Eclipses in the Ancient World
Astronomy in the Ancient World: Early and Modern Views on Celestial Events
Alexus McLeod explores every aspect of the lesser-known history of astronomy in the Americas, China and India, each through the frame of a particular astronomical phenomena... Part Three, on India, considers the magnificent observatories of the Rajput king Jai Singh II, and the question of their purpose. The origins of Indian astronomy are examined in Vedic thought and its development is followed through the period of Jai Singh, including the role played by solar eclipses. The author also includes a modern explanation of our understanding of eclipses to date.
Advancing Cultural Astronomy: Studies In Honour of Clive Ruggles
This collection of essays on cultural astronomy celebrates the life and work of Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at Leicester University. Taking their lead from Ruggles' work, the papers present new research focused on three core themes in cultural astronomy: methodology, case studies, and heritage...Ruggles' work in these areas has had a profound impact on the way that scholars approach evidence of the role of sky in both ancient and modern cultures. While the papers span many time periods and regions, they are closely connected by these three major themes, presenting methodological investigations of how we can approach archaeological, textual, and ethnographic evidence; describing detailed archaeoastronomical case studies; or stressing the importance of global heritage management. This work will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in the history and development of cultural astronomy.
The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Moon: Coffin Texts Spells 154-160
'The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Moon: Coffin Texts Spells 154-160' argues that Coffin Texts spells 154-160, recorded at around the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, form the oldest composition about the moon in ancient Egypt and in the whole world. The detailed analysis of these spells, based on a new translation, reveals that the spells provide a chronologically ordered account of the phenomena that happen during a lunar month. It is argued that through a wide variety of mythological allusions, the separate texts - after an introduction which explains the origins of the month (spell 154) - describe the successive stages of the monthly cycle: the period of invisibility (spell 155), waxing (spell 156), events around the full moon (spell 157), waning (spell 158), the arrival of the last crescent at the eastern horizon (spell 159), and again the conjunction of the sun and the moon when a solar eclipse can occur (spell 160). After highlighting the possible lunar connotations of each spell, further chapters in the book investigate the origins of the composition, its different manuscripts preserved on coffins coming from Hermopolis and Asyut, and the survival of the spells in the later mortuary collection known as the Book of Going Forth by Day." -- Back Cover
Myths, Symbols and Legends of Solar System Bodies
This book is an amateur astronomer's guide to the mythology and symbolism associated with the celestial bodies in the Solar System, and even includes some of the legendary tales of people who had or have a connection with these objects. It explores different cultures (for example, the Greco-Roman and the Norse) and different times and how stories were used to explain the worlds they saw above them... Most amateur astronomers are familiar with the various Solar System objects, but they will be only peripherally aware of what ancient cultures thought of these other worlds. In fact, the mythology of the planets challenges many twenty-first century concepts and beliefs. There are other books available on astromythology, but this one focuses mostly on our own Solar System, as opposed to the constellations and deep sky objects.
Stars, Myths and Rituals in Etruscan Rome
This book offers a detailed and fascinating picture of the astonishing astronomical knowledge on which the Roman calendar, traditionally attributed to the king Numa Pompilius (reign 715-673 B.C.), was based. This knowledge, of Mesopotamian origins, related mainly to the planetary movements and to the occurrence of eclipses in the solar system. The author explains the Numan year and cycle and illustrates clearly how astronomical phenomena exerted a powerful influence over both public and private life...The book clearly demonstrates the depth of astronomical knowledge reflected in the Roman religious calendar and the designated festive days. It will appeal both to learned connoisseurs and to amateurs with a particular interest in the subject.