De astronomia (Latin: [deː äs̠t̪rɔˈnɔmiä]; Concerning Astronomy)[nb 1] is a book of stories written in Latin, probably during the reign of Augustus (c. 27 BC – AD 14). Attributed to "Hyginus", the book's true author has been long debated. However, the art historian Kristen Lippincott argues that the author was likely Gaius Julius Hyginus, who served as the superintendent of the Palatine library under Caesar Augustus.[3]
The text describes 47 of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, centering primarily on the Greek and Roman mythology surrounding the constellations, though there is some discussion of the relative positions of stars.
The editio princepsofDe astronomia was published in 1475 by Augustinus Carnerius.[4] Less than a decade later, in 1482, Erhard Ratdolt published an edition of De astronomia, which carried the full title Clarissimi Viri Hyginii Poeticon Astronomicon Opus Utilissimum. For this print, Ratdolt commissioned a series of woodcuts depicting the constellations to accompany Hyginus's text.[5] As with many other star atlases that would follow it, the positions of various stars are indicated overlaid on the image of each constellation. However, the relative positions of the stars in the woodcuts bear little resemblance to the descriptions given by Hyginus in the text or the actual positions of the stars in the sky.[6]
As a result of the inaccuracy of the depicted star positions and the fact that the constellations are not shown with any context, the De astronomia is not particularly useful as a guide to the night sky. However, the illustrations commissioned by Ratdolt served as a template for future sky atlas renderings of the constellation figures. The text, by contrast, is an important source, and occasionally the only source, for some of the more obscure Greek myths.
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