Marcus Manilius

Katharina Volk (Columbia University)
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Nothing is known about the life of Marcus Manilius, the author of a Latin didactic poem in five books entitled

Astronomica

. Datable on internal grounds to the second decade of the first century AD, the

Astronomica

first describes the shape of the universe and the constellations (Book 1), moves on to a discussion of the signs of the zodiac and the various ways in which these can be made astrologically meaningful (Books 2-3), and finally explains the influence on human beings exerted both by the signs (Book 4) and by the rising of extrazodiacal constellations (Book 5). Since earlier Hellenistic treatises survive only in fragments, Manilius’ work is our first extant comprehensive treatment of astrology from antiquity. Written at a time when astral divination was becoming popular at Rome…

723 words

Citation: Volk, Katharina. "Marcus Manilius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 January 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12732, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12732 Marcus Manilius 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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