Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy

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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

Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy

Volume XVI (2000)

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

Books

Available
Publication year: 2001


Series:	Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 16
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 12139 3
ISBN-10:	90 04 12139 0

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xx, 236 pp.

List price:	€ 119.00 / US$ 177.00

Readership

All specialists in ancient philosophy, including researchers, teachers and graduate students in the dual fields of classics and philosophy, as well as generalists in the history of philosophy.

About the author(s)

John J. Cleary, Ph.D. is Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and Senior Lecturer at NUI Maynooth (Ireland). He received his B.A. and M.A. from University College Dublin, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston University in 1982. He was the director of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy from 1984 to 1988, and is the founding general editor for this series of Proceedings. He has published widely on ancient philosophy, including Aristotle on the Many Senses of Priority (Carbondale (IL), 1987) and Aristotle and Mathematics (Brill, 1995). Currently he is researching the role of mathematics in the theology of Proclus, as well as analysing Aristotle’s Metaphysics M & N for Project Archelogos.
Gary M. Gurtler, S.J., Ph.D. is Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. He was educated at St. John Fisher College, at Fordham University, and the Weston School of Theology. He has published extensively on ancient philosophy, with special attention to Neoplatonism, including a book on Plotinus: The Experience of Unity (Lang, 1988). Currently, he is concluding research on the psychology of Plotinus.

This volume reflects some of the activities of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy from the academic year 1999-2000. It contains seven colloquia which were hosted by different universities within the greater Boston area. The participants discuss important philosophical problems raised by the works of Plato and Aristotle, while also considering some relevant issues in modern philosophy of mind. With regard to Plato, one colloquium gives a detailed analysis of his argument for recollection in the Phaedo, while another considers the metaphysical basis for justice in the Republic, and another takes a general look at the role of technè in Platonic philosophy. Similarly, with reference to Aristotle, two colloquia provide a detailed analysis of the argument that Nous is not compounded with the body, as well as the relevance of his doctrine of Nous for modern conceptions of mind. In addition, there is a colloquium that provides a general account of the concept of law in Aristotle’s Politics, as well as a colloquium that draws interesting parallels between Aristotle and Freud.

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