Aglaonice
Aglaonice (Ancient Greek: Ἀγλαονίκη, Aglaoníkē, compound of αγλαὸς (aglaòs) "luminous" and νίκη (nikē) "victory") was an ancient Thessalian witch,[1] known from a scholion on the Argonautica and two references in Plutarch's Moralia.[2] She was the daughter of Hegetor[3] or Hegemon.[4] Her date is uncertain, but she may have been active some time between the mid-third century BC and the late-first century AD.[5] However, Richard Stothers suggests that Aglaonice might have been mythical, or a pre-fifth century figure about whom legends had developed by the time of Plutarch.[6]
Thessalian witches were famous in the for their ability to draw down the moon from the sky.[7] Both Plutarch and the scholiast on the Argonautica claim that Aglaonice was able to predict lunar eclipses, and planned her drawing down of the moon to coincide with them.[8] As during a normal lunar eclipse the moon remains visible, Peter Bicknell proposed that during Aglaonice's lifetime there were particularly dark eclipses, which would explain how her ability to predict eclipses would help make the illusion of drawing down the moon convincing.[9] However, Bicknell's theory has been criticised both on the grounds of its astronomical implausibility,[10] and for over-literally interpreting ancient literary evidence.[11]
According to the scholiast on the Argonautica, Aglaonice's drawing down of the moon was the source of the proverb "pull the moon against yourself", meaning to bring misfortune upon yourself.[12]
Cultural influence
[edit]One of the craters on Venus is named after Aglaonice.[13] She is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece The Dinner Party, being represented as one of the 999 names on the Heritage Floor.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Graf, Fritz (2006). "Aglaonice". Brill's New Pauly.
- ^ Villagra, Nereida (2017). "Plato on the Thessalian Trick: A New Interpretation of Gorgias 513A". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies: 287–288.
- ^ Plutarch, "De defectu oraculum" 416F ff.
- ^ Scholion on Argonautica 4.59–4.61a
- ^ Villagra, Nereida (2017). "Plato on the Thessalian Trick: A New Interpretation of Gorgias 513A". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies. n. 13.
- ^ Stothers, Richard B. (1986). "Dark Lunar Eclipses in Classical Antiquity". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 96 (2): 95.
- ^ ní Mheallaigh, Karen (2020). The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination. Cambridge University Press. p. 37. ISBN 9781108685726.
- ^ ní Mheallaigh, Karen (2020). The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination. Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 9781108685726.
- ^ Bicknell, Peter (1983). "The witch Aglaonice and dark lunar eclipses in the second and first centuries BC". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 93 (4): 160–163.
- ^ Stothers, Richard B. (1986). "Dark Lunar Eclipses in Classical Antiquity". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 96 (2): 96–97.
- ^ ní Mheallaigh, Karen (2020). The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination. Cambridge University Press. p.37 n.116. ISBN 9781108685726.
- ^ Villagra, Nereida (2017). "Plato on the Thessalian Trick: A New Interpretation of Gorgias 513A". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies: 285–287.
- ^ "Aglaonice". Venus Crater Database. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Aglaonice". Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Aglaonice. Brooklyn Museum. 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
Sources
[edit]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Aganice". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.