Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Volume XXI (2005)

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Volume XXI (2005)

Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Volume XXI (2005)

Volume XXI (2005)

Edited by John J. Cleary and Gary M. Gurtler, S.J.

Books

Available
Publication year: 2006


Series:	Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 21
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 15391 2
ISBN-10:	90 04 15391 8

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xxvi, 294 pp.

List price:	€ 130.00 / US$ 193.00

Table of contents

Preface, Introduction
COLLOQUIUM 1
On Plato’s Πολιτεία - STEPHEN MENN
Menn Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 2
Wishing for Fortune, Choosing Activity: Aristotle on External Goods and Happiness - ERIC BROWN
Commentary on Brown - GARY M. GURTLER, S. J.
Brown/Gurtler Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 3
Aristotle on Φαντασία - ALFREDO FERRARIN
Commentary on Ferrarin - KLAUS BRINKMANN
Ferrarin/Brinkmann Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 4
Enchanting the Souls: On Plato’s Conception of Law and “Preambles” - JEAN-FRANÇOIS PRADEAU
Commentary on Pradeau - GAVIN T. COLVERT
Pradeau/Colvert Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 5
Aristotle and the Metaphysics of Metaphor - FRAN O’ROURKE
Commentary on O’Rourke - IOANNA PATSIOTI-TSACPOUNIDI
O’Rourke/Patsioti-Tsacpounidi Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 6
Was Aristotle a Particularist? - A. W. PRICE
Commentary on Price - BRIDGET CLARKE
Price/Clarke Bibliography
COLLOQUIUM 7
In Defense of Inner Sense: Aristotle on Perceiving That One Sees - THOMAS K. JOHANSEN
Commentary on Johansen - ARYEH KOSMAN
Johansen/Kosman Bibliography
About our Contributors
Index of Names

Readership

All those interested in recent scholarship within different traditions of interpretation in ancient philosophy.

About the author(s)

John J. Cleary is Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and Associate Professor of Philosophy at NUI Maynooth (Ireland). He received his B.A. and M.A. from University College Dublin, and his Ph.D. from Boston University. He was director of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy from 1984 to 1988, and is the founding general editor of this series of Proceedings. He has published extensively on ancient philosophy, including a monograph on Aristotle and Mathematics (Leiden, 1995). Currently, he is writing a book on the role of paideia in ancient political thought.
Gary M. Gurtler, S.J., is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. He was educated at St. John Fisher College (B.A.), at Fordham University (M.A. and Ph.D.), and at the Weston School of Theology (M.Div.). He has published on ancient philosophy, with special attention to Neoplatonism, including a book on Plotinus: The Experience of Unity (1988). Most recently, his article “The Activity of Happiness in Aristotle’s Ethics” appeared in the Review of Metaphysics (June, 2003). Currently, he is continuing research on alienation and otherness in the psychology of Plotinus.

With one exception, this volume contains papers and commentaries originally presented to the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy during the 2004-5 academic year. Of the seven colloquia that make up this volume, two deal with Plato while the rest are dedicated to Aristotle. The topics on Plato are almost exclusively political: (1) a reading of the Republic that places it within the genre of writings ‘On the Politeia, and (2) a discussion of the role of preambles in Plato’s Laws. There is a wider range of topics on Aristotle, ranging from his views on the relationship between external goods and happiness, through his account of phantasia, and all the way to his theory of metaphor. In relation to Aristotle also, one colloquium provides a detailed analysis of his curious theory of the so-called ‘inner sense’, while another raises the question as to whether he might be regarded as a particularist in the philosophy of action like some modern theorists. As usual for this series, most colloquia contain a paper and commentary which provide a lively exchange on these topics.

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