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In the Path of the Moon Brill’sStudies Series in Ancientin Jewish Magic Studies and Divination General Editor David S. Katz (Tel Aviv) Editors tzvi abusch – ann guinan – nils heeßel francesca rochberg – f. a. m. wiggermann VOLUME 40 VOLUME 6 The Babylonian image of the “man in the moon,” conceived as a hero vanquishing a lion, from a Seleucid Uruk tablet in the Vorderasiatsches Museum, Berlin (VAT 7851). In the Path of the Moon Babylonian Celestial Divination and Its Legacy By Francesca Rochberg LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rochberg, Francesca, 1952– In the path of the Moon : Babylonian celestial divination and its legacy / by Francesca Rochberg. p. cm. — (Studies in ancient magic and divination) ISBN 978-90-04-18389-6 (hard cover : alk. paper) 1. Astrology, Assyro-Babylonian. 2. Astronomy, Assyro-Babylonian 3. Omens—Iraq—Babylonia. 4. Horoscopes— Iraq—Babylonia. 5. Akkadian language—Texts. 6. Cuneiform inscriptions, Akkadian. 7. Philosophy, Ancient. 8. Science—Greece—History. 9. Science—Rome—History. I. Title. II. Series. BF1714.A86R64 2010 133.5’9235—dc22 2010002805 ISSN 1566-7952 ISBN 978 90 04 18389 6 © Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For Mims and Mitzi CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................. ix List of Tables .............................................................................. xi Abbreviations .............................................................................. xiii Acknowledgments ....................................................................... xvii Preface ......................................................................................... xxi Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Chapter One Fate and Divination in Mesopotamia .............. 19 Chapter Two New Evidence for the History of Astrology .... 31 Chapter Three Canonicity in Cuneiform Texts ..................... 65 Chapter Four The Assumed 29th Aû Tablet of Enūma Anu Enlil ......................................................................................... 85 Chapter Five TCL 6 13: Mixed Traditions in Late Babylonian Astrology ................................................................................. 113 Chapter Six Benefi c and Malefi c Planets in Babylonian Astrology ................................................................................. 135 Chapter Seven Elements of the Babylonian Contribution to Hellenistic Astrology ............................................................... 143 Chapter Eight Babylonian Seasonal Hours ............................ 167 Chapter Nine Babylonian Horoscopy: The Texts and Their Relations ................................................................................. 189 Chapter Ten Continuity and Change in Omen Literature ... 211 viii contents Chapter Eleven The Babylonian Origins of the Mandaean Book of the Zodiac ................................................................. 223 Chapter Twelve Scribes and Scholars: The upšar Enūma Anu Enlil ......................................................................................... 237 Chapter Thirteen Lunar Data in Babylonian Horoscopes .... 257 Chapter Fourteen A Babylonian Rising Times Scheme in Non-Tabular Astronomical Texts .......................................... 271 Chapter Fifteen Old Babylonian Celestial Divination ........... 303 Chapter Sixteen The Heavens and the Gods in Ancient Mesopotamia: The View from a Polytheistic Cosmology ..... 317 Chapter Seventeen A Short History of the Waters above the Firmament ............................................................................... 339 Chapter Eighteen Periodicities and Period Relations in Babylonian Celestial Sciences ................................................ 355 Chapter Nineteen Conditionals, Inference, and Possibility in Ancient Mesopotamian Science ............................................. 373 Chapter Twenty “If P, then Q”: Form and Reasoning in Babylonian Divination ............................................................ 399 Chapter Twenty-One Divine Causality and Babylonian Divination ............................................................................... 411 Bibliography ................................................................................ 425 Index ........................................................................................... 439 LIST OF FIGURES Chapter Two New Evidence for the History of Astrology Figure 1. Trine aspect and four triplicities .............................. 41 Figure 2. BM 36746 obv. (Photo) ............................................ 50 Figure 3. BM 36746 obv. ......................................................... 50 Figure 4. BM 36746 rev. (Photo) ............................................. 52 Figure 5. BM 36746 rev. .......................................................... 52 Chapter Four The Assumed 29th Aû Tablet Enūma Anu Enlil Figure 1. Photo K.3563+ obv. ................................................ 98 Figure 2. Photo K.3563+ rev. ................................................. 100 Chapter Five TCL 6 13: Mixed Traditions Figure 1. Brightness of Stars/Planets ..................................... 129 Figure 2. Months and planets in a “trine” arrangement ........ 131 Chapter Seven Elements of the Babylonian Contribution to Hellenistic Astrology Figure 1. Exaltations (+) and depressions (–) .......................... 154 Figure 2. Dodekatemoria ........................................................ 156 Figure 3. Trine aspect ............................................................ 162 Figure 4. Quartile aspect ........................................................ 162 Figure 5. Sextile aspect ........................................................... 163 Figure 6. Opposition .............................................................. 163 Chapter Eleven The Babylonian Origins of the Mandaean Book of the Zodiac Figure 1. Correspondence between the four triplicities and the four elements .................................................................. 230 Chapter Fourteen A Babylonian Rising Times Scheme in Non-Tabular Astronomical Texts Figure 1. Zodiacal signs divided into twelfths called zittu (A.LA) “portion” ............................................................... 273 Figure 2. Rising time scheme according to micro-zodiac texts ...................................................................................... 300 x list of figures Chapter Eighteen Periodicities and Period Relations in Babyonian Celestial Sciences Figure 1. Risings times of the zodiac ...................................... 365 LIST OF TABLES Chapter Two New Evidence for the History of Astrology Table 1. Names of Zodiacal Constellations ............................ 36 Table 2. Schematic Table for BM 36746 ................................ 40 Table 3. Lords of the Triplicities ............................................. 44 Table 4. Terms (ὅρια) .............................................................. 46 Table 5. Triplicities and Winds ............................................... 48 Chapter Five TCL 6 13: Mixed Traditions Table 1. Scheme for Brightness/Dimness and DUR .............. 116 Table 2. Planetary Positions with Positive/Negative Predictions ............................................................................ 130 Table 3. (based on Figure 2) .................................................... 132 Chapter Seven Elements of the Babylonian Contribution to Hellenistic Astrology Table 1. Exaltations of the Planets ......................................... 155 Table 2. BRM 4 19:1–4 Schemata .......................................... 158 Chapter Eight Babylonian Seasonal Hours Table 1. Lunar Data for BM 33018 ........................................ 178 Table 2. Planetary Data for BM 33018 ................................... 181 Table 3. Planetary Data for BM 38104 ................................... 184 Chapter Nine Babylonian Horoscopy: The Texts and Their Relations Table 1. Planetary Data from Babylonian Horoscopes .......... 197 Table 2. Errors in Planetary Longitudes Given in Babylonian Horoscopes ........................................................................... 198 Table 3. Lunar Eclipses Predicted in the Horoscopes ............. 203 Table 4. Solstice/Equinox Dates in Relation to Birthdates ... 204 Table 5. Data Comparison in Horoscopes and Almanacs ...... 206 Chapter Fourteen A Babylonian Rising Times Scheme in Non-Tabular Astronomical Texts Table 1. Relation between mešu Stars of Micro-Zodiac Texts and Astrolabe ....................................................................... 279 xii list of tables Table 2. Ziqpu Stars
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