and planets moved around the sun, but they rejected such notions. Hipparchus’s mathematical demonstration about planets moving on epicycles and deferents was too attractive for them.
Top Astronomers Of Rome
Acoreus
a wise man consulted by Julius Caesar, according to the Roman writer Lucan, asking him many questions about ancient Egypt’s history and its calendar, but says he would like nothing as much as hearing the cause of the flooding of the Nile and to see its source.
Gallus
Gallus was a man of great learning, an excellent Greek scholar, and in his later years devoted himself to the study of astronomy, on which subject he is quoted as an authority by Pliny. The lunar crater Sulpicius Gallus is named after him.
Hyginus
Hyginus wrote Astromomia. The star lists in the Astronomia are in exactly the same order as in Ptolemy's Almagest,reinforcing the idea of a 2nd-century compilation.
Roman Understanding of Astronomy
Much of the astronomy came to the Romans through Posidonius, the Syrian philosopher who visited Rome in 87-86 B.C.E. who blended astronomic theory with Stoic philosophical ideas in a way attractive to Roman thought.
In Conclusion
Rome really didn't like astronomy at all....
Credits
"Science, Technology, and Health: Overview." World Eras. Ed. John T. Kirby. Vol. 3: Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E.- 476 C.E. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 382-384. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.