Only One Side of the Moon. Remarks about the History of Astronomy in Karen ní Mheallaigh’s The Moon
in the Greek and Roman Imagination Cover Image

Tylko jedna strona Księżyca. Uwagi o historii astronomii w książce Karen ní Mheallaigh The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
Only One Side of the Moon. Remarks about the History of Astronomy in Karen ní Mheallaigh’s The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination

Author(s): Maciej Jasiński
Subject(s): Book-Review
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: book review; Karen ní Mheallaigh; Moon; Moon in culture; history of astronomy; science in ancient Greece; an- cient Greek literature; lunar journeys;

Summary/Abstract: Karen ní Mheallaigh, The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination. Myth, Literature, Science and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2020 (Greek Culture in the Roman World), DOI 10.1017/9781108685726, ss. 322Karen ní Mheallaigh’s study The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination (Cambridge 2020) aims to discuss how the Moon was present in ancient Greek culture, literature, and science. The subject is examined through the lens of literary studies, yet the author remains open to the perspectives offered by the history of science. The book analyzes the motif of the Moon in Greek literature and natural philosophy: myths, various opinions about its physical nature, deliberations about its inhabitants, and imaginary lunar journeys. The subjects addressed in the book are thoroughly examined in the context of the era. The author, however, does not define the scope of the book precisely and tacitly omits the Moon in Roman literature and the history of astronomy unless it relates to natural philosophy. She also makes groundless guesses about scientific instruments in antiquity and compares ancient literary fiction to modern scientific knowledge.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 229-247
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Polish