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: