Greek · c. 150 CE
Almagest, Book XII
Mathēmatikē Syntaxis XII: stations, retrogradations and greatest elongations; planetary theory in Books IX–XI
Books IX–XI build Ptolemy's epicycle, eccentric and equant models of the five planets. Book XII opens with a lemma from Apollonius, then derives each planet's stations and greatest and least retrogradations, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury in turn, and closes with a table of stations and the greatest elongations of Venus and Mercury. It is the canonical ancient treatment of retrograde motion, applied to the inner planets as well as the outer.
- Author
- Claudius Ptolemy
- Date
- c. 150 CE
- Original language
- Greek
- Kind
- Mathematical astronomy
- Planets
- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
Editions
3 editions.
| Year | Edition | © |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Claudii Ptolemaei Opera quae exstant omnia, vol. I: Syntaxis mathematica, ed. J. L. Heiberg, Leipzig: Teubner, 1898-1903 (Book XII in Part II, 1903) | PD |
| 1816 | N. Halma, Composition mathématique de Claude Ptolémée, Greek text and French tr., 2 vols., Paris: H. Grand / Eberhart, 1813-1816 (vol. II, 1816, contains Books VII-XIII) | PD |
| 1984 | G. J. Toomer, Ptolemy's Almagest, 1984; Princeton University Press, 1998 | © |
Read it
One digitised copy.
- Heiberg's 1903 Teubner edition, Syntaxis mathematica Pars II (Books VII–XIII)Internet ArchivePDOpen ↗
Copies stay with their holders; every link opens their site. Licence: PD public domain · CC BY · CC BY-SA · © rights reserved · ? not stated.
References
Also on the Greece and Rome shelf
| Date | Source | Planets | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st century BCE (often placed c. 50 BCE) | Introduction to the PhenomenaGeminusMath. astronomy | Me Ve Ma Ju Sa | Math. astronomy |
| 1st century CE (Greek original); Arabic version c. 800 CE | Carmen AstrologicumDorotheus of SidonAstrological | General | Astrological |
| c. 77–79 CE | Natural History, Book IIPliny the ElderTheory / model | Me Ve Ma Ju Sa | Theory / model |
| early 2nd century CE | Expositio rerum mathematicarumTheon of SmyrnaTheory / model | Me Ve Ma Ju Sa | Theory / model |
| c. 150–170 CE | TetrabiblosClaudius PtolemyAstrological | Me Ve Ma Ju Sa | Astrological |
| c. 150–175 CE | AnthologyVettius ValensAstrological | General | Astrological |