Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

ASTRONOMIA. ASTRONOMIA. 157
III. Id. Mlai. Fidiculae exortus. Pin. xviii. G67. - evencg srising at Rome on 22d April, and'to this,
~ 3. therefore, the statement of Columella, from whatId. Mai. (15th May) Fidis mane exoritur. ever source derived, must, if accurate, apply.
Columell. xi. 2. ~ 43. Pliny has here fallen into a palpable blunder, and
(9.) III. Non. Novemb. (3rd November) Fi- has written zmane for vesperi. In fact he has
dicula mane exoritur, hiemat et pluit. Colznzle/. copied, perhaps at second hand, the observation of
xi. 2. ~ 84. Eudoxus with regard to the Lyre and Dog (see
(10.) VIII. Id. Novemb. (6th November) idem Parapeg. of Gem.), except that he has inserted the
sidus totum exoritur, Auster vel Favonius, hiemat. word zmane where the Greek astronomer simply
Colamell. Ibid. says xApa E7rtzEAXAL.
(11.) XVI. Kal. Dec. (16th November) Fidis (7.) This will agree tolerably well with the
exoritur mane, Auster, interdnm Aquilo magnus. true evening rising at Alexandria for the Julian
Co/umell. xi. 2. ~ 88. era, but is twenty-one days too late for the appa(12.) Non. Januar. (5th January) Fidis esx- rent evening setting at Rome, and thirteen days too
oritur mane: tempestas varia. Columell. xi. 2. late for the truoe evening settingc.
~ 97. (8.) Here all is error.;We must manifestly
substitute vespere for mazcne in both passages of
Institerint Noaae, mis:ise tibi nuhibus Ctl, Columella; but even thus the observation will
Si dunt imbres exoriente Lra. not give anything like a close approximation to any
OvID. Fast. i. 315. r
rising of Lyra either at Rome or Alexandria in the
Pridie Nonas Januarias (4th January) Caesari Julian age.
Delphinus matutino exoritur et postero die Fi- (9.) Copied verbatim along with the accomdicula. Plin. xviii. 64. panying prognostic of the weather, from the ParaThe total disregard of precision in the phraseo- pegnma of Geminus, where it is ascribed to Euclogy employed in describing the above appearances temon. The day, however, corresponds closely
is evident in almost every assertion, but the con- with the 1celiacal risi2ng, which took place at Rome
fusion may be considered to have reached a climax on 5th of November.
when we read the words " Fidis (or Fidicula) esx- (10.) Copied along with the prognostic "hieoritur mane," used without variation or explanation iat" (IgCl 6 dp XEII/EpiOS lyesria &LS Inrl'
to denote a phenomenon assigned to the 26th of 7roXX&a) from the samle compilation where it is asAppril, the 3d and 15th of May, the 3d and 16th cribed to Democritus, who fixed upon this day for
of November. By examining each paragraphl the true morning rising (XApa e7rgcdAAXt Ei ita MAf.
separately, we shall be still more fully convinced dvxoXovsrz). At Rome this rising fell upon 23d
of the carelessness and ignorance displayed. of October.
(1.) The trZte nzorssi2g setting of Lcida Lyrae ( 1l.) Copied again from the same source, where
took place at Rome in the age of Caesar, on the it is ascribed to Eudoxus. Here the observation call
12th or 13th of August, and therefore the Calendar in no way be stretched so as to apply to Rome.
of Caesar here followed by Columella was more ac- (12.) This, like the last, can in no way be made
cuirate than the authorities quoted by Pliny, unless applicable to Rome; but the Ie/liacal setting at
these referred to a different latitude. Remark, Alexandria took place, for that epoch, about four
however, that no hint is dropped by either to in- days later, on the.9th or 10th of January.
dicate that the trize, and not the capparent mzornsing Having now pointed out the difficulties whicl
setting is meant; and it ought to be borne in mind the student must expect to encounter in prosecuting
that the latter happened, at the epoch in question, his inquiries in this department, we proceed briefly
on that very day at Alexandria. In the Para- to examine the most remarkable passages in the
pegrma of Geminus also, we find, under 11th of classical writers, where particular periods of the
August (17 Leo), Edcct'Iljoem Xlpa 3vreTam. year are defined by referring to the risings and
(2.) This must be the clpparenzt morning setting settings of the stars. We begin with the most.
which took place at Rome on 24th of August for important, - the Pleiades, Arcturus, and Sirius,
the Julian epoch. which we shall discuss fully, and then add a few
(3.) The trite evening setting, calculated for words upon others of less note.
Alexandria at the same epoch, took place on 23d
of January, the very day named by Ovid. THE PLEIADES.
(4.) This is the heliacal setting, which, for HESIOD. - Hesiod indicates the period of barLucida Lyrae, took place at Rome on 28th of vest by the rising of the Atlas-born Pleiads (]Er'g.
January. 384) after they had remained concealed for forty
(5.) These notices seem to be borrowed from days and forty nights. Now in the age of Hesiod
old Greek calendars. Eudoxus, as quoted by Ge- (a. c. 800), the heiiacal rising of the Pleiads took
minus, assigns the evening (dapdmvuXos) setting of place at Athens, according to the computation of
Lyra to the 11th degree of Aquarius, that is, the Ideler, on the 19th of May of the Julian Calendar,
4th of February according to the Julian calendar. which is just the season when the wheat crop
It will be seen that the three last paragraphs comes to maturity in that climate. Again (I. c.),
(3.), (4.), (5.), without any change of expression, he indicates the commencement of the ploughingspread the setting of Lyra over a space extending season, and the close of the season for navigating,
from 23cl of January to 4th Februcary, the ap- by the morning setting of the Pieiads, which in
parent and true settings for Rome being on the that age and latitude fell about the third of the
28th January and 9th February respectively. Julian November. In these and all other passages
(6.) The apparent evening rising, which seems where Hesiod speaks of the risings and settings of
clearly pointed out by the words of Columella, the stars, we must unquestionably assume that he
took place at Rome for the Julian era on 14th of refers to the apparent phenomena. Indeed it is
April, at Alexandria on 26th of April: the trzce by no means improbable that the precepts whiclh