Poeticon Astronomicon

CAYUS JULIUS HYGINIUS (64 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt, A.D. 17, Rome, Italy)
"Poeticon Astronomicon."
Printed in Venice 1485.
Facsimile edited by Ricardo J. Vicent, Valencia, 1993.
Limited edition.
Numbered, 901/3000.
Measurements: 23,5 x 17 x 2,5 cm.

De Astronomica, also known as Poeticon Astronomicon, is a book of stories whose text is attributed to "Higino", although its true authorship is disputed. During the Renaissance, the work was attributed to the Roman historian Hyginus, who lived during the 1st century BC. C.. However, the fact that the book lists most of the constellations north of the ecliptic in the same order as Claudius Ptolemy's Almagest (written in the 2nd century) has led many to believe that a later Higinus or Pseudo-Higinus created the text. The text describes 47 of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, focusing primarily on the Greek mythology and Roman mythology surrounding the constellations, although there is some dispute over the relative positions of the stars. The earliest known printing was in 1475, attributed to "Ferrara".

The De Astronomica was not formally published until 1482, by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, Italy. This edition bore the full title "Clarissimi Viri Hyginii Poeticon Astronomicon Opus Vtilissimum". Ratdolt commissioned a series of woodcuts depicting the constellations to accompany Hyginus' text. As with many other star atlases that would follow, the positions of various stars are indicated superimposed on the image of each constellation. However, the relative positions of the stars in the woodcuts bear little resemblance to the descriptions given by Hyginus in the text or the actual positions of the stars in the sky.