From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPolos can name a celestial pole, but also the revolving sky.
- In StobaeusThe spherical description calls the two fixed opposite points poles.
- In this edition“Pole” suits the fixed points; “revolving heavens” conveys the broader sense in Porphyry.
- A place to beginTwo fixed opposite points define the poles of celestial rotation.
- English renderings
- pole; revolving heavens
Meaning
Polos can name a celestial pole, but also the revolving sky. The immediate construction decides whether a fixed point or the heavens’ movement is intended.
Use in the book
The spherical description calls the two fixed opposite points poles. Porphyry’s account of the sun instead uses the word for the revolving heavens whose course the sun opposes. Translating both occurrences as a stationary point would make the second comparison unintelligible.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Pole” suits the fixed points; “revolving heavens” conveys the broader sense in Porphyry.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 209, 256. The interpolated clause bracketed in I.25.2 is not used as independent evidence for the headword’s meaning.