Snake eating itself

Aglaonice or Aganice of Thessaly (Ancient Greek: Ἀγλαονίκη, Aglaoníkē, compound of αγλαὸς (aglaòs) "luminous" and νίκη (nikē) "victory") was a Greek astronomer and thaumaturge of the 2nd or 1st century BC.[1] She is mentioned in the writings of Plutarch[2] and in the scholia to Apollonius of Rhodes[3] as a female astronomer and as the daughter of Hegetor (or Hegemon) of Thessaly.

She was regarded as a sorceress for (amongst other extraordinary feats) her (self-proclaimed) ability to 'make the moon disappear from the sky' (καθαιρεῖν τὴν σελήνην : kathaireĩn tìn selénen) which has been taken - first by Plutarch and subsequently by modern astronomers - to mean that she could predict the time and general area where a lunar eclipse would occur.[4][5]

A Greek proverb makes reference to Aglaonice's alleged boasting: "Yes, as the Moon obeys Aglaonice".[6] A number of female astrologers, apparently regarded as sorcerers, were associated with Aglaonice.

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