Pegasus - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-06-12T06:51:19Z

Eratosthenes

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:51, 12 June 2026
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	===== Eratosthenes =====		===== Eratosthenes =====
	<blockquote>~~You can only see~~ half of it~~, with only~~ the front ~~part visible~~, up to the navel. According to ~~Aratos~~ this is the horse of Helicon, ~~who~~, with a ~~blow from his~~ hoof the spring ~~that is now called~~ the ~~‘Spring of the Horse’~~ (Hippocrene). However, according to others, it ~~was~~ Pegasus, the horse that flew up to the stars after ~~the~~ fall ~~of Bellerophon~~; nevertheless, some ~~people~~ find this interpretation ~~not very credible~~, ~~given that~~ the figure ~~does not~~ wings. As for Euripides, in his Melanippe, that among the stars it is Hippe, the daughter of Chiron. It is said that she was ~~brought up~~ on ~~the~~ Pelion, practised hunting, and devoted herself to the observation and study of nature. Aeolus abused her and raped her, but she was for a time to conceal the ~~fact~~; ~~but~~ when it became ~~obvious~~, ~~because of~~ the roundness of her belly, she fled to the mountains. She was about to give birth when her father ~~went into the mountains~~ to ~~look~~ for her~~. When~~ she was discovered, she prayed to the gods to be ~~metamorphosed and~~ transformed into a horse so that she ~~would~~ not be recognised. ~~So she~~ was transformed into a horse and gave birth to a foal. ~~Also~~, because of her piety and that of her father, she was placed by Artemis ~~among~~ the constellations, and this is why it was impossible for the Centaur to see her; it is said, in fact, that the Centaur is none other than Chiron. ~~Hippe's posterior parts~~ are invisible, ~~precisely~~ so that ~~we do not~~ know ~~that~~ she is female.		Pamias and Zucker (2013,<ref>Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud (2013). Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, Belles Lettres, Paris</ref> 56-59)<blockquote>'''Var. 1 (Περὶ τοῦ Ἲππου'''): Only half of it is visible; just the front section, down to the navel, can be seen. According to Aratus, this is the horse of Helicon, which, with a single kick of its hoof, caused the spring known as the ‘Horse’s Spring’ (Hippocrene) to gush forth. However, according to others, it is Pegasus, the horse that flew up to the stars after Bellerophon’s fall; nevertheless, some find this interpretation implausible, as the figure has no wings. As for Euripides, he states in his Melanippe that among the stars it is Hippe, the daughter of Chiron. It is said that she was raised on Mount Pelion, practised hunting, and devoted herself to the observation and study of nature. Aeolus abused her and raped her, but she was able, for a time, to conceal the matter; yet when it became evident, due to the roundness of her belly, she fled into the mountains. She was about to give birth when her father set out to search for her in the mountains; just as she was about to be discovered, she prayed to the gods to be transformed into a horse so that she might not be recognised. She was therefore transformed into a horse and gave birth to a foal. Moreover, because of her piety and that of her father, she was placed by Artemis amongst the constellations, and this is why it is impossible for the Centaur to see her; indeed, it is said that the Centaur is none other than Chiron. The hindquarters of Hippe are invisible, precisely so that no one may know she is female.</blockquote><blockquote>The Horse has two stars on its nostrils, one on its head, one on its jaw, one dim star on each ear, four on its neck, one on its shoulder, one on its chest, one on its back, one bright star at the edge of the image on its navel, two on its front knees, and one on each hoof. Eighteen in all.</blockquote><blockquote>'''Var. 2 (Ἲππου):''' All that can be seen of it is the front part, down to the navel. According to Aratus, this is the horse of Helicon, which, with a single kick of its hoof, caused the spring known as the ‘Hippocrene’ (Horse’s Spring) to gush forth. But according to others, it is Pegasus, the horse that flew up to the stars after Bellerophon’s fall; nevertheless, some find this interpretation implausible, insofar as the figure has no wings. As for Euripides, he states in his Melanippe that it is Hippè, the daughter of Chiron whom Aeolus abused and raped, and who had to flee to the mountains because of the roundness of her belly. She was about to give birth when her father set out to search for her in the mountains; just as she was about to be discovered, she prayed to the gods to be transformed into a horse so that she might not be recognised. Thus, because of her piety and that of her father, she was placed by Artemis amongst the constellations, and this is why it is impossible for the Centaur to see her; it is said, in fact, that the Centaur is none other than Chiron. The hindquarters of Hippè are invisible, so that no one may know she is female.</blockquote><blockquote>The Horse has two dim stars on its nostrils, one on its head, one on its jaw, one dim star on each ear, four on the neck—the one near the head being the brightest—, one on the shoulder, one on the chest, one on the back, one bright star at the edge of the constellation, on the navel, two on the front knees, and one on each hoof. Eighteen in all.</blockquote><blockquote>

	The ~~horse~~ has two stars on its nostrils, one on its head, one on ~~the~~ jaw, one on each ~~of the ears~~, four on the ~~neck~~, one ~~also~~ on the shoulder, one on the chest, one on the back, one bright, at the edge ~~with~~ the navel, two on the front knees, and one on each hoof. Eighteen in ~~total~~.

