The text of Aratus poem Phainomena

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THE RIGHT HONOURABLK WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE, M.P. WHO, AMID THE MO.^T ARDUOUS PUBLIC LABOURS, HAS NEVER CEASED TO FIND REFRESHMENT IX THE STUDY OF ARCHAIC TIMF^. PREFACE. In the present work I place before the reader in an English form, the famoufi Poem of Aratos which has supplied our modem world with the now familiar ancient constellations. The Phainomena was one of the most popular productions of antiquity, and its theme is replete with a many-sided interest—astronomical, historical, mythological, and psychological. On Hellenic astronomy generally I have touched only slightly, for reasons mentioned in the foUowing pages ; and the work purports far more to indicate than to exhaust the numerous lines of thought and branches of investigation which are connected with stellar research generally and with the Phainomena in particular. The statements of Aratos are frequently very incorrectly quoted, and it seemed desirable, in the first place, to place them plainly on record, and to accompany them with a short Introduction and some brief illustrative notes.

One of the chief points of interest in the enquiry is the connexion, ever becoming clearer, between Hellenic and Euphratean astronomy, a subject necessarily almost entirely unknown to earlier writers. This work is also in strict continuation of my former studies on The Sun {The Great Vionysiak Myth), The Moon ( The Unicom, and The Myth of Kirke\ and The Stars [The Law of Kosmic Order, and Eridanus: River and Constellation), The same system, mythological and general, which I have supported and illustrated in former monographs reappears in these pages. It does not pretend a to resolve all archaic stories into accounts of natural plienomena ; but it fully recognizes the immense influence which natural phenoinena, and anthropomorphic and other analogies drawn from the animal kingdom, exercised upon the mind of early man.


Aratos, upon whom the composition of the Diosemeia, and the versification of the Phainomena of the astronomer Eudoxos, who lived cir. B.C. 403-350, have conferred immortality,^ was a native of Soloi, in Kilikia; and therefore, as has frequently been noticed, a fellow-coimtryinan of S. Paul, who shows evident familiarity with his principal poem. This work was undertaken at the request of Antigonos Gonatas, King of Makedonia, whose reign extended from B.C. 277 to 239, and at whose court Aratos lived and died. The composition of the Phainomena is generally placed cir. B.C. 270, and few works have been more popular. Numbers of commentators, at the head of whom stands Hipparchos, have exercised their learning and ingenuity upon it; whilst Cicero * and Grerman-icus ^ turned it into Latin verse. With the former it was evidently an especial favourite, and he remarks : ' Constat inter doctos hominem ignarum astrologiae^ Aratum, omatissimis atque optimis versibus de coelo stellisque dixisse.' * That Aratos was personally innocent of any scientific astronomical knowledge all the world has always agreed with Cicero ; and it is questionable whether even Eudoxos himself was so very greatly the poet's superior in this respect. But, notwithstanding, the Phainomena is of the highest interest, not only because it is the foundation of all the uranographic maps and lists now used by modem science, but also because it contains most valuable reminiscences of earlier stages sidereal observation and mythologico-religious belief in Western Asia. This phase of the enquiry I do not propose to consider exhaustively here, inasmuch as I have already treated of it elsewhere ; ^ and I now merely place before the English reader a faithful translation of the poem, as distinguished from a loose and inaccurate paraphrase. It is equally be)''ond my present purpose to enter into any detailed account of the rise and progress of early Hellenic astronomy; especially since this field has already been ably explored by Delambre, Sir G. C. Lewis, and others.

