Ancient didactic astronomical texts

The article focuses on ancient astronomy as an academic dis-cipline. Antiquity created a holistic image of the world and a cul-ture of thinking, in which the natural and exact sciences and lib-eral arts were not artificially differentiated and remained in har-monious unity, becoming the basis of an interdisciplinary ap-proach in education. Therefore, even the exact sciences were studied literarily from poetic works. On the example of ancient culture, the connection between the astronomical worldview and other components of the mindset is particularly clearly traced. This is crucial in terms of technology since ancient pedagogy contained all the criteria for technological effectiveness. In the Homeric age, the basic mnemonic rules for navigating by the stars, the definition of the conditions for visibility of heavenly bodies in all seasons, the connection of celestial phenomena with the calendar, known since the Cretan-Mycenaean age, were liter-arily recorded in the epic. This trend was further developed in Hesiod’s didactic epic and took shape in the content as a para-digm of astronomical education. The appearance of Cleobulina’s astronomical riddles appeared, which are allegorical in nature and show similarities with the allegories of Homer, took place approximately at the same time. In subsequent periods (from the 5th century BC), the school study of the Homer and Hesiod’s works required writing comments on the astronomical passages of these and later other authors. With the development of natural philosophical doctrines, new methods of presenting astronomical material appeared. The original form of the philosophical epic was replaced by a prosaic form. The reaction to the natural philo-sophical revolution led to a preference for the traditional Homer and Hesiod. Special educational astronomical texts written by such authors as Aratus, Germanicus, Alexander Aetolus, etc. came to exist-ence as a separate group.

Deciphering Cave Painting Code and Ancient Celestial Map in South East Asia Paleolithic Cultures Dated to 40000 Years Old

Currently it was theoritized that cave paintings have meaning more than human and animal interactions. Based on an example from Lascaux cave, a figure of a bull is believed representing Taurus constellation together with the Pleiades. In here this study aims to assess the connections of paleolithic art works in the forms of cave paintings and zoomorphic figures resemble to bovid with possible ancient astronomy and constellation depictions in South East Asia. The study caves were Jeriji Saleh in Kalimantan and Leang Leang and Sumpang Bita caves in Sulawesi where ancient cave paintings and zoomorphic figures date to 40000 years old have been found. The results show that cave paintings in Jeriji Saleh, Leang Leang and Sumpang Bita caves were comparable to the current findings. Those paintings were having bovid like figures with Leang Leang has figure identified as extant Bubalus depressicornis. In Sumpang Bita, this species was depicted in pregnant condition similar to pregnant horse figure in Lascaux cave. Depiction of pregnant figures in cave paintings indicates the use of ancient calendar to determine season based on the animal mating season. Bovid figure in Jeriji Saleh was illustrated in the same posture like auroch bovid in Lascaux cave and this indicates that cave paintings in Jeriji Saleh have been used to visualize Taurus constellation. The postures of bovid paintings in Leang Leang were different and it is interpreted to visualize Capricorn constellation. Another significant similarity between Lascaux and Leang Leang caves can be seen in paintings depicting a shaft scene with the presences of 3 similar figures include dying man, speared bovid and small zoomorphic figures. This concludes that the caves with their wall painting were not merely functioned as media for ancient art works, whereas it has functioned as paleolithic planetarium and this knowledge was globally widespread.

A COMPARATIVE AND ANAIYTIC COMPARISON OF THE VARIOUS IMAGES OF MOON AND THE SUN BASED ON ANCIENT ASTRONOMY IN NASER KHOSRO, ANVARI AND NEZAMI'S POEMS

Sky and celestial phenomena has long been caused men's surprise, and has couraged humans to unravel the mysteries and secrets of the beauties hidden in it. The vast expanse of sky, incredible beauty of the stars, the glow of the moon, sunrise and sunset, all these things gradually increased the sense of interest and curiosity in mankind so that its manifestation can be seen in many artistic works. Among numerous astronomical elements, the sun moon is one of the planets which have had a beautiful reflection in poetry. Among the poets who had a special look at the moon, we can name three great Persian poets: Naser Khosro Ghobadiani, Anvari and Nezami. And also because of the fact that fifth and sixth century were two of the most productive periods in Persian literature, and Isfahan, Khorasan, Aran and Azarbayejan were regarded as the main centers of poetry and literature of these periods, that’s why in this article moon's manifestation has been studied in the poems of these three poets who lived in fifth and sixth centuries. This paper aims to detect, analyze, and compare various aspects of moon based on ancient astronomy in Naser Khosro, Anvari and Nezami's poems. To achieve this purpose, first the word astronomy science, astrology, and its manifestation in Persian poetry has been studied in brief. Then moon, locations of the moon and its different manifestation in the poems of these three poets have been shown, analyzed and compared. The results of this study shows that moon had been shown in the poets of all these three poets in different forms such as showing moon in its twelve towers, cancer, Taurus, and folk beliefs about moon, eclipses.

On Ancient Astronomy in Armenia

The Armenian highland is one of the ancient cradles of civilization. Many investigators of the history of astronomy, having no facts to hand, mainly by logical approach came to the conclusion that the ancient inhabitants of Armenia not only knew, but also took part in the formation of ancient astronomy (Maunder, 1906; Olcott, 1914).

Heavenly Mathematics

This book traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. The book explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. The book conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. It is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. It also features easy-to-use appendices as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.