	(Pamias and Zucker 2013)<ref>Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, translated by Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud, Les Belles Lettres, Paris 2013</ref></blockquote>		(Pamias and Zucker 2013)<ref>Ératosthènes de Cyrène: Catastérrismes, translated by Pamìas, Jordi und Zucker, Arnaud, Les Belles Lettres, Paris 2013</ref></blockquote>

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

2026-06-04T05:30:53Z

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:30, 4 June 2026
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	File:Pegasus Goldbach1799 hi pegWhite.jpg\|Pegasus in Goldbach (1799)		File:Pegasus Goldbach1799 hi pegWhite.jpg\|Pegasus in Goldbach (1799)
	File:Pegasus Bode1805.jpg\|Pegasus in the third edition of Bode's 1782 German atlas (1805).		File:Pegasus Bode1805.jpg\|Pegasus in the third edition of Bode's 1782 German atlas (1805).
			File:H.A. Rey's stick figure stellarium-059.png\|(1952) H.A. Rey's stick figure of Pegasus
			File:O. Hlad's stick figure stellarium-060.png\|(1988) O. Hlad's stick figure of Pegasus
	</gallery>		</gallery>

YoulaAzkarrula at 11:49, 26 May 2026

2026-05-26T11:49:17Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:49, 26 May 2026
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	[[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:Peg]]
	[[Category:European]]		[[Category:European]]

IanRidpath: /* Ptolemy's Almagest */ Another typo

2026-05-20T13:22:03Z

Ptolemy's Almagest: Another typo

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:22, 20 May 2026
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	\|3		\|3
	\|ὁ ἐπὶ τού δεξιού ὤμου καὶ τῆς του ποδος ἐκφύσεως		\|ὁ ἐπὶ τού δεξιού ὤμου καὶ τῆς του ποδος ἐκφύσεως
	\|The star on the right shoulder and the ~~p!ace~~ where the leg joins [it]		\|The star on the right shoulder and the place where the leg joins [it]
	\|β Peg		\|β Peg
	\|-		\|-

IanRidpath: /* Weblinks */ Added Warburg links

2026-05-20T09:07:57Z

Weblinks: Added Warburg links

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:07, 20 May 2026
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	==Weblinks==		==Weblinks==

	*		* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-017056 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Pegasus]
			* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-017530 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Equus]

	==References==		==References==

Sushoff at 11:15, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T11:15:08Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:15, 27 February 2026
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	----		----
	[[File:Pegasus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Peg star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Pegasus IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Peg star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. The ancient Greek constellation has always been called The Horse (without wings). However, the mythology associated with it has simultaneously always left Pegasus, the winged horse, as one of several options. Scholars suspect that the constellation has Phoenician origin<ref>Condos, T. (1997), Star Myths ofthe Greeks and Romans: A Sourcebook, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, page 154.</ref> or originated from a pun or misunderstanding of a Babylonian term in the Mycaenian<ref name=":1" /> culture.		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. The ancient Greek constellation has always been called The Horse (without wings). However, the mythology associated with it has simultaneously always left Pegasus, the winged horse, as one of several options. Scholars suspect that the constellation has Phoenician origin<ref>Condos, T. (1997), Star Myths ofthe Greeks and Romans: A Sourcebook, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, page 154.</ref> or originated from a pun or misunderstanding of a Babylonian term in the Mycaenian<ref name=":1" /> culture, or influence of any cultural exchange with India due to the [[Ashvini]] nakșatra.<ref>Susanne M. Hoffmann,* Khalid AlAjaji, B.S. Shylaja, Yang Boshun, Danielle Adams, Eric Mamajek, Ian Ridpath, Paul Baki, Juan Antonio Belmonte Avilés, Sze-Leung Cheung, Daniel Cunnama, Jörg Matthias Determann, M. Sadegh Faghanpour, Steven Gullberg, Duane Hamacher, Roland Laffitte, Alejandro M. López, Javier Mejuto, Thierry Montmerle, Clive Ruggles, Shi Yunli, Doris Vickers, Sun Xiaochun, and Hitoshi Yamaoka (2025). The IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN): '''Research Finds in 2025'''. ''Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage'', 28(4), 1026–1038 (2025).</ref>

