In Episode 398, Professor Ian Moyer joins the show to talk about the history and practice of astrology in ancient Egypt, and to discuss some of Egypt’s important contributions to the astrological tradition.
Ian is the author of the book Egypt and the Frontiers of Hellenismexamines the ancient history and modern historiography of cultural and intellectual encounters between the ancient Greeks and Egyptians.
At the beginning of the episode, we talk about how Egypt used the 36 decans of fixed stars for calendar and timekeeping purposes, and how they were eventually used for astrological purposes.
Other topics covered in this episode:
- Decades Naos
- Ascendant decan As antecedent to the Ascendant
- Constellations at the temples of Dendera and Esna
- Use of Astrology by Egyptian Priests
- Demotic horoscope
- Astrological glyphs from Egyptian
- Coffin lids with zodiacs
This episode is available in audio and video versions below.
Time signs
- 00:00:00 Login
- 00:09:42 Egyptian language
- 00:18:42 Deans
- 00:35:10 Naosi of Decades
- 01:06:25 Decans as precursors to the Ascendant
- 01:15:10 Egyptian Clock Priests
- 01:40:27 Academic resources for Egyptian astrology
- 01:45:27 What is astrology in Egypt?
- 01:58:35 Cosmic harmony
- 02:03:25 Shai, Egyptian god of fate
- 02:11:45 Mesopotamian astrology transmitted to Egypt
- 02:23:25 Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic Egypt
- 02:32:25 Dendera and Esna zodiac
- 02:56:20 Thema Mundi
- 03:14:33 Coffin lids with zodiac signs
- 03:29:05 Heliodora: Earliest known female astrologer
- 03:33:24 Demotic horoscope
- 04:00:55 Astrological glyphs from Egyptian language
- 04:09:15 Reassessing Egypt’s contribution
- 04:23:50 The Hermetic Tradition and the Origins of Hellenistic Astrology
- 04:55:45 Determinism and magic
- 05:02:05 Egypt’s lasting influence on the astrological tradition
- 05:18:58 Credits and sponsors
Partial bibliography
Anne Sophie von Bomhard. Naosi of the Decades: From Sky Observation to Mythology and Astrology. Oxford Center for Maritime Archaeology, UK, 2008.
Andreas Winkler. “Star Scholars: Egyptian Temple Astrologers.” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History; 8(1–2), 2021: pp. 91–145.
Andreas Winkler. “The First Zodiac Sign and the Daimon: The Emergence of an Astrological Tradition and the Seven Complex Horoscopes.” Study of ancient Egyptian culture51, 2022, pp. 267–323.
Andreas Winkler. “On Demotic-Hieratic Astrology from Athribis.” Journal of the History of AstronomyVol. 53(3), 2022, pp. 328-337.
Marina Escolano-Poveda. “Astrologica Athribitana: Four Demotic-Hieratic Horoscopes from Athribis (reedited by O. Athribis 17-36-5/1741 and ANAsh.Mus.DO633).” Journal of the History of Astronomy 53, no. 1 (2022): 49–87.
Joachim Kuak, “Egypt as an astronomical-astrological center between Mesopotamia, Greece and India” Interaction of ancient astral scienceed. David Brown, Bremen, 2018, pp. 69-123.
Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum. The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origin and Influence. Brill, The Netherlands, 2015.
Otto Neugebauer and Richard Anthony Parker. Egyptian Astronomical Texts. 4 vols., Brown University Press, 1960.
Kim Richolt, “New Light on the Mythical Egyptian King Nexepso”, Journal of Egyptian Archeology 97(1), 2011, pp. 61-72.
Stefan Heylen, “Some Metrical Fragments from Nechepsos and Petosiris”, Astrological Poetry in Antiquity, Paris, 2011, pp. 23-93.
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Transcription
Here is the full transcript of this episode: Episode 398 Transcript
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