Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination

by N.M. Swerdlow (Editor)

This volume presents recent work on Babylonian celestial divination and on the Greek inheritors of the Babylonian tradition. In the ancient world, the collection and study of celestial phenomena and the interpretation of their prophetic significance, especially as applied to kings and nations, were closely related sciences carried out by the same scholars. Both ancient sources and modern research agree that astronomy and celestial divination arose in Babylon. Only in the late nineteenth century, however, did scholars begin to identify and decipher the original Babylonian sources, and the process of understanding those sources has been long and difficult. This volume presents recent work on Babylonian celestial divination and on the Greek inheritors of the Babylonian tradition. Both philological and mathematical work are included. The essays shed new light on all of the known textual sources, including the omen series Enuma Anu Enlil, which contains omens from as far back as the early second or even third millennium, and the earliest personal horoscopes, from about 400 B.C., as well as the Astronomical Diaries, ephemerides, and other observational and mathematical texts. One essay concerns astronomical papyri that confirm the extensive transmission of Babylonian methods into Greek; a study of Ptolemy's lunar theory suggests that Ptolemy relied more on his own observations than previously thought; and an analysis of Theon's commentary on Ptolemy's Handy Tables shows that Theon explicated their meaning both conscientiously and competently.

Contributors: Asger Aaboe, Alan C. Bowen, Lis Brack-Bernsen, John P. Britton, Bernard R. Goldstein, Gerd Gra�hoff, Hermann Hunger, Alexander Jones, Erica Reiner, F. Rochberg, N. M. Swerdlow, Anne Tihon, C. B. F. Walker

388 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Gavin White · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a compendium of essays written eminent scholars on various topics related to the early astronomy and astrology. Even though I had some background in this subject some of these essays were impossible for me due to the excess of mathematical equations and incomprehensible graphs. Fortunately most other pieces were more accessible and I even liked a couple that concerned my main interest - celestial divination.
The main problem with the book was that it is a collection of disconnected, even unrelated essays on a very broad subject matter. Personally I think all this material would have been better published in learned journals which would make them rather more accessible and cheaper to get hold of.