Posidonius was a major intellectual figure of the Hellenistic world whose interests and contribution spread over the whole intellectual field: philosophy, history, the sciences. His writings are of interest not only to philosophers and classicists, but also to historians and history of science. His work survives only in fragments. The text of these fragments, collected and edited by L. Edelstein and I. G. Kidd, was published in 1972 (Vol. I The Fragments), with a second edition in 1989. This collection, along with Vol. II The Commentary by I.G. Kidd (1988), has become established as the definitive modern edition. However, many of the fragments are extremely difficult to translate, and this volume of translations has been compiled to make this interesting material more easily accessible to scholars and students. The translations are accompanied by contextual introductions and explanatory notes where necessary. An Introduction summarises the importance of Posidonius and his work.

This volume describes the meteorology of the Stoic philosopher Posidonius from the existing fragments, and discusses his relation to earlier thinkers on this subject, as well as the methods he used to obtain information about and to find explanations of meteorological phenomena. The book examines ancient meteorology, an aspect of ancient thought largely neglected by scholars. Hall produces a detailed account of how Posidonius and other ancient thinkers approached and attempted to explain meteorological phenomena – phenomena familiar to everyone, which could not be ignored in attempts to understand the natural world, but were difficult to explain satisfactorily and convincingly despite the efforts of important ancient thinkers. The volume explores particular classes of phenomena, including climatic events and geological processes, providing a comprehensive overview of Posidonius’ ideas on these topics. Concluding chapters allow for an assessment of Posidonius’ particular contribution to the field and his influence on later writers working on this subject. The Meteorology of Posidonius provides an important resource for students and scholars working on ancient philosophy and ancient science, particularly ancient meteorology.