OF ARATUS OF SOLI

PHENOMENA.

From Zeus let us begin: him let no man leave
unspoken. Full of Zeus are all the streets,
all the marketplaces of men, full is the sea
and the harbors. Everywhere we all make use of Zeus.
5 For we are also his offspring. He, being kind to men,
gives favorable signs, and stirs the people to work,
reminding them of life. He says when the soil is best
for oxen and for mattocks. He says when the seasons are right
both to plant trees and to cast all seeds.
10 For he himself set these signs in heaven,
having marked out the stars. He contemplated the stars for the year,
those which would best give established signs
to men of the seasons, so that all things might grow securely.
For this reason, they always propitiate him first and last.
15 Hail, Father, great wonder, great boon to men,
yourself and your former birth. And hail, Muses,
very gentle to all. To me, pray, tell of the stars,
as it is right, and grant the whole song to one who asks.
Some, moving together in great numbers and others in different directions,
20 are drawn in the sky continuously for all days.
But he the celestial pole/axis does not move even a little, but rather just so
the axis is always fixed, and he holds the earth centered
on all sides, and carries the heaven itself around.

The bottom section contains a critical apparatus listing textual variations between codices (such as those of O, F, C, A, etc.) and correcting specific word choices in the Greek text.