Gemini - Revision history

YoulaAzkarrula: /* Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation */

2026-09-25T03:36:02Z

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:36, 25 September 2026
Line 1,031:		Line 1,031:
	File:H.A. Rey's stick figure stellarium-036.png\|(1952) H.A. Rey's stick figure of Gemini		File:H.A. Rey's stick figure stellarium-036.png\|(1952) H.A. Rey's stick figure of Gemini
	File:O. Hlad's stick figure stellarium-036.png\|(1988) O. Hlad's stick figure of Gemini		File:O. Hlad's stick figure stellarium-036.png\|(1988) O. Hlad's stick figure of Gemini
			File:Stellarium-048-Alm.png\|Reconstruction of Stickfigure based on the depiction of Almagest (100-170 CE). CC-BY Susanne Hoffmann in Stellarium.
			File:Stellarium-046-Far.png\|Image of the Farnese Globe (2nd century CE) taken by Susanne Hoffmann and imported into Stellarium.
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Sushoff at 09:23, 24 September 2026

2026-09-24T09:23:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:23, 24 September 2026
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	File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera		File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera
	File:Gem DenderaCirc Louvre.JPG\|Gemini, circular zodiac of Dendera (CC BY [https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010028871 Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes])		File:Gem DenderaCirc Louvre.JPG\|Gemini, circular zodiac of Dendera (CC BY [https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010028871 Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes])
			File:Gem DenderaCirc Louvre black inv.jpg\|Constellation of Tefnut and Shu, two Egyptian gods (twin-couple) in Gemini on the circular Zodiac of Dendera, Egypt (drawing by SMH for Stellarium 2026).
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-08-26T15:05:09Z

Eratosthenes

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:05, 26 August 2026
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	===== Eratosthenes =====		===== Eratosthenes =====
	Pamias and Zucker (2013,<ref>Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, Belles Lettres, Paris</ref> 31-33)<blockquote>'''Var. 1:''' According to the story, these were the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they quarrelled neither over power nor over anything else, and always acted in unison, wherever they were. When one of them fell in battle against the Athenians, the other called for a truce so that they might be with them. They have ten stars in total.</blockquote><blockquote>'''Var. 2:''' According to the story, these are the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they never quarrelled over power or anything else. Zeus, wishing that their solidarity should always be remembered, placed them both in the same spot amongst the constellations, giving them the name of the Twins. The one of the Twins that moves above the Crab has a bright star on his head, one on each shoulder, and one on each knee. Five in all. The Twin next to him has a bright star on his head, one on his left shoulder, one on each nipple, one on his left elbow, one on his hand, one on his left knee, one on each foot, and one below his left foot, called “Propous” (Before the foot). Ten in all.</blockquote>		Pamias and Zucker (2013,<ref>Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, Belles Lettres, Paris</ref> 31-33)<blockquote>'''Var. 1:''' According to the story, these were the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they quarrelled neither over power nor over anything else, and always acted in unison, wherever they were. When one of them fell in battle against the Athenians, the other called for a truce so that they might be with them. They have ten stars in total.</blockquote><blockquote>'''Var. 2:''' According to the story, these are the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they never quarrelled over power or anything else. Zeus, wishing that their solidarity should always be remembered, placed them both in the same spot amongst the constellations, giving them the name of the Twins. The one of the Twins that moves above the Crab has a bright star on his head, one on each shoulder, and one on each knee. Five in all. The Twin next to him has a bright star on his head, one on his left shoulder, one on each nipple, one on his left elbow, one on his hand, one on his left knee, one on each foot, and one below his left foot, called “Propous” (Before the foot). Ten in all.</blockquote>'''Eratosthenes's star catalogue''' can be reconstructed from the list of stars he mentions in the last section of each of the constelllation descriptions. Hoffmann (2017)<ref name=":02">Hoffmann, S. M., <nowiki><i>Hipparchs Himmelsglobus</i></nowiki>. Springer Wiesbaden/ New York, 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-18683-8.</ref> made such a catalogue and used it for computational comparison with Hipparchus's, Ptolemy's and Babylonian data; it is based on the edition and translation by Pamias and Geus (2007)<ref>Eratosthenes: Sternsagen, übersetzt von Pamìas, Jordi und Geus, Klaus, Verlag Utopica, Oberhaid 2007</ref> and presented here in English translation.

	{\|class="wikitable"		{\|class="wikitable"
	\|+		\|+

Sushoff: /* Stars Mentioned */

2026-08-26T13:23:24Z

Stars Mentioned

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:23, 26 August 2026
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	\|}		\|}

