In episode 490 professor M. Willis Monroe joins the podcast to discuss the history of astrology in ancient Mesopotamia.
Willis is a historian of the ancient Near East and scholar of Cuneiform Studies with a focus on the science and scholarship of first millennium Mesopotamia, and he did his doctoral thesis on the use of zodiacal subdivisions in cuneiform sources.
During the course of the episode we give an overview of the origins of western astrology in ancient Mesopotamia, starting with the earliest surviving sources around 2000 BCE, and then working our way forward until cuneiform writing died out around the 1st century CE.
We end up discussing the earliest evidence for astrology in eclipse omens from the 2nd millennium BCE, the high point of state supported astrology under the Neo-Assyrian kings in the 7th century BCE, and eventually the development of the zodiac and natal astrology in the 5th century BCE.
This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
Timestamps
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:22 - Ancient Languages: Akkadian, Sumerian & Cuneiform
00:02:49 - The Origin of Writing in Mesopotamia
00:07:28 - How Urbanization Led to Specialized Roles like Diviners
00:10:02 - The Role of Polytheism and Gods of Specific Cities
00:12:46 - The Concept of a God's "House" (Temple)
00:17:48 - The Emergence of Divination in Mesopotamian Culture
00:20:01 - Earliest Evidence: Gudea's Dream & Divination (c. 2100 BCE)
00:22:38 - Three Forms of Divination: Astrology, Dreams, and Entrails
00:28:43 - The Omen Series Format: "If P, then Q"
00:32:08 - Early Significance of Eclipses & Rituals to Avert Omens
00:35:25 - How Astrology Motivated the Development of Astronomy
00:40:46 - The Enuma Anu Enlil: The Canonical Collection of Omens
00:42:42 - No Distinction Between Astronomy and Astrology
00:50:52 - High Point of State-Sponsored Astrology (7th Century BCE)
00:54:38 - Astrologers Reporting to the King & Scholarly Disagreements
01:12:37 - The Late Period: Development of Natal Astrology (Birth Charts)
01:20:23 - The Astronomical Diaries: Daily Records of Sky & Earth
01:28:02 - Goal-Year Texts & Long-Term Planetary Cycles
01:32:04 - The Standardization of the 12-Sign Zodiac
01:40:51 - Early Qualities of the Signs (Body Parts, Gender)
01:46:40 - The Exaltations (Hypsomata) Originated in Mesopotamia
01:50:31 - The First Images of the Zodiac Signs on Clay Tablets
02:02:49 - The Hellenistic Period & Cross-Pollination of Astrology
02:08:32 - The End of the Cuneiform Tradition & Loss of Knowledge
02:20:01 - The Babylonian Creation Myth (Enuma Elish)
02:30:20 - Adapa: The Mythical Sage Who Revealed Astrology
02:37:05 - Lineage vs. Individual Authorship
02:42:31 - Regional Differences in Astrological Practice (Babylon vs. Uruk)
02:57:33 - Willis's Current Research Projects
03:06:23 - Conclusion
Watch the Video Version of This Episode
Watch the video version of this episode on Mesopotamian astrology on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkcM6wOJBZY
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Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 490 transcript
Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode
Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3: