Pisces - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-06-12T07:00:58Z

Eratosthenes

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:00, 12 June 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> 66-67)<blockquote>'''Var. 1 (Περὶ τῶν''' '''Ἱχθύων)''': These are the descendants of the Great Fish ([[Piscis Austrinus\|PsA]]), whose story we shall recount in greater detail when we come to him. The two Fish are separated from one another and are each situated in one of the two halves of the sky. One is called the “Northern Fish” and the other the “Southern Fish”. Between them lies a Node, adjacent to the foreleg of Aries.</blockquote><blockquote>The Northern Fish has twelve stars, and the Southern Fish fifteen. The line connecting them has three stars on the Northern Fish’s side, three on the Southern Fish’s side, three to the east, and three on the Node. Thirty-nine in all.</blockquote><blockquote>'''Var. 2 (Ἱχθύων):''' These are the descendants of the Great Fish ([[Piscis Austrinus\|PsA]]), whose story we shall recount in greater detail when we come to him. The two Fish are separated from one another and are each situated in one of the two parts of the sky. One is called the “Northern Fish”, and the other the “Southern Fish”. They have a Node which adjoins the foreleg of Aries.</blockquote><blockquote>The Northern Fish has twelve stars, and the Southern Fish fifteen. The thread connecting them has three stars on the Northern Fish’s side, three on the Southern Fish’s side, three to the east, and three on the Node. In total, the two Fish and the Node have thirty-nine stars. </blockquote>

	=====Hipparchus=====		=====Hipparchus=====

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

2026-06-04T05:30:12Z

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:30, 4 June 2026
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	===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===		===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===
			<gallery>
			File:H.A. Rey's stick figure stellarium-063.png\|(1952) H.A. Rey's stick figure of Pisces
			File:O. Hlad's stick figure stellarium-064.png\|(1988) O. Hlad's stick figure of Pisces
			</gallery>

	==Mythology==		==Mythology==

Sushoff at 10:40, 2 June 2026

2026-06-02T10:40:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:40, 2 June 2026
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	*[[References (Medieval and Early Modern)\|References (medieval)]]		*[[References (Medieval and Early Modern)\|References (medieval)]]

	[[Category:Eurasia]]		[[Category:Eurasia]] [[Category:West Asian]] [[Category:Asian]][[Category:Mesopotamian]]
	[[Category:Constellation]] [[Category:Asterism]]		[[Category:Constellation]] [[Category:Asterism]]
	[[Category:Almagest]]		[[Category:Almagest]] [[Category:Africa]]
	~~[[Category:Mesopotamian]]~~		[[Category:Modern]][[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]
	~~[[Category:West Asian~~]] [[Category:~~Asian~~]]		[[Category:Psc]]
	[[Category:Modern]]
	[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]] [[Category:Psc]]
	~~[[Category:Modern]]~~
	[[Category:Ancient Greek]]		[[Category:Ancient Greek]]
	[[Category:Zodiac]]		[[Category:Rubric]] [[Category:Lunar System]] [[Category:Zodiac]]

YoulaAzkarrula at 12:10, 26 May 2026

2026-05-26T12:10:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:10, 26 May 2026
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	[[Category:Eurasia]]		[[Category:Eurasia]]
	[[Category:Constellation]]		[[Category:Constellation]] [[Category:Asterism]]
	[[Category:Almagest]]		[[Category:Almagest]]
	[[Category:Mesopotamian]]		[[Category:Mesopotamian]]
	[[Category:West Asian]]		[[Category:West Asian]] [[Category:Asian]]
	[[Category:Modern]]		[[Category:Modern]]
	[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]		[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]] [[Category:Psc]]
	[[Category:Modern]]		[[Category:Modern]]
	[[Category:Ancient Greek]]		[[Category:Ancient Greek]]
	[[Category:Zodiac]]		[[Category:Zodiac]]

IanRidpath: /* Almagest Ἰχθύες */ OCR errors

2026-05-20T13:31:20Z

Almagest Ἰχθύες: OCR errors

Show changes

IanRidpath: /* Weblinks */ Added Warburg link

2026-05-19T08:37:38Z

Weblinks: Added Warburg link

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:37, 19 May 2026
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	==Weblinks==		==Weblinks==

	*~~{{NAMESPACE}}~~		* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-017070 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Pisces]

	==References==		==References==

Sushoff: /* Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) */

2026-02-27T18:45:28Z

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:45, 27 February 2026
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	=====Hipparchus=====		=====Hipparchus=====

	====== Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) ======		====== Rising (Lib III Cap V §10) ======
	<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>		<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
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	\|}		\|}

	====== Setting (Lib II Cap ~~VI §10~~) ======		====== Setting (Lib III Cap IV §9) ======
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
	!		!
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Aqr 23
	\|		\|Ari 5
	\|		\|Tau 17
	\|		\|Cnc 6
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the one at the end of the mouth of the southern one of the two fish
	\|		\|the one at the end of the mouth of the northern fish
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 ~~2/3~~ hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|3 1/2 hours = 210 min = 52 1/2°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) */

