Nominare gli astri nei Fenomeni di Arato

Naming the celestial bodies is a prominent topic in Aratus' Phaenomena. In this regard, the word 'name' can be equivalent to 'fame', although in one passage such an equivalence is presented as controversial. According to Aratus, celestial bodies were given their names by our predecessors. In vv. 367-385 he writes that someone in the past both devised and named the constellations for the first time: as a consequence of this, to be able to call the constellations by their names is now the same as knowing them thoroughly. Aratus often deals with the names of the celestial bodies from an aetiological point of view, saying or implying that they are named after their shapes or their positions in the sky, or also after words he associates with their distinctive features. Apart from vv. 367-385, Aratus always speaks of those who name the celestial bodies in the plural. They are always left anonymous, with one remarkable exception.