Poeticon astronomicon is a star atlas attributed to
"Hyginus", though the true authorship is disputed. During
the Renaissance, the work was attributed to the Roman historian Gaius
Julius Hyginus who lived during the first century B.C. However, the
fact that the book lists the constellations in the same order as Ptolemy's
Almagest (published in the second century, A.D.) has led many to believe
that a more recent Hyginus created the text.
The text describes 47 of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, centering
primarily on the mythology surrounding the constellations, though
there is some discussion of the relative positions of stars. The first
known printing was in 1475, attributed to "Ferrara."
The Poeticon wasn't formally published until 1482, by Erhard Ratdolt
in Venice, Italy. This edition carried the full title Clarissimi uiri
Hyginii Poeticon astronomicon, opus utilissimum. Ratdolt commissioned
a series of woodcuts depicting the constellations to accompany Hyginus'
text. As with many other star atlases that would follow it, the positions
of various stars are indicated overlayed on the images of the constellation.
However, the relative positions of the stars in the woodcuts bear
little resemblance to the descriptions given by Hyginus in the text
or the actual positions of the stars in the sky.
As a result of the inaccuracy of the depicted star positions and the
fact that the constellations are not shown with any context, the Poeticon
is not particularly useful as a guide to the night sky. However, the
illustrations commissioned by Ratdolt served as a template for future
sky atlas renderings of the constellation figures.
