DiotimosReading Desk

Heavens and weather

Comet

κομήτης

komētēs

Komētēs names the comet in a group of accounts concerned with unusual luminous appearances.

From the book

Stobaeus, Volume I

John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordKomētēs names the comet in a group of accounts concerned with unusual luminous appearances.
  • In StobaeusSome Pythagoreans call it a periodically appearing star; unnamed others explain it through reflected sight, comparing mirrors.
  • In this edition“Comet” is the convenient equivalent.
  • A place to beginPeriodic return and reflected sight are alternative explanations.
English renderings
comet

Meaning

Komētēs names the comet in a group of accounts concerned with unusual luminous appearances. Whether it is a returning star, an optical appearance, or burning material is itself disputed.

Use in the book

Some Pythagoreans call it a periodically appearing star; unnamed others explain it through reflected sight, comparing mirrors. Epigenes describes ignited wind mixed with earth, Boethus ignited air, and Diogenes a star. The shared headword is therefore the subject of classification, not a guarantee of an agreed physical kind.

Places to read

  1. I.28.1a.1Periodic return and reflected sight are alternative explanations.
  2. I.28.1a.7Wind, air, and stellar classification give further alternatives.

Translation in this edition

“Comet” is the convenient equivalent. It does not import a modern account of the body’s orbit or composition into the ancient report.

Source note

Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 227–228.