Leonid Zhmud The Origin of the History of Science in Classical Antiquity

Metaphysics that discusses the modifications Callippus intro-
duced into Eudoxus’ theory.
205
Callippus himself must have explained the sense
of these modifications to Aristotle and Eudemus.
206
Eudemus’
History of As-
tronomy ascribes the origin of the principle of ‘saving the phenomena’ to Eu-
doxus (fr. 148) and cites this formula as pronounced by Callippus personally
(fr. 149).
207
The author of the treatise
Phaenomena must have been fully aware
when he suggested the principle of ‘saving the phenomena’, which was soon to
become the most important scientific principle of astronomy.
208
Admittedly,
Eudoxus’
Phaenomena dealt only with the fixed stars and was a descriptive
rather than a mathematical treatise. But Euclid’s
Phaenomena, the next treatise
bearing this title, is a mathematical work that demonstrates why the appear-
ances produced by the motion of the celestial sphere are as they are: it thus re-
mains in the tradition of Eudoxus’
Phaenomena and On Velocities.
202
See above, 97, 253 n. 104.
203
kaì toútwn @podeíxei~ peirømeqa légein
ômologouména~ to$~ fainoménoi~,
oÿ kaqáper oî Émprosqen, oî… @llotriologoñnte~… nohtá~… kataskeuá-
zonte~ aıtía~ …, pántwn @llotriwtátou~ lógou~ légonte~ kaì
ënantiwtá-
tou~ to$~ fainoménoi~ (Elem. harm. I, 41.17f.). See above, 129 n. 46; Mittelstraß,
op. cit., 144f.
204
Mittelstraß,
op. cit., 141ff.
205
1073b 36, 1074a 1. It is generally believed that Aristotle inserted L 8 in the Meta-
physics after 330.
206
See above, 233 n. 21.
207
Simplicius mentions several times the ‘saving of phenomena’ by Heraclides Ponti-
cus, Eudoxus’ contemporary:
In Cael. comm., 444.33f. = Her. Pont. fr. 106 (Hera-
clides and Aristarchus), 519.10 = fr. 108;
In Phys., 292 = fr. 110 (from Geminus). Cf.
above, 103f. and Düring.
Aristoteles, 150f.
208
Düring.
 Aristoteles, 142ff., 152f.

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6. From Meton to Eudoxus. ‘Saving the phenomena’
275
It is revealing that the history of the formula s¢zein tà fainómena can be
traced from Simplicius back nearly to the time of Eudoxus himself. It is often
found in Sosigenes,
209
before him in Theon and Adrastus,
210
and still earlier in
Posidonius and Geminus,
211
though the latter preferred similar expressions, like
@podidónai tà fainómena and, especially, sumfwne$n to$~ fainoménoi~.
212
Almost the same expressions are found in Hipparchus’ commentary on the
Phaenomena by Aratus and Eudoxus,
213
yet our formula occurs also in Hippar-
chus, as well as in his older contemporary Attalus, who also commented on
Aratus.
214
Both of them seem to take the principle of ‘saving the phenomena’
for granted, which betrays the influence of the astronomy of Eudoxus, rather
than of the
 History of Astronomy by Eudemus.
215
Plutarch’s evidence on Aris-
tarchus and Cleanthes (
De facie 923 A) brings us still closer to the fourth cen-
tury, in which Aristotle and later Eudemus testified to the birth of the Eudoxian
astronomy. Indeed, Aristotle’s remark in the
Prior Analytics looks as if he were
commenting not just on the development of Greek astronomy, but specifically
on Eudoxus’ astronomical career:
It is the business of experience to give the principles which belong to each sub-
ject. I mean for example that astronomical experience supplies the principles of
astronomical science: for once the phenomena were adequately apprehended, the
demonstrations of astronomy were discovered (lhfqéntwn gàr îkanõ~ tõn
fainoménwn oÛtw~ eûréqhsan aî @strologikaì @podeíxei~).
216
A detailed description of Eudoxus’ system of homocentric circles based on
his treatise