The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
Myth, Literature, Science and Philosophy

A deep dive into the Moon's powerful influence on ancient intellectual history, as a playground for the scientific imagination.

Karen ní Mheallaigh (Author)

9781108716284, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 July 2021

336 pages, 5 b/w illus. 6 colour illus.
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

'The book will interest historians of ideas, scholars of ancient science and philosophy, and anyone engaged with science fiction. Recommended.' P. Nieto, Choice

The Moon exerted a powerful influence on ancient intellectual history, as a playground for the scientific imagination. This book explores the history of the Moon in the Greco-Roman imaginary from Homer to Lucian, with special focus on those accounts of the Moon, its attributes, and its 'inhabitants' given by ancient philosophers, natural scientists and imaginative writers including Pythagoreans, Plato and the Old Academy, Varro, Plutarch and Lucian. ní Mheallaigh shows how the Moon's enigmatic presence made it a key site for thinking about the gaze (erotic, philosophical and scientific) and the relation between appearance and reality. It was also a site for hoax in antiquity as well as today. Central issues explored include the view from elsewhere (sel?noskopia), the relation of science and fiction, the interaction between the beginnings of science in the classical polis and the imperial period, and the limits of knowledge itself.

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations, text references and translations
Part I. The Moon in the Mythic Imagination: Introduction: to the Moon! Journey into the ancient scientific imagination
1. The Moon in ritual, myth and magic
Part II. The Moon in the Scientific Imagination: 2. Making sense of the Moon: philosophy and science
3. Life on the Moon: between philosophy, science and fantasy
4. The Moon of many faces: Plutarch's great lunar dialogue De facie
Part III. The Moon in the Fantastic Imagination: 5. The imaginary Moon: lunar journeys
6. Selçnoskopia: the Moon-view from fiction to reality
Envoi: the legacy of ancient selenography
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Literature & literary studies [D]