	====== ~~Stars Mentioned~~ ======		====== Hipparchus's "lost" star Catalogue ======
	{\| class="wikitable"
	\|+		The star catalogue of Hipparchus is not preserved. Yet, several scholars have reconstructed it in the past century: Vogt (1925)<ref>Vogt, H., “Versuch einer Wiederherstellung von Hipparchs Fixsternver zeichnis”, <nowiki><i>Astronomische Nachrichten</i></nowiki>, vol. 224, no. 2, Wiley, p. 17, 1925. doi:10.1002/asna.19252240202.</ref>, Grasshoff (1990)<ref>Graßhoff, G., <nowiki><i>The History of Ptolemy's Star Catalogue</i></nowiki>, Springer, New York, 1990 </ref>, Hoffmann (2017)<ref>Hoffmann, S. M., <nowiki><i>Hipparchs Himmelsglobus</i></nowiki>. Springer Wiesbaden/ New York, 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-18683-8.</ref> and Glover (2026)<ref>Glover, E. (2026). ''The Astronomy of Hipparchus'', Cambridge University Press</ref>. Grasshoff's catalogue and computations are not published digitally, Hoffmann published three versions of the Manitius+Hoffmann<ref>Hipparchus's Lost Star Catalogue (1/2 reconstructed) (Hoffmann, 2017) in VizieR</ref> star lists in the CDS [https://vizier.unistra.fr/ VizieR] "catalog of catalogs", and Glover printed the star lists constellationwise in his book.
	!		{\|class="wikitable"
	!~~Greek~~		\|+ Hipparchus's star in Aquarius (Glover 2026)
	!~~German~~
	!~~English~~		!hipp.Cat.ID
	!ident.		!constStarID
	!~~src~~		!starName
	!		!ident.Bayer
	!~~lam_culm~~		!ident.HIP
			!concordance
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|288
	\|		\|1
	\|		\|
	\|		\|α Gem
	\|		\|36850
	\|~~Lib II Cap V §10~~		\|CPAE
	~~\|rising, east, first~~
	\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|289
	\|		\|2
	\|		\|
	\|		\|β Gem
	\|		\|37826
	\|~~Lib II Cap V §10~~		\|CPAE
	~~\|rising, east, last~~
	\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|290
	\|		\|3
	\|		\|
	\|		\|γ Gem
	\|		\|31681
	\|~~Lib II Cap VI §2~~		\|CPAE
	~~\|setting CrB, south, last~~
	~~\|Psc 13.5~~
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|291
	\|		\|4
	\|		\|
	\|		\|ε Gem
	\|		\|32246
	\|~~Lib II Cap VI §13~~		\|CPAE
	~~\|setting Aql, south, first~~
	~~\|Ari 2~~
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|292
	\|		\|5
	\|		\|
	\|		\|ζ Gem
	\|		\|34088
	\|~~Lib III Cap I §9~~		\|CPAE
	\|~~rising Ori, south, last~~		\|-
	\|~~Psc~~ 13		\|293
			\|6
			\|
			\|η Gem
			\|29655
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|294
			\|7
			\|
			\|θ Gem
			\|33018
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|295
			\|8
			\|
			\|ι Gem
			\|36046
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|296
			\|9
			\|
			\|λ Gem
			\|35350
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|297
			\|10
			\|
			\|μ Gem
			\|30343
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|298
			\|11
			\|
			\|ν Gem
			\|30883
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|299
			\|12
			\|
			\|ξ Gem
			\|32362
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|300
			\|13
			\|
			\|τ Gem
			\|34693
			\|CPAE
			\|-
			\|301
			\|14
			\|
			\|υ Gem
			\|36962
			\|CPAE
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-08-24T20:44:20Z

Eratosthenes

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 ===== Eratosthenes =====
 Pamias and Zucker (2013,<ref>Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, Belles Lettres, Paris</ref> 31-33)<blockquote>'''Var. 1:''' According to the story, these were the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they quarrelled neither over power nor over anything else, and always acted in unison, wherever they were. When one of them fell in battle against the Athenians,  the other called for a truce so that they might be with them. They have ten stars in total.</blockquote><blockquote>'''Var. 2:''' According to the story, these are the Dioscuri. They grew up in Laconia, where they distinguished themselves; they surpassed all men in brotherly love; indeed, they never quarrelled over power or anything else. Zeus, wishing that their solidarity should always be remembered, placed them both in the same spot amongst the constellations, giving them the name of the Twins. The one of the Twins that moves above the Crab has a bright star on his head, one on each shoulder, and one on each knee. Five in all. The Twin next to him has a bright star on his head, one on his left shoulder, one on each nipple, one on his left elbow, one on his hand, one on his left knee, one on each foot, and one below his left foot, called “Propous” (Before the foot). Ten in all.</blockquote>
 ===== Hipparchus =====

Sushoff: /* Egyptian */

2026-08-04T17:53:50Z

Egyptian

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:53, 4 August 2026
Line 53:		Line 53:
	In Ptolemaic times (1st century BCE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.<gallery>		In Ptolemaic times (1st century BCE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.<gallery>
	File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera		File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera
			File:Gem DenderaCirc Louvre.JPG\|Gemini, circular zodiac of Dendera (CC BY [https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010028871 Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes])
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Sushoff: /* Egyptian */

2026-08-04T11:35:17Z

Egyptian

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:35, 4 August 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:

	===== Egyptian =====		===== Egyptian =====
	In Ptolemaic times (1st century CE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.<gallery>		In Ptolemaic times (1st century BCE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.<gallery>
	File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera		File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Sushoff: /* Greco-Roman */

2026-08-04T11:02:02Z

Greco-Roman

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:02, 4 August 2026
Line 49:		Line 49:

