SOURCE: Introduction to Euclid's "Phaenomena": A Translation and Study of a Hellenistic Treatise in Spherical Astronomy, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996, pp. 1-18.

In the following essay, Berggren and Thomas discuss the objectives and content of Phaenomena, suggesting that Euclid's application of spherics to questions of astronomy implies that some study of spherics and astronomy had been done before. While there is no evidence of this, the critics state that perhaps, as in the case of Elements, the appearance and success of Phaenomena resulted in the disappearance of earlier texts on the subject.

Gi; the Purpose and Strategy of The Phaenomena =~ Sthe Purpose and Strategy of The Phaenomena

The Phaenomena is a geometrical treatment of some fundamental problems related to the risings and settings of stars and of important circular arcs on the celestial sphere. In fact, just over half its theorems (the last ten) are devoted to one of...