PARAPEGMA
Evgeniy Vasilyevich Afonasin1,2
1Novosibirsk National Research State University, 2, Pirogov st., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
2Institute of Philosophy and Law, SB RAS, 8, Nikolaev st., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Keywords: предсказание погоды, античная практическая астрономия, гелиакическое восхождение, weather prediction, practical astronomy in Antiquity, heliacal rising
Abstract
Peculiar practical astronomical calendars called in antiquity parapēgmata made possible to correlate heliacal rising of major stars with related seasonal weather changes. Most noted literary examples are found in Geminos’s «Introduction to the Phenomena» (the 2nd century BCE) and in Ptolemy’s «Phases of fixed stars and collection of weather change» (the 2nd century CE). We also possess a number of actual examples of these calendars, two parapēgmata from Miletus (one of them is dated to the 2nd century BCE and the other to the 1st century BCE, both are preserved now in Berlin Antikensammlung) are most famous. In the present paper, we analyze the content of these texts and discuss the question of their practical applicability. Apparently, they were quite useful for gathering information about seasonal weather events. For instance, accurate knowledge of prevailing winds and their seasonal changes would allow ancient navigators to choose proper time to start for a long travel.
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