Aratea of ​​Germanicus

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Aratea des Germanicus is an astronomical didactic poem in Latin , which is largely based on the Phainomena of Aratos by Soloi .

Author and date of origin

Some surviving manuscripts name Claudius Caesar or T Claudius Caesar as the author . Lactantius and other later authors speak of Germanicus Caesar . This information can be related to Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus , the adopted son of Tiberius , as well as to Tiberius himself, who had the full name Tiberius Claudius Nero and the nickname Germanicus . The fact that he was well versed in rhetoric and poetry and that he left behind Greek comedies speaks for Germanicus. Ovid addresses him in his work Fasti (Ovid) with Caesar Germanicus . For Tiberius, however, his interest in astrology and literature is passed down. The question cannot be finally decided. The time of origin is in any case in the first decades of the 1st century AD.

Content and source

Row 1 to 725

Lines 1 to 725 are based on lines 1 to 731 of the Phainomena des Aratos. There are constellations described and assembled into constellations cycles such as on the equator , the tropics and the Zodiac follow each other. It is less a translation than a rewrite. Germanicus sets different accents. For example, Aratos remains pale when describing the triangle ( Greek  Δελτωτὸν ), lines 234–237. Germanicus adds a tribute to the Nile Delta , which Aratos does not mention:

"Est etiam propiore deum cognoscere signa,
Deltoton si quis (donum hoc spectabile Nili
diuitibus generatum undis) in sede notabit" Loosely

translated:
The Nile creates a more detailed representation of this divine symbol through divine water.

The fragments

Germanicus did not adopt the following weather signs of Aratos. On the other hand there are some fragments for which no source can be given. The two larger fragments ii and iv deal with the planets. In fragment ii, the course of the then known planets Mercury , Venus , Mars , Jupiter and Saturn is described. The period of orbit of Jupiter is correctly given as twelve years, that of Mercury, which is difficult to observe, is less than a year correct, but very imprecise compared to the actual period of 88 days. The changing speed of the planets, which was inexplicable for the observers at the time, is also mentioned:

"... nunc igne citato / festinare putes, nunc pigro sidere sumpto" ( sometimes they hurry / as if driven by fire, sometimes they seem to be gripped by indolence )

In fragment iv it is postulated that the position of the planets in the zodiac sign influences the weather in the different seasons. For example, the heat of summer is supposed to be alleviated when Venus is in the zodiac sign Leo ; on the other hand, if it is in the Virgin , it will rain and thunder.

The language

Germanicus does not use archaic language for the text, which is over 200 years old. Rather, he follows the style of his contemporaries Ovid and Virgil . He is also not afraid of neologisms. However, compared to its model, the didactic poem is more pathetic and in some cases downright hymnal.

Lore

The Aratea was rejected by the Christian Church in the early Middle Ages and was forgotten. But in the 8th century AD, adaptations of the poem suddenly increased. The derivatives of the Aratea are also included in the encyclopedia compiled at the court of Charlemagne . A total of 35 manuscripts have been preserved in widely scattered intellectual centers in Europe. In 1474 the first print was published by L. Bonincontri in Bologna .

Numerous manuscripts are decorated with illustrations. 48 types of images, mainly of personified constellations, were developed. A particularly impressive codex is the Leiden Aratea .

Text output

  • DB Gain: The Aratus ascribed to Germanicus Caesar. Athlone Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-485-13708-9 .
  • Aratos: Phainomena. (Greek-German) Edited and translated by Manfred Erren. In: Tusculum Collection. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-538-03517-1 .

literature

  • Gregor Maurach: Germanicus and his Arat. In: Scientific Commentaries on Greek and Latin Writers. Winter, Heidelberg 1978, ISBN 3-533-02652-3 .
  • Bernhard Bischoff: Aratea: Commentary on the Aratus des Germanicus. Facsimile Verlag, Lucerne 1989, ISBN 3-856-72027-8 .
  • Mechthild Haffner: An ancient cycle of constellations and its hand-down in manuscripts from the early Middle Ages to humanism. In: Studies on Art History. Volume 114. Georg Olms, Hildesheim 1997, ISBN 3-487-10407-5 .
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  • Suetonius : life and deeds of the Roman emperors. From the Latin by Adolf Stahr and Werner Krenkel. Anaconda, Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-866-47060-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Suetonius , Caligula 2.
  2. ^ Suetonius, Tiberius , 69 and 70.
  3. ^ DB Gain: The Aratus ascribed to Germanicus Caesar. 6. Identity of the author and date of the poem.
  4. ↑ a b D. B. Gain: The Aratus ascribed to Germanicus Caesar. 5. Sources of the poem.
  5. ↑ Manfred Erren: Aratos Phainomena, requirements, templates and structure of the poem.
  6. ^ Gregor Maurach: Germanicus and his Arat. Summary.
  7. ↑ Mechthild Haffner: An ancient cycle of constellations and its hand-down in manuscripts from the early Middle Ages to humanism. I. The cycle of Germanicus illustrations.
  8. ↑ Mechthild Haffner: An ancient cycle of constellations and its hand-down in manuscripts from the early Middle Ages to humanism. Introduction to the Aratea .