Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-astrology

Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-astrology PDF Author: David Brown
Publisher: Brill
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Pliny wrote of Babylon that "here the creator of the science of astronomy was". Excavations have shown this statement to be true. This book argues that the earliest attempts at the accurate prediction of celestial phenomena are indeed to be found in clay tablets dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BC from both Babylon and from Nineveh. The author carefully situates this astronomy within its cultural context, treating all available material from the relevant period, and also analysing the earlier astrological material and the later well-known ephemerides and related texts. A wholly new approach to cuneiform astral concerns emerges - one in which both celestial divination and the later astronomy are shown to be embedded in a prevailing philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the early universe, and in which the dynamics of the celestial divination industry that surrounded the last Assyrian monarchs account for no less than the first recorded "scientific revolution". This work closely adheres to the original textual sources, and argues for the evolution on the basis of the needs of the ancient scholars and the internal logic of the divinatory and predictive systems employed. To this end, it offers, for the first time, a Mesopotamian contribution to the philosophy, and not only the history, of science.

Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-astrology

Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-astrology PDF Author: David Brown
Publisher: Brill
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Pliny wrote of Babylon that "here the creator of the science of astronomy was". Excavations have shown this statement to be true. This book argues that the earliest attempts at the accurate prediction of celestial phenomena are indeed to be found in clay tablets dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BC from both Babylon and from Nineveh. The author carefully situates this astronomy within its cultural context, treating all available material from the relevant period, and also analysing the earlier astrological material and the later well-known ephemerides and related texts. A wholly new approach to cuneiform astral concerns emerges - one in which both celestial divination and the later astronomy are shown to be embedded in a prevailing philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the early universe, and in which the dynamics of the celestial divination industry that surrounded the last Assyrian monarchs account for no less than the first recorded "scientific revolution". This work closely adheres to the original textual sources, and argues for the evolution on the basis of the needs of the ancient scholars and the internal logic of the divinatory and predictive systems employed. To this end, it offers, for the first time, a Mesopotamian contribution to the philosophy, and not only the history, of science.

The Heavenly Writing

The Heavenly Writing PDF Author: Francesca Rochberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139455855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
In antiquity, the expertise of the Babylonians in matters of the heavens was legendary and the roots of both western astronomy and astrology are traceable in cuneiform tablets going back to the second and first millennia BC. The Heavenly Writing, first publsiehd in 2004, discusses the place of Babylonian celestial divination, horoscopy, and astronomy in Mesopotamian intellectual culture. Focusing chiefly on celestial divination and horoscopes, it traces the emergence of personal astrology from the tradition of celestial divination and the use of astronomical methods in horoscopes. It further takes up the historiographical and philosophical issue of the nature of these Mesopotamian 'celestial sciences' by examining elements traditionally of concern to the philosophy of science, without sacrificing the ancient methods, goals, and interests to a modern image of science. This book will be of particular interest to those concerned with the early history of science.

Mesopotamian Astrology

Mesopotamian Astrology PDF Author: Ulla Susanne Koch
Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press
ISBN: 9788772892870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
This book is intended to serve as a general introduction to Mesopotamian astrology, both its outward phenomena and its inner structure.

Hellenistic Astronomy

Hellenistic Astronomy PDF Author: Alan C. Bowen
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004400567
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 783

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Book Description
In Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, renowned scholars address questions about what the ancient science of the heavens was and the numerous contexts in which it was pursued.

In the Path of the Moon

In the Path of the Moon PDF Author: Francesca Rochberg
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004183892
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
"In the Path of the Moon" offers a collection of essays concerning Babylonian celestial divination. It investigates various aspects of cuneiform celestial omens, horoscopes, and astronomy and their wide-ranging influences on later Hellenistic science and philosophy.

The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture

The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture PDF Author: Karen Radner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019161761X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 838

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Book Description
The cuneiform script, the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia, was witness to one of the world's oldest literate cultures. For over three millennia, it was the vehicle of communication from (at its greatest extent) Iran to the Mediterranean, Anatolia to Egypt. The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture examines the Ancient Middle East through the lens of cuneiform writing. The contributors, a mix of scholars from across the disciplines, explore, define, and to some extent look beyond the boundaries of the written word, using Mesopotamia's clay tablets and stone inscriptions not just as 'texts' but also as material artefacts that offer much additional information about their creators, readers, users and owners.

Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice

Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice PDF Author: DEMETRA. GEORGE
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780473445393
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 622

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Book Description
DEVELOPED UNDER THE SHADOWS of the Egyptian temples, Hellenistic astrology is an ancient form of divination inherited from Mesopotamian wisdom traditions. Distilled in Græco-Roman antiquity, and refined in the fires of philosophy and astronomy, it forms the bedrock of traditional western astrology (while also bearing profound similarities to Jyotish or Vedic astrology). Drawing on a body of Greek texts that have remained largely untranslated for almost two-thousand years, Demetra George brings the contemporary practice of astrology back to its ancient roots. Scholar, translator, and practitioner, her work reveals the potent cosmological veins that bear the lifeblood of traditional astrology. Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice is, in essence, a training manual for the study and practice of Hellenistic astrology. In two volumes, it provides the complete foundations and detailed dynamics of ancient chart-reading techniques. Each volume and each technique is richly illustrated with diagrams, example charts, and practical exercises. Volume 1: Assessing Planetary Condition In ancient cosmology, the planetary divinities symbolised the hierarchy of forces that shape our lives in the sublunary world. Not all planets are created equal in a given nativity, however, and so the first step of the practicing astrologer is to assess the condition of each planet in a chart in order to determine its effectiveness (or lack thereof) in the native's life. To this end, this volume provides a series of rigorous methods for evaluating the condition of each planet in a birth chart through the lenses of classification (sect, gender, benefic/malefic), signs and rulerships (residences, reception, exaltation, trigons, bounds), the solar phase cycle (speed, direction, visibility, phase, phasis), lunar considerations (course, phases, bonding, nodes, bending, eclipses, prenatal lunation), and aspects (configurations, witnessing, testimony, bonification, maltreatment, adherence, overcoming, rays). Finally, it brings all of these factors together in a powerful synthesis that unlocks the layers of a chart with unrivaled precision.

Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia

Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia PDF Author: Hermann Hunger
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004294139
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
Astronomy and astrology, or the astral sciences, played an enormous, if not a key role in the political and religious life of the Ancient Near East, and, later, of the Greek and Roman world. This is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the origins of the astral sciences in the Ancient Near East. Every type of Sumerian or Akkadian text dealing with descriptive or mathematical astronomy, including many individual tablets are thoroughly dealt with. All aspects, such as the history of discovery, reconstruction, and interpretation come to the fore, accompanied by a full bibliography. At that the reader will find descriptions of astronomical contents, an explanation of their scientific meaning and the place a given genre or tablet has in the development of astronomy both within the Mesopotamian culture and outside of it. Because celestial omens are intimately related to astronomy in Mesopotamian science, these are also discussed extensively. The material is arranged both chronologically and thematically, so as to help make Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia a reference work on the subject in its truest sense.

A History of Western Astrology Volume I

A History of Western Astrology Volume I PDF Author: Nicholas Campion
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441199748
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description


A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set

A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set PDF Author: Bruno Jacobs
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119174287
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1747

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Book Description
A COMPANION TO THE ACHAEMENID PERSIAN EMPIRE A comprehensive review of the political, cultural, social, economic and religious history of the Achaemenid Empirem Often called the first world empire, the Achaemenid Empire is rooted in older Near Eastern traditions. A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire offers a perspective in which the history of the empire is embedded in the preceding and subsequent epochs. In this way, the traditions that shaped the Achaemenid Empire become as visible as the powerful impact it had on further historical development. But the work does not only break new ground in this respect, but also in the fact that, in addition to written testimonies of all kinds, it also considers material tradition as an equal factor in historical reconstruction. This comprehensive two-volume set features contributions by internationally-recognized experts that offer balanced coverage of the whole of the empire from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. Comprehensive in scope, the Companion provides readers with a panoramic view of the diversity, richness, and complexity of the Achaemenid Empire, dealing with all the many aspects of history, event history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science and religion, illustrating the multifaceted nature of the first true empire. A unique historical account presented in its multiregional dimensions, this important resource deals with many aspects of history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science and religion it deals with topics that have only recently attracted interest such as court life, leisure activities, gender roles, and more examines a variety of available sources to consider those predecessors who influenced Achaemenid structure, ideology, and self-expression contains the study of Nachleben and the history of perception up to the present day offers a spectrum of opinions in disputed fields of research, such as the interpretation of the imagery of Achaemenid art, or questions of religion includes extensive bibliographies in each chapter for use as starting points for further research devotes special interest to the east of the empire, which is often neglected in comparison to the western territories Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire is an indispensable work for students, instructors, and scholars of Persian and ancient world history, particularly the First Persian Empire.