The Stars and Antiquity - Einzelansicht

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The stars have always fascinated humankind and have since the earliest times played a crucial role in human life – looking at them humans could for instance notice the passing of seasons and get oriented when at sea or without any orientation help. Very soon the observation of the stars was connected to religious, philosophical and cosmological beliefs, and astronomy is considered thus to be the first and the oldest of all natural sciences. This cycle of lectures, aimed to a public of both students of Astronomy and of History, will host thirteen lectures by worldwide renowned scholars studying ancient astronomy and the possible use of astronomy for historical and archaeological research. Also astronomers combing data from both ancient and modern sources will provide insights into their research. We will learn how Babylonian calendars worked, how the ancient Egyptians looked at the stars, what role astronomy played in the kosmos of ancient Greek philosophy and science, what influence Persian astronomy had on medieval knowledge, what are the basic principles of the discipline known as astroarchaeology, how can ancient observations help us to do modern astrophysics and much more. All lectures will be in English. For students of History a written test is foreseen after the end of term. This cycle of lecture will be broadcasted online - students can therefore attend this course online from their homes. The broadcasting will be live, and the lectures will therefore be streamed online at the foreseen lecture times. Further information on the course and its structure will be sent per email shortly before the first meeting to all students who will have registered for this course in PULS.