NONFICTION - Dec. 20, 1992

CONVERSING WITH THE PLANETS: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos by Anthony Aveni (Times Books: $21; 255 pp.). It’s easy to forget, at least for us urban dwellers, that there’s more to the sky than the sun, the moon and the occasional star. You can go for months, even years without seeing Venus, for instance, despite the fact that it never strays far from the sun and plays a significant role--much more important than that of the moon--in many cultures. Anthony Aveni, a teacher at Colgate University and a pioneer in the new field of astronomical anthropology, wants his readers to pay attention to Venus and her celestial siblings, but less as an object of scientific investigation than an opportunity for cross-cultural understanding. Aveni’s thesis, which is extra- rather than anti-scientific, leads him into extended discussions of calendrical systems (Mayan, Babylonian, Julian, etc.) and their corresponding mythologies, which in turn leads to arresting details--an Assyrian astrologer, for example, recording for posterity his frustration in making forecasts for the king. “Conversing with the Planets,” be it noted, has slow spots, but on the whole it’s a stimulating read.