	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

			===== Egyptian =====
			In Ptolemaic times (1st century CE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.<gallery>
			File:Gem DenderaEckig GZotti.JPG\|Gemini; rectangular zodiac of Dendera
			</gallery>

	===== Aratos =====		===== Aratos =====

Sushoff: /* Origin of Constellation */

2026-07-29T07:58:59Z

Origin of Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:58, 29 July 2026
Line 33:		Line 33:
	The Greek twins are borrowed from mythology.<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref> They are called Polydeuces (Roman [[Pollux]]) and Kastor (Latin: [[Castor]]) and were heroes of the Argonauts. However, these young men are certainly a projection, as the constellation is Mesopotamian: the zodiac was adopted by the Greeks from Babylon, so the twins are likely to be Sumerian in origin. The constellation is already documented in MUL.APIN. However, there are two pairs of twins, the Greater and Lesser Twins ([[MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL]], [[MAŠ.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR]]).		The Greek twins are borrowed from mythology.<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref> They are called Polydeuces (Roman [[Pollux]]) and Kastor (Latin: [[Castor]]) and were heroes of the Argonauts. However, these young men are certainly a projection, as the constellation is Mesopotamian: the zodiac was adopted by the Greeks from Babylon, so the twins are likely to be Sumerian in origin. The constellation is already documented in MUL.APIN. However, there are two pairs of twins, the Greater and Lesser Twins ([[MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL]], [[MAŠ.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR]]).

	According to Babylonian uranological texts, the Greater Twins are depicted as warriors who are clothed and carry weapons. This fits in with the fact that next to them is the constellation of a weapon, the crooked wood (a projectile) in the area of our constellation Auriga. They are called Lugalirra and Meslamtaea and are underworld deities; the second is an epithet of the ruler of the underworld.		According to Babylonian uranological texts, the Greater Twins are depicted as warriors who are clothed and carry weapons. This fits in with the fact that next to them is the constellation of a weapon, the crooked wood (a projectile) in the area of our constellation [[Auriga]]. They are called Lugalirra and Meslamtaea and are underworld deities; the second is an epithet of the ruler of the underworld.

	The Little Twins could be a kind of weather deities: one carries lightning bolts, the other a whip. Both pairs of twins are depicted clothed and with beards, i.e. they are anthropomorphic male deities. Their names are ~~Alamusch~~ and Ningublaga. They are associated with the moon god; the first is his messenger, the second his son. It is common in various cultures to associate the moon with weather phenomena.		The Little Twins could be a kind of weather deities: one carries lightning bolts, the other a whip. Both pairs of twins are depicted clothed and with beards, i.e. they are anthropomorphic male deities. Their names are Alamush and Ningublaga. They are associated with the moon god; the first is his messenger, the second his son. It is common in various cultures to associate the moon with weather phenomena.

	In Uranological texts, these two pairs of twins are still very well documented in the 1st millennium, although only one of the pairs, the Great Twins, is ever mentioned in the zodiac. They were probably merged at some point – perhaps only through Greek transfer.		In Uranological texts, these two pairs of twins are still very well documented in the 1st millennium, although only one of the pairs, the Great Twins, is ever mentioned in the zodiac. They were probably merged at some point – perhaps only through Greek transfer.

Sushoff: /* Etymology and History */

2026-07-29T07:56:51Z

Etymology and History

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:56, 29 July 2026
Line 31:		Line 31:
	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation===
	The Greek twins are borrowed from mythology.<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref> They are called Polydeuces (Roman [[Pollux]]) and ~~Castor~~ (Latin: [[Castor]]) and were heroes of the Argonauts. However, these young men are certainly a projection, as the constellation is Mesopotamian: the zodiac was adopted by the Greeks from Babylon, so the twins are likely to be Sumerian in origin. The constellation is already documented in MUL.APIN. However, there are two pairs of twins, the Greater and Lesser Twins ([[MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL]], [[MAŠ.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR]]).		The Greek twins are borrowed from mythology.<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref> They are called Polydeuces (Roman [[Pollux]]) and Kastor (Latin: [[Castor]]) and were heroes of the Argonauts. However, these young men are certainly a projection, as the constellation is Mesopotamian: the zodiac was adopted by the Greeks from Babylon, so the twins are likely to be Sumerian in origin. The constellation is already documented in MUL.APIN. However, there are two pairs of twins, the Greater and Lesser Twins ([[MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL]], [[MAŠ.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR]]).

	According to Babylonian uranological texts, the Greater Twins are depicted as warriors who are clothed and carry weapons. This fits in with the fact that next to them is the constellation of a weapon, the crooked wood (a projectile) in the area of our constellation Auriga. They are called Lugalirra and Meslamtaea and are underworld deities; the second is an epithet of the ruler of the underworld.		According to Babylonian uranological texts, the Greater Twins are depicted as warriors who are clothed and carry weapons. This fits in with the fact that next to them is the constellation of a weapon, the crooked wood (a projectile) in the area of our constellation Auriga. They are called Lugalirra and Meslamtaea and are underworld deities; the second is an epithet of the ruler of the underworld.