Phaenomena

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Phaenomena

work by Aratus

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July 23, 2026

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Phaenomena is a didactic poem by the Greek poet Aratus of Soli, who lived around 315–245 BC. This work is Aratus's only completely extant poem and is primarily focused on astronomy, drawing heavily from the astronomical writings of Eudoxus of Cnidus.1

The poem also includes sections on weather signs, similar to the work of Pseudo-Theophrastus. Phaenomena was highly popular in antiquity, inspiring numerous commentaries, including a significant one by Hipparchus. The poem reflects Aratus's Stoic philosophy and was admired by other poets like Callimachus and by the Romans, with translations by Cicero, Germanicus Julius Caesar, and Avienus. A verse from its opening invocation to Zeus was famously quoted in the New Testament.1

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astronomical map
The constellations and other sky divisions
…constellations is contained in the Phaenomena of Aratus, a poet of the 3rd century bce, who described 43 constellations and named five individual stars. Cicero recorded that
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…constellations is contained in the Phaenomena of Aratus, a poet of the 3rd century bce, who described 43 constellations and named five individual stars. Cicero recorded that
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Aratus
…for his poem on astronomy, Phaenomena.
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…for his poem on astronomy, Phaenomena.
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Greek literature
Late forms of poetry
The Phaenomena of Aratus of Soli (c. 315–c. 245) is a versification of a treatise on the stars by Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 390–c. 340). Chance has preserved the poems of Nicander (probably 2nd century) on the unlikely subjects of cures for bites and antidotes to…
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The Phaenomena of Aratus of Soli (c. 315–c. 245) is a versification of a treatise on the stars by Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 390–c. 340). Chance has preserved the poems of Nicander (probably 2nd century) on the unlikely subjects of cures for bites and antidotes to…
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Hipparchus
Lover of truth
…he ruthlessly exposed errors in Phaenomena, a popular poem written by Aratus and based on a now-lost treatise of Eudoxus of Cnidus that named and described the constellations. Apparently his commentary Against the Geography of Eratosthenes was similarly unforgiving of loose and inconsistent reasoning. Ptolemy characterized him as a “lover…
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…he ruthlessly exposed errors in Phaenomena, a popular poem written by Aratus and based on a now-lost treatise of Eudoxus of Cnidus that named and described the constellations. Apparently his commentary Against the Geography of Eratosthenes was similarly unforgiving of loose and inconsistent reasoning. Ptolemy characterized him as a “lover…
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education
Secondary education
…textbook used to teach it—the Phaenomena, a poem in 1,154 hexameters by Aratus of Soli—whose predominantly literary quality was suited to textual explications. Not until about the 3rd and 4th centuries ce was the need of a sound preparatory mathematical education again recognized and put into practice.
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…textbook used to teach it—the Phaenomena, a poem in 1,154 hexameters by Aratus of Soli—whose predominantly literary quality was suited to textual explications. Not until about the 3rd and 4th centuries ce was the need of a sound preparatory mathematical education again recognized and put into practice.
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