The "Commentary" by John Pediasimos on the “Celestial bodies” by Cleomedes

This volume presents the first critical edition and translation into a modern language of the exegetical commentary which the Byzantine scholar John Pediasimos (ca. 1240-1310/14) devoted to the cosmological and astronomical treatise "Celestial bodies" by the Stoic philosopher Cleomedes (3^rd century A.D.).

The "Commentary" represents the result of Pediasimos’ work as an imperial teacher in the vibrant intellectual atmosphere of the Byzantine paleological age (1261-1453), during which the Byzantines restored the legacy of ancient Greece by copying it, studying it and circulating it.

Thus, the publishing, translation and study of the history of the "Commentary" not only enables us to understand the history of the transmission and reception of the “Celestial bodies” by Cleomedes in Byzantium and, subsequently, in Europe, but also the Byzantines’ interest in, and research methodology for ancient mathematical astronomy.