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Dion Of Naples
Adrastus of Cyzicus () is an individual who is mentioned along with Dion of Naples () in a work of Augustine of Hippo. He was apparently an ancient Roman astronomer. Although, from Augustine's brief and second-hand account, we can know very little of his life or works, he was cited as an authoritative astronomical observer from antiquity. According to Augustine's '' De Civitate Dei contra Paganos'', Varro (116 BC – 27 BC) the Roman scholar and writer, cited Adrastus and Dion as authorities for the dating of an astronomical phenomenon involving Venus, describing them as ''mathematici nobiles'' (distinguished astronomers, or possibly astrologers). Again according to Augustine, Varro recorded this in his work ''De gente populi Romani''.Augustine. ''De Civitate Dei''. Book XXI, Chapter 8 Although Varro's writing is now lost, Augustine quoted from it: Augustine used these ancient astronomical reports to further his what has been called his " epistemic theory of miracles". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustine Of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works include '' The City of God'', '' On Christian Doctrine'', and '' Confessions''. According to his contemporary, Jerome of Stridon, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith". In his youth he was drawn to the Manichaean faith, and later to the Hellenistic philosophy of Neoplatonism. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin and m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (50927 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic peoples, Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilating the Greece, Greek culture of southern Italy (Magna Graecia) and the Etruscans, Etruscan culture, and then became the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. At its hei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galaxies – in either observational astronomy, observational (by analyzing the data) or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, Sun, solar astronomy, the Star formation, origin or stellar evolution, evolution of stars, or the galaxy formation and evolution, formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole. Types Astronomers typically fall under either of two main types: observational astronomy, observational and theoretical astronomy, theoretical. Observational astronomers make direct observations of Astronomical object, celestial objects and analyze the data. In contrast, theoretical astronomers create and investigate Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Of God (book)
''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' (), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin language, Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. Augustine wrote the book to refute allegations that Christianity initiated the decline of Rome and is considered one of his seminal works, standing alongside the ''Confessions (Augustine), Confessions'', the ''Enchiridion on Faith, Hope and Love, Enchiridion'', ''De doctrina Christiana, On Christian Doctrine'', and ''On the Trinity''. As a work of one of the most influential Church Fathers, ''The City of God'' is a cornerstone of Western thought, expounding on many questions of theology, such as the suffering of the righteous, the existence of evil, the conflict between Free will in theology, free will and divine omniscience, and the doctrine of original sin. Background The Sack of Rome (410), sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many Romans s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus ("Varro of Rieti") to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus ("Varro of Atax"). Biography Varro was born in or near Reate (now Rieti in Lazio) into a family thought to be of equestrian rank. He always remained close to his roots in the area, owning a large farm in the Reatine plain (reported as near Lago di Ripasottile,) until his old age. He supported Pompey, reaching the office of praetor, after having served as tribune of the people, '' quaestor'' and '' curule aedile''. It is probable that Varro was discontented with the course on which Pompey entered when the First Triumvirate formed 60 BC, and he may thus have lost his chance of rising to the consulship. He actually ridiculed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker and denser than Earth and any other rocky body in the Solar System. Its atmosphere is composed of mostly carbon dioxide (), with a global sulfuric acid cloud cover and no liquid water. At the mean surface level the atmosphere reaches a temperature of and a pressure 92 times greater than Earth's at sea level, turning the lowest layer of the atmosphere into a supercritical fluid. Venus is the third brightest object in Earth's sky, after the Moon and the Sun, and, like Mercury, appears always relatively close to the Sun, either as a "morning star" or an "evening star", resulting from orbiting closer ( inferior) to the Sun than Earth. The orbits of Venus and Earth make the two planets approach each other in synodic periods of 1.6 years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ogyges
