Meteorology in Aratus’ Phaenomena

Aratus’ poem Phaenomena, and particularly its second part commonly known as Diosemeia (Signs from Zeus), offers a compelling blend of poetic narrative and proto-scientific observation. Composed in the 3rd century B.C., the work reflects the Hellenistic interest in systematizing knowledge of the natural world through both literary and empirical means. Within its verses, meteorological phenomena such as clouds, rain, hail, winds, and atmospheric changes are not merely described but interpreted through a cosmological lens that reflects the worldview of the era. Aratus Solensis employs a poetic language that transforms everyday weather into a meaningful sequence of signs tied to divine order and celestial cycles providing in that way a kind of classified weather prognostics.