Aratos (c. 310 – c. 240 BCE) was a poet of the Hellenistic era who came from Soloi, a town in Cilicia in Anatolia (modern Turkey). His career took him to Athens, Pella and Syria where he died. He is mainly known today (and also in antiquity) for his poem Phenomena, a guide to the night sky, which was a versification of Eudoxos' book of the same name.
The works of Eudoxos are largely lost to us today, but according to Hipparchos (CPAE 1.2.1–16), Aratos not only versified the Phenomena but, despite the difficulties of conveying technical detail in verse, managed to do so in a surprisingly accurate way. Indeed, Hipparchos gives many comparative quotes to illustrate the point.
Aratos was not a professional astronomer but it is clear that he had a good understanding of the sky at the observational level. His poem became very popular because the verse form made it easier to learn essential facts about the night sky. As a consequence, Eudoxos' book fell out of use and was lost to posterity while that of Aratos survived. As a consequence, Aratos' poem is an important source for some aspects of Eudoxos' work.
Lunar crater Aratus (diameter 10 km).
Last updated 12/05/2020
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