Cicero in an interesting passage, states that * Gallus assured us [that the] solid and compact [model] globe was a very ancient invention, and that the first [Hellenic] model had been originally made by Thales of Miletus,' cir. B.C. 636-546, renowned, amongst other things, for having fallen into a well whilst stargazing.*^ ' That afterwards Eudoxus of Cnidus, a disciple of Plato, had traced on its surface the stars that appear in the sky, and that many years subsequently, borrowing from Eudoxus this beautiful design and representation, Aratos had illustrated it in his not by any science of astronomy, but by the ornament of poetic description.'^ Anaximandros of Miletos, B.C. 610-547, the immediate philosophical successor of Thales, according to Diogenes Laertios, * was the first discoverer of the gnomon ; and he placed some in Lakedaimftn on the sun-dials there, and they showed the solstices and the equinoxes. He was the first person, too, who drew a map of the earth and sea, and he also made a globe.' * In statements of this kind by classical writers the introducer or the popularizer is constantly described as the inventor. Thus, in the present instance, Anaximandros was not ^ the first discoverer' of the gnomon ; for, as Herodotos truly says, * the gnomon with the division of the day into twelve parts, was received by the Greeks from the Babylonians.' ^ But the point to be here noticed is, that the Asiatic Hellenes had long been familiar with maps and other representations uranographic ^ and geographic.Thus, Herodotos saw and derided ^ numbers of the ethereal circle; Uelios driving his horses down the west, drawing Hesperos with him; black-robed Night in a two-horsed chariot, the Stars following her; the Pleiad in mid ether; * sword-bearing Orion' (vide p. 88) ; above, Arktos twisting around the pole ; the Full-moon, the month-divider; the Ilvades, the surest sign for sailors ; and, lastly, light-bearing star-chasing Eos (Ion, 1140-68. As to the Hellenic view of thekosmic and stellar dance, vide O, D, At, i. 106 et eeq,).
persons drawing maps of the world'; ^ and states that Aristagoras of Miletos, which city, it shoiild be noticed, was the abode of the sages above mentioned, cir. B.C. 500, produced to Kleomenes of Sparta * a bronze tablet, whereupon the whole circuit of the earth was engraved, with all its seas and rivers.' *^ This tablet was ^pinax, a term meaning (1) a board ; (2) a plate or wooden trencher ; (3) a plate with anything drawn or engraved on it (=a map) ; and (4) the plate etc. on which in later times astrological schemes were erected, so that 17 irepl irivaKa Ii€0o8os means * the art of casting nativities.'


That is to say, the scheme of constellation-figures was already archaic in his time ; and statements such as that Oinopides of Chios, a sage of uncertain date, * discovered' the Zodiac, are about as valuable as an assertion that * Homer' discovered the Great Bear. As to the Zodiac, Pliny gravely informs us that * Signa in eo Cleostratus [who * lived some time between B.C. 548 and 432 '] et prima Arietis ac Sagittarii.'' He might as well have stated that So-and-So put the letters in the alphabet. A far more important assertion, when rightly understood, and one which was literally received by Sir Isaac Newton, is made by Clement of Alexandria, who says, * Hermippus of Berytus [cir. a.d. 100] calls Cheiron the Centaur wise ; about whom, he that wrote 2he Battle of the Titans [probably either Arktinos, cir. B.C. 776, or Eumelos of Korinth, cir. B.C. 760] says, " that he first led the race of mortals to righteousness, by teaching them the solemnity of the oath, and propitiatory sacrifices and the figures of Olympus " ' * (o7(i7/iaT 'OXv/xTTov^). Thus Eudoxos summarized the astronomical observations




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 446-454).

Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 434-442).




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 426-427).




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 420-426).




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 416-420).


Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 412-415).




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 396-406).

Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 212-223).




Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Location 212).


Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 199-211).


Calm may she glide. A further taJe obtains,— lOO That once she was a denizen of earth, Met mortals face to face, and ne'er disowned Or men or women of the race of old. But though immortal sat amid them all. They used to name her Justice ; she would call 105 The elders to broad street or city-square, Declare men's rights, and see that right was done. As yet they knew not aught of grievous strife. Nor aught of blameful faction, or of din ; But thus they lived. Nor recked of ocean-toil, iio For life ^ not yet did vessels bring afar ; But ploughs and oxen, and the people's queen Justice, right-giver, richly all things gave. This was whilst earth maintained the golden race.'^

Calm may she glide. A further taJe obtains,— lOO That once she was a denizen of earth, Met mortals face to face, and ne'er disowned Or men or women of the race of old. But though immortal sat amid them all. They used to name her Justice ; she would call 105 The elders to broad street or city-square, Declare men's rights, and see that right was done. As yet they knew not aught of grievous strife. Nor aught of blameful faction, or of din ; But thus they lived. Nor recked of ocean-toil, iio For life ^ not yet did vessels bring afar ; But ploughs and oxen, and the people's queen Justice, right-giver, richly all things gave. This was whilst earth maintained the golden race.'^

Justice, hating such a race as these, Soared up to heaven, selecting this abode, Whence yet at night she shows herself to men The Virgin, near the Ploughman seen afar.^ O'er both her shoulders there revolves a star [in the right wing, Fruit-plucking-hetaid called,] * So large in size, and having such a gleam ' As to show forth beneath the Great Beards ttul.* For that is bright, and bright the neighbouring stars ; When you see these you have no need to doubt.*

THE HEAVENLY DISPLAV. All his huge form towards the left of the Twins Inclining, you will find : the TwistcJ-'s head Revolves just opposite. On his left shoulder The sacred Goat ^ which men say offered Zeus its dug ; Zeus' servants * call it the Olenian ^ Goat. She is both large and bright; but they—the Kids — Shine somewhat feebly on the wrist of the hand * The horned ^ Bull fallen near the Driver's * feet Fig, XI.— The CiiAKioTiiBB. Behold. And very like him lie the stars ; TIius is his head distinguished ; other mark Is needless to discern the head, since stars On both sides shape it as they roll along.'





Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 153-160).


Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 117-121).


Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 81-95).


Aratus. The Phainomena, or 'Heavenly displays' of Aratus, done into Engl. verse by R. Brown (Kindle Locations 81-95).





The text of Aratus poem Phainomena note the article by Dr Riemer Faber



The text of Aratus poemOntario, Canada

Transcendence and Immanence

Transcendence and Immanence
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Shemini; Leviticus 9:1-11:47

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By Eli Touger

Adapted from

Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, p. 973ff;

Vol. XVII, p. 92ff;

Sefer HaSichos 5749, p. 475ff



Learning What It Means To Count



In Jewish thought, numbers represent not only concepts in our material world, but spiritual forces which mold our reality.1 Seven is a fundamental number, representative of the seven Divine middos, the attributes which are the source for and which parallel our emotions. These middos comprise the active force which brings our material world into being.2 For this reason, time is structured in cycles of seven. There are seven days in the week, seven years in the Shemittah cycle,3 and our Sages speak4 of seven millennia as the span of the world's existence.



Shabbos, the seventh day, reflects perfection within the natural order. Just as the original Shabbos brought Creation to a close, on Shabbos a person should feel that "all his work is completed."5 Moreover, Shabbos does not symbolize only material perfection; referring to it as Shabbos Kodesh, " the holy Sabbath," indicates that the G-dly light enclothed within the world is manifest at that time.



The number eight, however, refers to an even higher level of holiness the G-dly light which transcends the limits of our world. Indeed, it eclipses the number seven to the extent that our Rabbis state6 that "the number seven is always mundane, while the number eight is holy."



"The Eighth Day"



These concepts are reflected in this week's Torah reading, Parshas Shemini. Shemini means "the eighth." It refers to the first of Nissan, the day on which the Sanctuary was established. It is called "the eighth day"7 because it was preceded by seven days of dedication, during which Moshe erected and took down the Sanctuary each day, and taught Aharon and his sons the order of sacrificial worship.



The Kli Yakar asks why the Torah employs the term, "the eighth day." For this day is not one of the seven days of dedication, and indeed represents a totally different plane. For it was on this day that G-d's presence manifested itself in the Sanctuary: "G-d's glory was revealed to the people and a fire came forth from before G-d."8



In resolution, he explains that the day is associated with this number to highlight its uniqueness. For the number eight is "set aside for G-d," representing a transcendence of the world's natural limits.



But this resolution is itself problematic. Since the number eight reflects such a high level, how can it be associated with the seven days that precede it? Calling it "the eighth day" implies the continuation of a sequence. Thus the very term used to accentuate the day's uniqueness points to its connection with the previous days.



Earning More Than We Can



The above difficulty can be resolved on the basis of a ruling with regard to monetary law:9 Giving a present is equated with a sale, because if the recipient had not generated satisfaction for the giver, he would not have granted him the gift.






Similarly with the concepts mentioned previously: the manifestation of G-d's presence cannot be drawn down by man's service, for it is a transcendent light. Instead, it must be granted as a gift from above. Nevertheless, when does G-d endow us with such a revelation? When we have created a fit setting for it when we have refined and developed our environment and ourselves to the limit of our abilities.



Thus the seven days of dedication represented man's efforts to refine our environment an objective within man's capacity. And by carrying out this objective, a setting is created for the revelations of the eighth day, the transcendent light.10



Focus on This World, Not on the Next



Moreover, when this transcendent revelation is brought about by man's Divine service, it does not remain an isolated occurrence, but permeates our environment, showing the immanence of infinite spirituality.



This concept is underscored by the continuation of the Torah reading,11 which speaks of the death of Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu. The Torah relates12 that they brought an unauthorized incense offering and as a result, "Fire came forth from G-d and consumed them."



Many explanations are offered as to why the brothers were punished by death.13 From a mystical perspective, it is said14 that they died because their souls soared to such heights that they could no longer remain in their bodies. Nevertheless, their conduct is judged unfavorably because their spiritual quest ran contrary to G-d's intent in creation: the establishment of a dwelling for Himself amidst the day-to-day realities of our existence.15 Their deaths show that our spiritual quest should not be directed towards the attainment of lofty rapture, but instead should remain firmly grounded in our actual lives.



This theme is also reflected in the conclusion of the Torah reading, which focuses on kosher food. For the establishment of a dietary code indicates that Judaism's conception of Divine service involves living within the world.



