The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture

by Francesca Rochberg

• ISBN13: 9780521830102
• ISBN10: 0521830109
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780511227547
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

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 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.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xvii
Abbreviations	xix
Chronological References and Akkadian and Astronomical Terminology	xxiii
Prologue	1	(13)
1 The Historiography of Mesopotamian Science	14	(30)
1.1 The Reception of Babylonian Astronomy into the History of Science	15	(14)
1.2 Philosophical Influences	29	(15)
2 Celestial Divination in Context	44	(54)
2.1 An Introduction to Mesopotamian Scholarly Divination	44	(22)
2.2 A Descriptive Survey of the "Unprovoked" Omen Texts	66	(32)
3 Personal Celestial Divination: The Babylonian Horoscopes	98	(23)
4 Sources for Horoscopes in Astronomical Texts	121	(43)
4.1 Astronomical Elements of the Horoscopes	123	(22)
4.2 Astronomical Sources for Horoscopes	145	(19)
5 Sources for Horoscopes in the Early Astrological Tradition	164	(45)
5.1 The Ideological Background	164	(1)
5.2 Conceptualization of the Phenomena as Signs	165	(16)
5.3 The Authoritative Character of the Celestial Signs	181	(4)
5.4 Divine-Human Relations	185	(17)
5.5 Personal Celestial Divination	202	(7)
6 The Scribes and Scholars of Mesopotamian Celestial Science	209	(28)
6.1 The Scribes, Scholarship, and Knowledge	210	(9)
6.2 The Scribes of Enuma Anu Enlil	219	(18)
7 The Classification of Mesopotamian Celestial Inquiry as Science	237	(50)
7.1 The Evidence of Transmission	237	(7)
7.2 A Consideration of Criteria	244	(2)
7.3 The Foundations of Mesopotamian Scientific Knowledge: The Epistemological Criterion	246	(19)
7.4 The Aim of Prediction: The Pragmatic Criterion	265	(22)
Epilogue	287	(14)
Bibliography	301	(22)
Name Index	323	(3)
Subject Index	326