Aliquanto post suspexit ad caelum et inquit: The Aratea and Prognostica across Cicero’s works

Throughout his life, Cicero paid considerable attention to astronomical and meteorological issues, and specifically he focused on the work of Aratus. For this reason, it is not possible to isolate the Aratea (Phaenomena and Prognostica) in Cicero’s younger years or to study their presence in his other works merely to extract textual fragments or to derive historical information about their composition. The purpose of this study is to follow the cosmological and meteorological theme through the various literary genres and to reveal its connection to other aspects of Cicero’s work. In particular, this research addresses Aratus’ citations in the Epistulae ad Atticum, De re publica, De legibus, Orator, De natura deorum and De divinatione.