Memorial Tomb of Ancient Greek Astronomer Aratus Unearthed in Turkey

Greek Reporter ^ | July 11, 2021 | Patricia Claus

[SunkenCiv]

One of the first people in the world to observe the moon scientifically, Aratus is so well known and respected by astronomers that when astronauts took the first step on the moon, the first crater they named was for Aratus...

“Aside from more familiar structures, such as the colonnaded streets, the ancient port, the theater, and the bathhouse, something very unique has been found. This find brings dynamism to the ancient city and can influence tourism in the region – for both those interested in cultural heritage and general visitors to the region.”

The unearthing of the ruins has been ongoing since July 20 of 2020, Yağcı said. Showing photographs of the unique discovery, he indicated the two rows of hexagonal structures and arches around the memorial tomb that had been unearthed by his workers.

“This place looks like a crater,” he explained, “and has a circular area (that could have been used by) an astronomer. We have also come across a solid and large monumental structure.”

Yağcı added that Aratus was widely known during both the Hellenistic and Roman periods and his works on astronomy, as well as his poetry, are still read and studied to this day.

Often, Aratus combined astronomy with poetry, creating unique works that were extremely popular in his time. He is best known for his work “Phenomena,” a hexameter poem that describes the constellations.

Additionally, he noted that NASA had named a crater on the moon after the brilliant Greek thinker, leading the archaeologist to hope that the tomb of the great man will one day be included on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

[SunkenCiv]

Soli Pompeipolis, Turkey. A memorial tomb for the ancient Greek astronomer Aratus was found in this city along the Mediterranean.

Credit: Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0

[SunkenCiv]

[Cronos]

Soli, now that’s a city more than 3000 years old

[Verginius Rufus]

Soli (Soloi in Greek) was originally a Phoenician settlement, then colonized by Greeks from Rhodes in the 8th century B.C. In 83 B.C. the city was destroyed by Tigranes I of Armenia. Later Pompey settled defeated pirates there (after his successful war against piracy) and renamed it Pompeiopolis.

The term "solecism" for grammatical blunders comes from the name of the city.