Activity

The lunar cycles

Characters:

Aglaonice of Thessaly (Aglaonica / Aganice / Aganica)

Theme: Astronomer women. Computation of time. The calendar.

Competencies

Competence in Linguistic Communication

Mathematical competence in science, technology and engineering

Citizen Competition

Subjects and year by Educational System

Spain > Classical culture > 2nd ESO > Classical roots of today's world. Everyday life

Enunciation

Aglaonice of Thessaly was an astronomer from the 2nd century BC. She had an outstanding knowledge on lunar cycles and how to predict eclipses. &nbsp;
1- Read the following excerpt from Plutarch and answer the questions: &nbsp; &nbsp;
Studies of this sort, in the first place, divert women from all untoward conduct; for a woman studying geometry will be ashamed to be a dancer, and she will not swallow any beliefs in magic charms while she is under the charm of Plato's or Xenophon's words. And if anybody professes power to pull down the moon from the sky, she will laugh at the ignorance and stupidity of women who believe these things, inasmuch as she herself is not unschooled in astronomy, and has read in the books about Aglaonice, the daughter of Hegetor of Thessaly, and how she, through being thoroughly acquainted with the periods of the full moon when it is subject to eclipse, and, knowing beforehand the time when the moon was due to be overtaken by the earth's shadow, imposed upon the women, and made them all believe that she was drawing down the moon. &nbsp;
Plutarch, Advice to Bride and Groom, 145 C-D, (retrieved on 10-03-2022),&nbsp; &lt;<a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Coniugalia_praecepta*.html">https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Coniugalia_praecepta*.html</a> &gt;
a) Do you think the author is for or against women being educated?&nbsp;
b) What are the benefits of studying certain subjects such as Geometry or Astrology?&nbsp;
c) What was Aglaonice an expert in?&nbsp;
d) How did she use that knowledge?&nbsp;
e) Look up on the Internet what element in the Solar System is named after this astronomer.&nbsp;
2- Do some research about lunar cycles and the calendar.&nbsp;
Aglaonice was an expert on the study of lunar cycles. From ancient times, lunar cycles had been used as a basis to measure time and establish calendars. Find some information on this topic on the Internet and answer the following questions:&nbsp;
a) In Greek, the word &mu;ή&nu;, &mu;&eta;&nu;ό&sigmaf; means both "moon" and "month". Why do you think is that?&nbsp;
b) We know that the first Greek and Roman calendars were lunar calendars, based on the cycles of the moon, but it was not long before lunisolar calendars prevailed. What is the difference between them?&nbsp;
c) What is the main problem derived from using the lunar cycle for measuring months and the solar cycle for measuring years?&nbsp;
d) What methods did the Greeks and the Romans use to bring both calendars into alignment? What method do we use nowadays?&nbsp;

Observations and context

Aglaonice was the first woman known to have devoted herself to the study of astronomy. However, in ancient Greece, many women played an important role in different fields of knowledge, such as Phanostrate, midwife and physician; Pythias of Assos, biologist and embryologist who collaborated with her husband, Aristotle, in studies on embryology and in the preparation of an encyclopaedia on Natural History; Agnodica of Athens, an important gynaecologist; Artemisia II of Caria, expert in medicinal herbs; her namesake Artemisia I, also queen of Caria and captain of a fleet; Aspasia of Miletus, philosopher, logographer and teacher of rhetoric; Hypatia of Alexandria, mathematician and astronomer, among many others

This activity has been created for 2nd of ESO, but it can also be completed in other levels as long as there is guidance during research.

Description

Students are given a text about Aglaonice and some questions to learn about this figure. The second part proposes an investigation about the relationship between lunar cycles, well known by Aglaonice, and calendars.

Answer

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