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A review by cryo_guy
Aratus: Phaenomena by Aratus
4.0
Pretty good. I only gave a cursory scan of the commentary which makes up the majority of this...commentary. But from what I read of it, it seemed just fine. I found the intro informative; not thoroughly, but not excessively either. It has some nice comments about the cultural milieu and the style. I really picked this up to have a quick read through of the translation with the Greek facing, which I'd say this book performed that task completely. The translation is prose which doesn't stay true to the hexameters but I think it turns out fine. I've heard it's hard to translate Aratus' succinct yet flowing style into verse in English, but I also hear Poochigian gives it a decent go--perhaps I will find that in my future.
As for the poem itself, the Hellenistic use of epic is great and makes me nostalgic for Homer and Hesiod. At times the innovation can be blinding. The proem is great--Stoic invocation to Zeus and the Muses. Then a large chunk of how to spot constellations with a tad bit of etiological myth (The Maiden-Justice brings up Hesiod's age of metals myth, Orion and the Scorpion) and didactic elements dusted on top. Then there's a boring section about the axes that all the constellations are positioned on and how they revolve. And the last bit is about how you can predict the weather from sky signs but also animal behavior and more didacticism. Overall a fun, short read. Impress your friends with knowledge of this Hellenistic new age Stoic Hesiod! Everyone in the Roman world loved him; Vergil, Ovid, and Cicero all did translations. And, famously, Germanicus also did a Latin translation. He even (likely) was copied by none other than the foremost pastoral poet of the Hellenistic Period, Theocritus. Scholars say that he was born with a lyre in his hands and at the age of 5 he defeated Callimachus (who was also a five year old) in a Hellenistic battle of poetry. uh-RAY-tus
As for the poem itself, the Hellenistic use of epic is great and makes me nostalgic for Homer and Hesiod. At times the innovation can be blinding. The proem is great--Stoic invocation to Zeus and the Muses. Then a large chunk of how to spot constellations with a tad bit of etiological myth (The Maiden-Justice brings up Hesiod's age of metals myth, Orion and the Scorpion) and didactic elements dusted on top. Then there's a boring section about the axes that all the constellations are positioned on and how they revolve. And the last bit is about how you can predict the weather from sky signs but also animal behavior and more didacticism. Overall a fun, short read. Impress your friends with knowledge of this Hellenistic new age Stoic Hesiod! Everyone in the Roman world loved him; Vergil, Ovid, and Cicero all did translations. And, famously, Germanicus also did a Latin translation. He even (likely) was copied by none other than the foremost pastoral poet of the Hellenistic Period, Theocritus. Scholars say that he was born with a lyre in his hands and at the age of 5 he defeated Callimachus (who was also a five year old) in a Hellenistic battle of poetry. uh-RAY-tus