Visual Aspects of the Transmission of Babylonian Astronomy and its Reception into Greek Astronomy J. M. STEELE

Posted by on May 18, 2017 in Library | Comments Off on Visual Aspects of the Transmission of Babylonian Astronomy and its Reception into Greek Astronomy J. M. STEELE

Visual Aspects of the Transmission of Babylonian Astronomy and its Reception into Greek Astronomy

J. M. STEELE
Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. Email: john_steele@brown.edu

Summary

Evidence for the transmission of Babylonian astronomy into the Greco-Roman world is well attested in the form of observations, numerical parameters and astronomical tables. This paper investigates the reception of Babylonian astronomy in the Greco-Roman world and in particular the transmission, transformation and exploitation of the layout of texts and other visual information. Two examples illustrate this process: the use of Babylonian lunar eclipse records by Greek astronomers and the adaptation of Babylonian methods of eclipse prediction in the Antikythera Mechanism.

67168718