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A Greek copy of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables and an Arabic translation of Theon’s Short Commentary on them survive as undertexts in the palimpsest manuscript Vat. sir. 623. pt. 2. The parchment leaves containing these texts were recycled into a new codex at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai in the late ninth century, but they belonged to the same original manuscript and are considered the only surviving witnesses to the project of translating Greek thought into Arabic at the so-called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad during the second half of the eighth century. In order to show the importance of this startling discovery made in the Vatican Library, the article not only includes an historical, codicological, and paleographical examination of the erased texts and repurposed folios, but also presents an astronomical explanation of the theories and calculations they contain. The article highlights the list of Greek-Arabic winds and its link to Ptolemy’s Horizon Diagram, as well as stresses the continued applicability of Ptolemy and Theon’s presentations. It further argues for a reconsideration of the meaning of an ancient theory of the “inclinations” that the Sun and the Moon (or the Moon and the Earth’s shadow) create during eclipses, the phenomenon which is called prosneusis.
A Greek copy of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables and an Arabic translation of Theon’s Short Commentary on them survive as undertexts in the palimpsest manuscript Vat. sir. 623. pt. 2. The parchment leaves containing these texts were recycled into a new codex at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai in the late ninth century, but they belonged to the same original manuscript and are considered the only surviving witnesses to the project of translating Greek thought into Arabic at the so-called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad during the second half of the eighth century. In order to show the importance of this startling discovery made in the Vatican Library, the article not only includes an historical, codicological, and paleographical examination of the erased texts and repurposed folios, but also presents an astronomical explanation of the theories and calculations they contain. The article highlights the list of Greek-Arabic winds and its link to Ptolemy’s Horizon Diagram, as well as stresses the continued applicability of Ptolemy and Theon’s presentations. It further argues for a reconsideration of the meaning of an ancient theory of the “inclinations” that the Sun and the Moon (or the Moon and the Earth’s shadow) create during eclipses, the phenomenon which is called prosneusis.
In the ancient and Byzantine world, natural elements were used to cure a certain disease, as attested by traditional medical sources such as Hippocrates, Dioscorides and Galen. However, the therapeutic properties of these substances are also described in some compilations that transmit another type of knowledge: the Cyranides, a hermetic work that illustrates the usages of vegetable, animal and mineral species for different purposes; Cassianus Bassus’ Geoponica, an important source of the ancient agronomic-botanical tradition; the Hygromanteia Salomonis, a hermetic and esoteric treatise dedicated to planetary divination, which also illustrates the correspondences between plants, planets and zodiac signs. The herbs described in these compilations are suggested as φάρμακα for the treatment of diseases, but also for other purposes such as warding off demons or having luck (e.g. in Monacensis gr. 70, which transmits Hygromanteia Salomonis, Jupiter’s plant is χρυσάγκαθον, capable of causing extraordinary healings). This denotes the development of a parallel medicine, connected with magic and astrology, and in some cases the practices discussed still have folkloric implications today. Therefore, this contribution intends to analyse these three magico- -medical works, highlighting the similarities and differences from traditional medical sources as well as the link between medicine, magic and astrology.
El grano de ben es un fruto que ha sido utilizado con fines terapéuticos desde la Antigüedad. Su descripción está incluida en el libro VI del De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus de Galeno (s. II), una de las obras farmacológicas más importantes de la historia de la medicina. En este artículo compararemos desde una perspectiva filológica la entrada que Galeno dedicó a este simple en dos de sus traducciones medievales: la árabe de Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (s. IX) y la latina de Gerardo de Cremona (s. XII). Nuestro análisis ayudará a profundizar en el estudio de estas dos traducciones y en la técnica de Gerardo de Cremona, el traductor más prolífico de obras de medicina griega y árabe al latín en la Edad Media.
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