Aratus

Born in the city of Soli in southeastern Asia Minor, Aratus studied at Athens under the Stoic founder Zeno. There he met the future Macedonian king Antigonus II (reigned ca. 276–239 B.C.E.). Aratus became a court poet and physician to Antigonus, and it was at the king’s request that he composed the long poem about astronomy, for which he is best known: the Phainomena (aspects of the sky). He also composed a second poem, Prognostica (signs of weather).

David Sacks, Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, rev. ed., rev. Lisa R. Brody (New York: Facts On File, 2005), 37.