Euclid's Phaenomena : a translation and study of a hellenistic treatise in spherical astronomy
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Euclid's Phaenomena : a translation and study of a hellenistic treatise in spherical astronomy
（History of mathematics, v. 29 ; sources）
American Mathematical Society , London Mathematical Society, c1996
[2nd print.]
- : pbk
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Phaenomena
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Note
"This work was first printed in 1996 by Garland Publishing as no. 4 in the series Sources and studies in the history and philosophy of classical science (Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg, eds.)."--Pref. to the 2nd print
Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-125) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book contains a translation and study of ""Euclid's Phaenomena"", a work which once formed part of the mathematical training of astronomers from Central Asia to Western Europe. Included is an introduction that sets Euclid's geometry of the celestial sphere, and its application to the astronomy of his day, into its historical context for readers not already familiar with it. So no knowledge of astronomy or advanced mathematics is necessary for an understanding of the work. The book shows mathematical astronomy shortly before the invention of trigonometry, which allowed the calculation of exact results and the subsequent composition of ""Ptolemy's Almagest"".""The Phaenomena"" itself begins with an introduction (possibly not by Euclid) followed by eighteen propositions set out in geometrical style about how arcs of the zodiacal circle move across the sky. The astronomical application is to the small arc of that circle occupied by the Sun, but the Sun is not mentioned. This work and the (roughly) contemporaneous treatises of Autolycus and Aristarchos form a corpus of the oldest extant works on mathematical astronomy. Together with ""Euclid's Optics"", one has the beginnings of the history of science as an application of mathematics.
Table of Contents
Introduction Euclid's presuppositions Notes on the translation Sigla Euclid's Phaenomena translated with commentary: Euclid's Phaenomena English glossary of selected technical terms and phrases Greek glossary of selected technical terms and phrases Bibliography Index of names Index of subjects Index of subjects (Greek).
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