Anonymous of 379

greek: ὁ Ἀνώνυμος τοῦ 379

Definition

Anonymous of 379 is the conventional scholarly designation for the unnamed author of a 4th-century CE Greek astrological treatise dated by internal references to the year 379. The work is preserved fragmentarily and primarily devoted to fixed-star doctrine: it expands and modifies the planetary-nature attributions Ptolemy gives in *Tetrabiblos* I.9, supplies the most detailed surviving Hellenistic treatment of paranatella (stars rising or setting at the same moment as a chart point), and links specific stars to angle-based life-period timing.

In Tradition

Within the Hellenistic-era fixed-star tradition, Anonymous of 379 is treated as a primary technical authority alongside Ptolemy. Where Ptolemy lists stars with planetary natures, Anonymous of 379 develops their interpretive significations and stitches them into a working method, making the treatise the most detailed practical fixed-star manual to survive from late antiquity.

In Practice

Practitioners working in the Hellenistic-revival tradition consult Anonymous of 379 when delineating natal fixed-star contacts and paranatella. The treatise organizes star testimony by chart angle: a star configured with the Ascendant signifies lifelong themes carried from birth; with the Midheaven, the prime-of-life apex; with the Descendant, midlife or relational matters; with the Imum Coeli, the closing years and posthumous legacy. The text is read in Robert Schmidt's 1993 English translation published by the Golden Hind Press in the Project Hindsight series; Joseph Crane (2007) cites Anonymous of 379 as one of the two principal authorities (alongside Ptolemy) for his treatment of fixed stars in *Astrological Roots*. Anonymous of 379 is also part of the broader background for the later 15-Behenian fixed-star corpus.

Historical Origin

The treatise is dated internally to 379 CE — Late Antique, post-Constantinian, contemporary with the closing centuries of the active Hellenistic astrological tradition. The Greek text survives in fragmentary form; the surviving translation tradition runs through Schmidt's 1993 Golden Hind Press edition (Project Hindsight). The author's identity has never been recovered, hence the conventional "Anonymous of 379" designation in modern scholarship.

Etymology

Origin: modern scholarly convention. Meaning: Anonymous author whose treatise is dated by internal references to the year 379 CE..

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading