SOURCE: Lovi, George. “Aratus, the Constellation Bard.” Sky and Telescope 72, no. 4 (October 1986): 375-76.

In the following essay, Lovi explores the content and popularity of Aratus's Phaenomena.

Astronomers take the constellations so much for granted that relatively few give much thought to their origins. We're all aware that the best-known constellations “date from ancient times.” Yet in fact the 88 groups we recognize today differ drastically in age. The most recent are the 14 introduced in the southern sky by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1752 and 1763. The oldest have origins lost in prehistoric times.

Many constellations, including most of the zodiac, Orion, Hercules, Draco, and other favorites, can be traced back at least 5,000 years to the Tigris-Euphrates region of Mesopotamia. Historians have long called this area “the cradle of civilization.” Since this part of the world later produced the Old Testament, it's not surprising that there are similarities between certain scriptural...