Alexandria's founded by Alexander

Alexandria's founded by Alexander the Great (by year BC): 334 Alexandria in Troia (Turkey) - 333 Alexandria at Issus/Alexandrette (Iskenderun, Turkey) - 332 Alexandria of Caria/by the Latmos (Alinda, Turkey) - 331 Alexandria Mygdoniae - 331 Alexandria (Egypt) - 330 Alexandria Ariana (Herat, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria of the Prophthasia/in Dragiana/Phrada (Farah, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in the Caucasus (Begram, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria of the Paropanisades (Ghazni, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria Eschate or Ultima (Khodjend, Tajikistan) - 329 Alexandria on the Oxus (Termez, Afghanistan) - 328 Alexandria in Margiana (Merv, Turkmenistan) - 326 Alexandria Nicaea (on the Hydaspes, India) - 326 Alexandria Bucephala (on the Hydaspes, India) - 325 Alexandria Sogdia - 325 Alexandria Oreitide - 325 Alexandria in Opiene / Alexandria on the Indus (confluence of Indus & Acesines, India) - 325 Alexandria Rambacia (Bela, Pakistan) - 325 Alexandria Xylinepolis (Patala, India) - 325 Alexandria in Carminia (Gulashkird, Iran) - 324 Alexandria-on-the-Tigris/Antiochia-in-Susiana/Charax (Spasinou Charax on the Tigris, Iraq) - ?Alexandria of Carmahle? (Kahnu)

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Aratus of Soli, poet and astronomer

 

Aratus was an astronomer and poet, who was born in Soli (near modern Mersin) in 315 BC. He came in the news after this year’s ongoing excavations in Soli, the Roman Pompeiopolis as archaeologists discovered a memorial tomb. This grave site was surrounded by two rows of hexagonal structures and arches and is being described as “a crater with a circular plot worthy of an astronomer”.

These elements led the scholar to link the monument to their citizen Aratus although he died in Alexander’s birthplace Pella in 240 BC.

It so happened that Aratus was invited to the Macedonian court by Antigonus II Gonatas, the son of Demetrios Poliorketes, in 276 BC. One year later, the poet penned down the king’s victory over the Gauls in verse form.

While he resided in Pella, Aratus wrote a hexameter poem on astronomy. In the first half of his Phenomena, he retells the work of Eudoxus of Cnidos describing the constellations and other celestial phenomena, which he set into verse. The second half was known as Diosemeia and talks about the weather. The interest for Aratus’ poem was such that it was translated into Latin and his work triggered a great number of comments from the Greek and Latin speaking public.

However, he also was active in the field of philosophy, grammar and medicine (some pretend he was a doctor).

He spent some time in Syria as a guest of Antiochus I Soter but returned to Pella where he died in 240/239 BC.

[Pictures from Greek City Times]

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