John Kamateros’ Poem on the Zodiacal Circle and All Other Things in the Heavens: Contribution to the study of Byzantine Astrology at the Court of Manuel I Komnenos
Keywords:
Byzantine astrology, John Kamateros, Manuel I Komnenos, Zodiacal Poem, Hellenistic traditionAbstract
This paper presents the first complete Serbian translation and commentary of John Kamateros’ Poem on the Zodiac Circle, a text that has until now remained marginalized in the study of Byzantine literature and science. The poem is situated within the cultural and intellectual milieu of twelfth-century Byzantium, where it is understood as a didactic work intended not only for a narrow circle of courtly audiences but also for a wider community of literate practitioners of astrology. Kamateros’ work offers a concise and systematic exposition of the principal elements of Hellenistic astrology as well as their later reception in synthetic handbooks. By reconsidering this long-neglected poem, the study aims to highlight its originality, didactic character, and role in transmitting and reshaping the classical astrological tradition within the framework of Byzantine literary culture.
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