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| Paper: |
The Alphabet and the Sky |
| Volume: |
441, The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena VI |
| Page: |
317 |
| Authors: |
Lebeuf, A. |
| Abstract: |
Since the beginning of the 17th century the letters of the
Greek alphabet are used to identify the stars of constellation by
order of magnitude. This was simply a practical means of astronomical
classification. In several instances the Bible uses such metaphors as
“The sky rolled up like a scroll”. The idea of associating letters
of different alphabets with stars, constellations and the sky in
general can be found to day in the marginal subculture. The
persistence of such an association of writing with astronomy or
cosmology is at least of interest for cultural reasons, but the
problem might be of good interest as well for the history of astronomy
and cosmology. I present here two examples of this tradition in works
of art. The first a painted representation of the Revelation
of Saint John in the Orthodox church tradition, and the other in the
construction of the late bronze age sacred well at Santa Cristina in
Sardinia, Italy. |
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