A Fusion of Opposites



This fusion of transcendence and immanence is also alluded to by the name Shemini. Shemini shares a root with the Hebrew word shemen, meaning "oil." Oil has two tendencies.16 On one hand, it floats above other liquids, to the extent that if an impure person touches oil floating on another liquid, the lower liquid is not rendered impure, for the two are not considered to be joined.17



On the other hand, oil permeates the entities on which it is placed. Therefore, if a non-kosher substance which is fat or oily is roasted together with other food, it makes the entire quantity of food non-kosher, although ordinarily only the food actually touching the non-kosher substance would be tainted.18



Similarly, with regard to the subject at hand, the essential light associated with the eighth day transcends the limits of our material realm. Nevertheless, G-d's intent is not that this light remain in a sublime state, but that it permeate the material world, endowing it with holiness.



New Doors of Perception



The number eight shares a connection to the Era of the Redemption, as our Sages state:19 "The harp of the Era of the Redemption will be of eight strands" (while the harp used in the Beis HaMikdash had seven strands).



The revelations of the Era of the Redemption will also follow the motif described above. Thus in describing those revelations, our prophets say:20 "And the glory of G-d will be revealed and all flesh will see." "The glory of G-d" refers to a spiritual peak21 above the natural order. This level will be "seen," perceived openly, by "all flesh"; mortals within our material world will realize this spiritual truth.



Moreover, these revelations will be an intrinsic part of that era. Just as today it is natural for our eyes to see material objects, in that era, all flesh will perceive the glory of G-d. This involves a remaking of the natural order through our Divine service. For as stated in Tanya,22 the revelations of the Era of the Redemption depend on our service during the time of exile.



To refer to concepts mentioned previously: seven prepares for eight. By refining and elevating ourselves and our environment in the present age, we precipitate the transcendent revelations of the Era of the Redemption. Our Divine service creates a framework for the fusion of the spiritual and the material, allowing for these revelations to permeate and remake our worldly existence.



FOOTNOTES

1. There are two explanations for this concept: a) In Hebrew, letters correspond to numbers. Since G-d created the world through speech, the numerical patterns created by the letters of the Ten Utterances of Creation reflect the interplay of G-d's creative forces (Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 1).b) The Hebrew word for number is mispar (????). Accordingly, the statement of Sefer Yetzirah (1:1) that the world was created bisofar, bisefer, ubisippur (????? ???? ??????) is interpreted as referring to the merging of numerical patterns.



2. See the commentary of the Ramban to Genesis 2:3. Note as well the maamar Issa BiMidrash Tehillim (Sefer HaMaamarim 5708, p. 272ff.)

3. The cycle upon which the agricultural laws observed in Eretz Yisrael are based.

4. Rosh HaShanah 31a.


5. Mechilta, quoted in Rashi, Shmos 20:9.


6. Kli Yakar, commenting on Leviticus 9:1, the opening verse of our Torah reading. See also the Responsa of the Rashba (Vol. I, Responsum 9), which explains that eight refers to a rung of holiness that transcends the limits of nature.

7. Leviticus 9:1.

8. Ibid.: 23-24.

9. Gittin 50b, et al.

10. We find a similar motif with regard to Sefiras HaOmer the Counting of the Omer, a mitzvah which in many years is associated with the time when Parshas Shemini is read. We are obligated to count 49 (7x7) days to observe this mitzvah. Each day involves an effort to refine a specific dimension of our characters. The fiftieth day marks the celebration of Shavuos, which is associated with Divine light. See the essay entitled "Counting More than Days" (Timeless Patterns in Time, Vol. II, p. 63ff).

11. This reflects the fact that the name Shemini is associated with the entire Torah portion, and not merely the opening verse.

12. Leviticus 10:1-2.

13. See the commentary of Rashi to the above verse, Eruvin 63a, Toras Kohanim, commenting on Leviticus 16:1, Vayikra Rabbah 20:8-9.

14. Or HaChayim, commenting on Leviticus 16:1; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, p. 987ff; Timeless Patterns in Time, Vol. I, p. 52ff.

15. See Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Bechukosai, sec. 3; Tanya, chs. 33 and 36.

16. See Inyano Shel Torah HaChassidus (English translation, "The Essence of the Teachings of Chassidus "), sec. 7.

17. Tivul Yom 2:5. Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Tumas Ochalin 8:10.

18. See Chulin 97a; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 105:5.

19. Archin 13b. See Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 21d. Note also the connection to this concept in the commentary of the Kli Yakar cited previously.

20. Isaiah 40:5.

21. In the series of maamarim entitled BeShaah Shehikdimu, Vol. II, p. 930, it is explained that this level refers to the dimension of Malchus within the Ein Sof as it exists before the tzimtzum.

22. Ch. 37.