
Contents
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1. The Catasterismographic Tradition 1. The Catasterismographic Tradition
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2. A Divine Promotion of What? 2. A Divine Promotion of What?
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3. The Astromythic Program 3. The Astromythic Program
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4. The Use of Sources 4. The Use of Sources
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5. The Relationship between Catasterismic Myths and Astronomical Data 5. The Relationship between Catasterismic Myths and Astronomical Data
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6. The First Catasterisms 6. The First Catasterisms
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7. The Place of Catasterisms in the Mythographical Tradition 7. The Place of Catasterisms in the Mythographical Tradition
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8. Conclusion 8. Conclusion
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Further Reading Further Reading
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References References
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27 Catasterisms
Get accessArnaud Zucker is Professor of Classics at University Côte d’Azur (France), CNRS, Cepam. He received a Phd in Anthropology from the École Pratique des Hautes Études and a Habilitation thesis in Classics from University Aix-Marseille. His key research topics are ancient zoology, ancient astronomy, and mythography. He is coauthor with J. Pàmias of Ératosthène de Cyrène. Catastérismes (Belles Lettres, 2013), coeditor of Lire les mythes (Septentrion, 2016), and author of L’encyclopédie du ciel. Mythologie, astronomie, astrologie (Laffont, 2016).
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Published:20 October 2022
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Abstract
This chapter focuses on both the myths related to the constellations and the Hellenistic and Roman literary collections that catalogue and tell the origin of the celestial figures. This type of story, diffused throughout the literature since the classical period, is in the Hellenistic period (with Eratosthenes) organized in a true genre that conflates mythological content and astronomical data, and spreads widely in the Latin tradition. The labels “catasterism” and “catasterization” for this kind of scholarly literature refer to a cultural procedure (identifying the stars with heroic figures) and a narrative episode (i.e. the transfer of a hero or a meaningful object into the heavenly vault). The meaning and the context of the astral promotion of heroic figures are distinct from metamorphosis, apotheosis, or heroic death. These specific hybrid narratives try to link experience of the world and heritage stories and to turn diverse pictures, sometimes borrowed from other cultures, into a Greek synthetic general scheme. They reveal the function of the myth as a cultural catalyst, merging, in a cultural compromise, naturalistic observations, scholarly data, rational demands, and imagination. This chapter also emphasizes the originality and consistency of the astromythical program developed in antiquity and stresses the impact of astronomical knowledge in the shaping of traditional myths and innovative custom-made variants.
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