	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==

Sushoff at 19:44, 26 February 2026

2026-02-26T19:44:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:44, 26 February 2026
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	=== Origin of Constellation ===		=== Origin of Constellation ===
			<ref>Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>In Greek, this constellation is simply called ‘horse,’ and authors disagree about which horse it is and what it is doing in the sky. Aratus states that the hoofprints of this horse created Hippocrene, the horse spring below the eastern peak of Mount Helicon north of Corinth. He thus implies that it could be Pegasus, but Eratosthenes also quotes unnamed ‘other’ authors who do not believe this because the horse in the sky has no wings.

			Euripides, on the other hand, identifies the horse with Hippe, the daughter of the wise centaur Cheiron, who wanted to hide her pregnancy from her father. Even after she was transformed into a horse, she hides her lower body, which is why only the upper body of the horse is visible. Moreover, she is never in the sky at the same time as the centaur because she hides from him.

			For mathematical astronomy, the constellation was always called ‘the horse’; this is beyond question for Eratosthenes, Hipparchus and Ptolemy. For Eratosthenes, it is wingless, Ptolemy records a star below the wing, and for Hipparchus this cannot be determined because his star catalogue has not been preserved. Aratus' didactic poem was part of basic education in ancient times, i.e. it was much better known than the scholarly texts of mathematical astronomy. The memorable hexameters could be useful as farmers' rules, and even though the weather in Central Europe differs from that in the Mediterranean region, some observations about the seasons can also be applied there. The interpretation of the winged horse survived both in the Arab Middle Ages with as-Sufi and in the Latin Middle Ages with the Carolingians – not only because of the popularity of the poem, but also because ancient illustrations still existed at that time, which are no longer preserved today. This is evidenced by manuscripts such as the Leiden Aratea from the Carolingian period and the impressive illustrations by as-Sufi in Iran.

			The Babylonian constellation at this point was the quadrangle, which is called the Autumn Square in the northern hemisphere. The Babylonian quadrangle has the technical name IKU (the field), a unit of area for farmland similar to our hectare. It is also considered the seat of the god Ea, a god of wisdom and magic.

			In this case, too, the Greek constellation, which dates back to archaic times, could be based on the Babylonian model: the Sumerian loanword ‘IKU’ sounds very similar to the word for horse in the Mycenaean dialect of Greek: ‘Iqo’. Coupled with the ambiguity of the obsolete Mesopotamian vocabulary, this may easily have led to a (deliberate or accidental) reinterpretation. It's as if I were to say ‘look, there's a morning’ and mean a piece of land. But because the unit of measurement ‘morning’ is completely obsolete for areas of land, most people would misunderstand me and think of an early hour of the day.

			==== Babylonian ====
			see

			* [[IKU]]

	==== Ancient Greco-Roman ''Ίππος'' Horse ====		==== Ancient Greco-Roman ''Ίππος'' Horse ====

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

2026-02-24T07:41:10Z

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:41, 24 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Aqr 12 1/2
	\|		\|Psc 13
	\|		\|Tau 3 1/2
	\|		\|Gem 10 1/2
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the bright one mouth (eps)
	\|		\|the bright one at the hip (gam)
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 2/3 hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|2 1/2 hours = 150 min = 37 1/2°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-23T15:15:13Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 23 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Cap 1
	\|		\|Aqr 21
	\|		\|Lib 20 1/2
	\|		\|Sgr 5 1/2
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the southern front foot
	\|		\|the bright one at the hip
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|~~2 1/8~~ hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7/8~~ degree		\| colspan="4" \|3 hours = 180 min = 45 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-22T17:52:28Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:52, 22 February 2026
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

			====== Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) ======
			<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			! colspan="2" \|east
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = 127.5 min = 31 7/8 degree
			\|}

			====== Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			!
			! colspan="2" \|west
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 2/3 hours = 160 min = 40°
			\|}

			====== Stars Mentioned ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			!Greek
			!German
			!English
			!ident.
			!src
			!
			!lam_culm
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, first
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, last
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §2
			\|setting CrB, south, last
			\|Psc 13.5
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §13
			\|setting Aql, south, first
			\|Ari 2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib III Cap I §9
			\|rising Ori, south, last
			\|Psc 13
			\|}

	===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====		===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====