Forgotten Stars: Rediscovering Manilius' Astronomica
By: edited by Steven J. Green and Katharina Volk
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 432
ISBN-13: 9780199586462
Subjects: History and criticism; Astrology in literature; Astronomy, Ancient, in literature; Latin Didactic poetry
Other titles: Rediscovering Manilius' Astronomica
Description: "The 'Astronomica' of Manilius is a poem in five books, at least partly written under Augustus, which purports to teach the reader the art of astrology and the means by which an accurate horoscope may be cast. It is, therefore, a text from the classical age of Roman literature which deals with a topic to whose enduring popular interest any Western daily newspaper will testify. And yet, despite some notable modern exceptions, the infamously harsh verdict of Manilius' most famous twentieth-century editor, A. E. Housman, continues to cast an imposing shadow on the poem, especially for Anglophone readers. 'Forgotten Stars' seeks to lift this shadow once and for all, as it brings together an international contingent of scholars for an interdisciplinary exploration of Manilius at an auspiciously significant time, close to the bimillennial celebration of the poem's composition. The range of perspectives from which Manilius is approached in the present volume is testament both to his complexity as a writer and to the variety of fruitful avenues there are for enquiry. Matters of literary interest, especially generic affiliation and intertextuality, are complemented by approaches which assess the socio-political, philosophical, scientific, and astrological resonance of the poem. Moreover, as a salutary counterbalance to the relative neglect of our author in recent times, the popular reception of the poem, especially in the Renaissance, is also explored"--Publisher's description, p. [4] of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-337) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : a century of Manilian scholarship / Katharina Volk; title: I: Intellectual and scientific backdrop. More sentiment than science : Roman stargazing before and after Manilius / Elaine Fantham ; Manilius' conflicted Stoicism / Thomas Habinek ; Myth and explanation in Manilius / Daryn Lehoux; title: II: Integrity and consistency. Watch this space (getting round 1.215-46) / John Henderson ; On two Stoic 'paradoxes' in Manilius / Wolfgang-Rainer Mann ; Manilian self-contradiction / Katharina Volk ; Arduum ad astra : the poetics and politics of horoscopic failure in Manilius' 'Astronomica' / Steven J. Green; title: III: Metaphors. Tropes and figures : Manilian style as a reflection of astrological tradition / Wolfgang Hübner ; Sums in verse or a mathematical aesthetic? / Duncan F. Kennedy ; Census and commercium : two economic metaphors in Manilius / Patrick Glauthier; title: IV: Didactic digressions. Digressions, intertextuality, and ideology in didactic poetry : the case of Manilius / Monica R. Gale ; Cosmos and imperium : politicized digressions in Manilius' 'Astronomica' / Josèphe-Henriette Abry ; A song from the universal chorus : the Perseus and Andromeda epyllion / James Uden; title: V: Reception. Augustus, Manilius, and Claudiian / Enrico Flores ; Renaissance receptions of Manilius' anthropology / Caroline Stark ; Lorenzo Bonincontri's reception of Manilius' chapter on comets (Astr.1.809-926) / Stephan Heilen.