Ogyges, also spelled Ogygus (Ancient Greek: ), is a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, generally of Boeotia, but an alternative tradition makes him the first king of Attica. Etymology Though the original etymology and meaning are "uncertain", the name ''Ogyges'' may be related to the Greek Okeanos (Ὠκεανός), the Titan who personified the great world ocean. The Greek word ''Ogygios'' (Ὠγύγιος), meaning ''Ogygian'', came to mean "primeval, primal," or "from earliest ages" and also "gigantic". Family Stories of Ogyges's descent differs widely. Besides Ogyges being one of the aborigines of Boeotia, there are tales that regard him as the son of Poseidon (by Alistra),Tzetzes ad Lycophron1206 Boeotus or even Cadmus. Theophilus, in the 2nd century (''Apologia ad Autolycum''), says he was one of the Titans. Ogyges was the husband of Thebe, from whom the land of Thebes in Greece is said to derive its name. His children are listed variously as two sons: E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistemic Theory Of Miracles
The epistemic theory of miracles is the name given by the philosopher William Vallicella to the theory of miraculous events given by Augustine of Hippo and Baruch Spinoza. According to the theory, there are no events contrary to nature — that is no "transgressions", in Hume's sense, of the laws of nature. An event is a miracle only in the sense that it does not agree with our ''understanding'' of nature, or fit our picture of nature, or that it thwarts our expectations as to how the world should behave. According to a perfect scientific understanding there would be no miracles at all. The name of the theory is derived from the Ancient Greek word , ''episteme'', meaning "well-founded knowledge". Augustine's account In The City of God, Book XXI, Chapter 8, Augustine quotes Marcus Varro, ''Of the Race of the Roman People'': :There occurred a remarkable celestial portent; for Castor records that, in the brilliant star Venus, called Vesperugo by Plautus, and the lovely Hesper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portent (divination)
An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages from the gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals (especially humans) and behaviour of the sacrificial lamb on its way to the slaughter. Specialists, known as diviners, variously existed to interpret these omens. They would also use an artificial method, for example, a clay model of a sheep liver, to communicate with their gods in times of crisis. They would expect a binary answer, either yes or no, favourable or unfavourable. They did these to predict what would happen in the future and to take action to avoid disaster. Though the word ''omen'' is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad", the term is more often used in a forebo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyzicus
Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic times either by artificial means or an earthquake. The site of Cyzicus, located on the Erdek and Bandırma roads, is protected by Turkey's Turkish Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Culture. History Ancient The city was said to have been founded by Pelasgians from Thessaly, according to tradition at the coming of the Argonauts; later it received many colonies from Miletus, allegedly in 756 BC, but its importance began near the end of the Peloponnesian War when the conflict centered on the sea routes connecting Greece to the Black Sea. At this time, the cities of Athens and Miletus diminished in importance while Cyzicus began to prosper. Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mysia
Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west, and the Propontis on the north. In ancient times it was inhabited by the Mysians, Phrygians, Aeolians, Aeolian Greeks and other groups. Geography The precise limits of Mysia are difficult to assign. The Phrygian frontier was fluctuating, while in the northwest the Troad was only sometimes included in Mysia. The northern portion was known as "Lesser Phrygia" or (; ), while the southern was called "Greater Phrygia" or "Pergamene Phrygia". Mysia was in later times also known as Hellespontine Phrygia (; ) or "Acquired Phrygia" (; ), so named when the region was annexed to the Attalid kingdom. Under Augustus, Mysia occupied the whole of the northwest corner of Asia Minor, between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Turkish Straits to the northwest, and the Black Sea to the north. The eastern and southeastern limits have been expanded either to the entirety of Asiatic Turkey or to an imprecise line from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Alexandretta. Topographically, the Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and separates Anatolia from Thrace in Southeast Europe. During the Neolithic, Anatolia was an early centre for the development of farming after it originated in the adjacent Fertile Crescent. Beginning around 9,000 years ago, there was a major migration of Anatolian Neolithic Farmers into Neolithic Europe, Europe, with their descendants coming to dominate the continent a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
