Classical Stargazing
Daniel Selzle
Battle of Alesia, September, 52 BCE
Serpens Gallicus in nocte occisus limo se immergit
Iuppiter dum surgit cum victoria et gloriosus.
Graecus qui fundavit ovantem atque antiquum urbem
Caputque tractavit Medusae surgit in caelum
Hinc etiam surgent nunc vis et virtutes omnes
Quos trahat Romanus exercitus cum se et honores.
Bellum Gallicum hoc nocte interfatum pace iam est
Et serpente oppresso Iuppiter in gloria stat.
The Gallic serpent, having fallen in the night, sinks into the mud while
Jupiter rises with victory and glorious. The Greek who founded the
jubilant and ancient city and wielded the head of Medusa surges into
the sky and from here will now rise the strength and all the virtues and
the honors that the Roman army brings with them. The Gallic War this
night is now interrupted by peace and, with the serpent having been
quelled, Jupiter stands in glory.
Battle of Alesia, September, 52 BCE
• Roman victory and last battle of the Gallic War
• Serpens setting in west
• Gallic kingdoms in western Europe now under Roman control
• Jupiter rising just above eastern point on the horizon
• King of gods and symbol of power and authority
• Perseus rising
• Founder of Mycenae, important city in ancient Greece
• Killed the Gorgon Medusa and used her head in battle
• One of the earliest Greek heroes; used as an archetype by later
literature
Battle of Cannae, August 2, 216 BCE
Cannensis pugna die hoc destruxit in toto
Exercitum Romanum et diffractus perdiditur hic.
Urbem iam Mars ad mortem delerinquit ira cum,
Nam similem motum vir Piscibus mandavit in nos.
Vis plus quam esse Romae se demonstravit intoleranter.
Draco super nos pendit in caelo et dentibus acris
Mordet virgines illas Vestae quae pro nos ignem
Servere pugnam ante praeposteram et pures acres.
The battle of Cannae on this day has completely destroyed the Roman
army and, shattered, it has been lost here. With anger Mars now
abandons the city to death, for the man ordered a motion like Pisces
against us. His strength has shown itself to be excessively greater than
that of Rome. The dragon hangs above us in the sky and with with
sharp fangs bites those virgins of Vesta who guarded the fire for us
before this awful fight and the acrid venoms.
Battle of Cannae, August 2, 216 BCE
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Roman defeat by the Carthaginians under Hannibal
Carthaginians were severely outnumbered
One of the worst defeats in Roman history
Planet Mars not visible
• God of war and very important in Roman culture
• Pisces (twin fishes) rising from eastern point of the horizon
• Hannibal used a pincer movement to surround and overwhelm
Roman forces
• Draco near zenith
• Vestal Virgins symbolically tended the sacred fire in Rome,
symbolizing Roman strength
Naming of Augustus, January 16, 27 BCE
Imperator titulo princeps nunc nobiliter dux
Imperat in Roma. Caesar Augustus leone
Ascendit timorem incutiens in cordibus illis
Quae provocant nostrum imperium sine causibus armis.
Tres stellae divum surgent super ac oriente
Iam funerem Pegasi faciant ut dictatorisque.
Nunc autem est tempus epulis celebrationisque
Nam oriente novus princeps Romae elucens est.
An emperor by the title “princeps” now rules with distinction as a
leader in Rome. Caesar Augsutus ascends like a lion, striking fear in the
hearts of those who attack our empire without reason for arms. Three
stars of the gods rise above and from the east, that they may make a
funeral for Pegasus and the dictator. Now, however, is a time for
feasting and celebration, for a new princeps of Rome shines forth from
the east.
Naming of Augustus, January 16, 27 BCE
• First emperor of Rome, came to power after Julius Caesar was
assasinated
• Leo rising just above the horizon at sundown
• Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter aligned southeast of the zenith
• Gods of harvest, war, and king of the gods, all with major
temples in the Roman empire
• Pegasus sets very early
• Symbolizes Julius Caesar, consul and dictator, who posthumously
adopted Octavius (Augustus) and whom Augustus claimed as
the source of his legitimate authority
Trying to combine astronomy with my main area of study,
classics, was no simple task, but I decided to focus on one thing
our culture shares with the ancient Romans: the shapes we see
in the sky, and the stories behind them. Using the program
Stellarium, I was able to calculate what the night sky looked like
on the dates and in the locations of several important events in
Roman history. Examining which stars, planets, and
constellations were rising and setting, I connected the
mythological characters in the sky with the historical events
occurring below, and used this as inspiration for several short
poems written in Latin, in a traditional epic meter, which I also
translated into English for my presentation. It was fascinating to
be able to look at the same stars that shone above soldiers and
emperors two thousand years ago, and the fact that we see the
same gods and heroes in the sky made that huge period of time
seem a lot smaller, and those ancient Romans seem a lot closer.