Skip to content
Aglaonike

File:Greek_vase_painting_Diana_Taurica_Hamilton_collection.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ237867· pop 39· linked from 90 articles

Also known as Aganice of Thessaly, Aganice, Aglaonike of Thessaly, Aglaonice

thumb|right|Greek vase from the collection of William Hamilton (diplomat)|William Hamilton, apparently showing two women drawing down the moon. Aglaonice (, Aglaoníkē, compound of αγλαὸς (aglaòs) "luminous" and νίκη (nikē) "victory") was an ancient Thessalian witch, known from a scholion on the Argonautica and two references in Plutarch's Moralia. She was the daughter of Hegetor or Hegemon. Her date is uncertain, but she may have been active some time between the mid-third century BC and the late-first century AD. However, Richard Stothers suggests that Aglaonice might have been mythical, or a

Wikidata facts

Image
Aglaonice3.png
Show 4 more facts
date of birth
0199-00-00
date of death
0099-00-00
Commons category
Aglaonike
name in native language
Ἀγλαονίκη
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Article

4 sections
Contents
  • Cultural influence
  • See also
  • References
  • Sources

thumb|right|Greek vase from the collection of William Hamilton (diplomat)|William Hamilton, apparently showing two women drawing down the moon. Aglaonice (, Aglaoníkē, compound of αγλαὸς (aglaòs) "luminous" and νίκη (nikē) "victory") was an ancient Thessalian witch, known from a scholion on the Argonautica and two references in Plutarch's Moralia. She was the daughter of Hegetor or Hegemon. Her date is uncertain, but she may have been active some time between the mid-third century BC and the late-first century AD. However, Richard Stothers suggests that Aglaonice might have been mythical, or a pre-fifth century figure about whom legends had developed by the time of Plutarch.

Thessalian witches were famous for their ability to draw down the moon from the sky. Both Plutarch and the scholiast on the Argonautica claim that Aglaonice was able to predict lunar eclipses, and planned her drawing down of the moon to coincide with them. As during a normal lunar eclipse the moon remains visible, Peter Bicknell proposed that during Aglaonice's lifetime there were particularly dark eclipses, which would explain how her ability to predict eclipses would help make the illusion of drawing down the moon convincing. However, Bicknell's theory has been criticised both on the grounds of its astronomical implausibility, and for over-literally interpreting ancient literary evidence.

Gallery (2)

Connections

Categories