Aglaonike

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Aglaonike (Gr. Ἀγλαονίκη, fl. 2nd century BC), also known as Aganice of Thessaly is cited as the first female astronomer in ancient Greece. She is mentioned in the writings of Plutarch and Apollonius of Rhodes as the daughter of Hegetor of Thessaly.[1] She was regarded as a sorceress for her ability to make the moon disappear from the sky, which has been taken to mean she could predict the time and general area where a lunar eclipse would occur.[2][3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Plutarch, de Off. Conjug. p. 145, de Defect. Orac. p. 417.
  2. ^ Ogilvie, M. B. 1986. Women in Science. The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-15031-X
  3. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), “Aganice”, in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. 1, Boston, pp. 59 

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).