2026-02-27T17:58:24Z

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:58, 27 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Aqr 7
	\|		\|Ari 16
	\|		\|Sco 26
	\|		\|Cap 9
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the one at the end of the mouth of the southern fish
	\|		\|the one in the knot of the ribbon
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7~~/8 degree		\| colspan="4" \|3 1/10 hours = 186 min = 46 1/2 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff at 12:38, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T12:38:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:38, 27 February 2026
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	=== Origin of Constellation ===		=== Origin of Constellation ===
	Two fish tied together with a ribbon: this image is incomprehensible, and it was already so in ancient times. It originated in Mesopotamia as a zodiac constellation, and in the second half of the first millennium, there were strange new interpretations of it that probably not everyone understood even then. Seal depictions from Uruk show a fish and a bird connected by a pointed ribbon. The image is called the swallowfish and could be a visualisation of a word – swallow and fish, linked by a ribbon. In fact, there is a certain species of flying fish in the Mediterranean today that is called this, but whether this is what is meant here is lost in the mists of time.		<ref>Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>Two fish tied together with a ribbon: this image is incomprehensible, and it was already so in ancient times. It originated in Mesopotamia as a zodiac constellation, and in the second half of the first millennium, there were strange new interpretations of it that probably not everyone understood even then. Seal depictions from Uruk show a fish and a bird connected by a pointed ribbon. The image is called the swallowfish and could be a visualisation of a word – swallow and fish, linked by a ribbon. In fact, there is a certain species of flying fish in the Mediterranean today that is called this, but whether this is what is meant here is lost in the mists of time.

	In Uruk, the constellation may have been called swallow fish in the Seleucid period, but in Babylon it never had this name (as far as we know). In the diaries of mathematical astronomy, the names are always abbreviated and there it says ‘tails’. If we go back a millennium and look in MUL.APIN, we find the full name ‘Tails of the Giant Swallow’ ([[ZIB\|ZIBme]]). The V-shaped band is actually a swallowtail. It is the part of the ancient constellation Giant Swallow ([[SIM.MAḪ]]) through which the Sun, Moon and planets travel.		In Uruk, the constellation may have been called swallow fish in the Seleucid period, but in Babylon it never had this name (as far as we know). In the diaries of mathematical astronomy, the names are always abbreviated and there it says ‘tails’. If we go back a millennium and look in MUL.APIN, we find the full name ‘Tails of the Giant Swallow’ ([[ZIB\|ZIBme]]). The V-shaped band is actually a swallowtail. It is the part of the ancient constellation Giant Swallow ([[SIM.MAḪ]]) through which the Sun, Moon and planets travel.

Sushoff: /* Mythology */

2026-02-26T20:01:02Z

Mythology

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:01, 26 February 2026
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	==Mythology==		==Mythology==
			Eratosthenes notes succinctly: ‘The fish are descendants of the Great Fish,’ referring to what we call [[Piscis Austrinus]], the Southern Fish. He does not recount any legends about it.

			In Roman times, Pseudo-Hyginus and Ovid make a very brief mention that Venus (Aphrodite) and her son Cupid (Eros) were fleeing from the storm demon Typhon. When they came to a river, they jumped fearfully into the water. In Ovid's version of the story, they called on the nymphs for help and twin fish came to bring them to safety. In another version, they themselves were turned into fish.

			The Typhon myth is already documented by Hesiod, but this detail is not found in his story, especially since the constellation Pisces did not yet exist at the time of Hesiod (around 700 BCE). The Roman myth seems to be based on the constellation. The constellation myth then explains the ribbon as the ribbon of motherly love.

			Hyginus (also 1st century CE) tells another version of the fairy tale. According to this, two fish rolled an egg that had fallen into the Euphrates ashore. There it was hatched by doves and Aphrodite hatched from it. This story contradicts Hesiod's version of Aphrodite's birth ‘from the foam of the sea’, which gives the constellation its name: (-7th century): αφρός (aphrós) means foam. It is certainly borrowed from a foreign culture. The Euphrates as the setting is noteworthy. This could indicate the Mesopotamian origin of the constellation or a variant of the Syrian Derkato myth (see [[Andromeda]]). However, it may also be a mythological description of the constellation's history, because a huge egg made up of faint stars can be seen in the area east of [[Pegasus]]. The lower part of this egg is called the ellipse of the northern of the two fish in Greek, while the upper part of the egg belongs to the constellation Andromeda, which is equated with Aphrodite Urania.

			None of the variants is convincing, because Babylonian mathematical astronomy never called the constellation ‘fish’ and did not need a myth.

	==Weblinks==		==Weblinks==