Antiochus of Athens ( grc-gre, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος) was an influential

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

astrologer who flourished sometime between the late 1st and mid 2nd century AD. There is some disagreement as to when he lived and wrote.

Franz Cumont __NOTOC__ Franz-Valéry-Marie Cumont (3 January 1868 in Aalst, Belgium – 20 August 1947 in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre near Brussels) was a Belgian archaeologist and historian, a philologist and student of epigraphy, who brought these often isolated ...

and others have argued that he lived as early as the 1st century BC, while

David Pingree David Edwin Pingree (January 2, 1933, New Haven, Connecticut – November 11, 2005, Providence, Rhode Island) was an American historian of mathematics in the ancient world. He was a University Professor and Professor of History of Mathematics ...

placed him as late as the end of the 2nd century AD.David Pingree, ''Antiochus and Rhetorius'', Classical Philology, Vol. 72, No. 3, July, 1977, pp.203-223. The one agreed datum is that Antiochus is referenced by Porphyry (234-c. 305 AD),Porphyry, ''Introduction to Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos'', chapter 38; ''Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum Graecorum'' 5 part 4, p.210, line 6. and so Antiochus must have lived before the death of Porphyry. All the writings of Antiochus are now lost, but substantial fragments and extracts remain. The works ascribed to him are a ''Thesaurus'' (Treasuries), an Introduction (''Eisagogika'') to astrology, and also an astrological calendar, ''On the risings and settings of the stars in the 12 months of the year.'' Antiochus is extensively quoted or paraphrased by later writers, particularly the

Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

Porphyry, and Rhetorius of Egypt. There is also a later

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

epitome An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "t ...

, or summary, of his work. A ''parapegma'' or calendar of star risings and settings and weather changes is also extant. Antiochus was influential upon later astrologers. Parts of his text were used as the basis for Porphyry's third-century ''Introduction to the Tetrabiblos of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

'', as well as being quoted by Hephaistio of Thebes (380 AD), Anonymous of 379 AD (''Treatise on Fixed Stars'') and

Julius Firmicus Maternus __NOTOC__ Julius Firmicus Maternus was a Roman Latin writer and astrologer, who received a pagan classical education that made him conversant with Greek; he lived in the reign of Constantine I (306 to 337 AD) and his successors. His triple career m ...

(c. 336 AD). Porphyry relies heavily on Antiochus for definitions of technical terms used by Ptolemy in

Tetrabiblos ''Tetrabiblos'' () 'four books', also known in Greek as ''Apotelesmatiká'' () "Effects", and in Latin as ''Quadripartitum'' "Four Parts", is a text on the philosophy and practice of astrology, written in the 2nd century AD by the Alexandrian ...

. Antiochus made one of the earliest references to astrological reception, and discussed the twelves houses (''topoi'') of the astrological chart,

heliacal rising The heliacal rising ( ) or star rise of a star occurs annually, or the similar phenomenon of a planet, when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise (thus becoming "the morning star") after a complete orbit of ...

s and settings, and the

Lots Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale together ...

References

External links

*Marilynn Lawrence (West Chester U. of Penn.) in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

��section on Porphyry. *Bill Johnston

retrieved January 6, 2006. *Robert Schmidt

at Project Hindsight—on Antiochus and Porphyry. *Deborah Houlding

at Skyscript, retrieved December 25, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Antiochus Of Athens Ancient Greek astrologers Roman-era Athenians

References

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