In episode 402, Demetra George joins the podcast to discuss the recent discovery of Heliodora, the oldest female astrologer from the Hellenistic tradition, and the early history of women in astrology.
Heliodora was an astrologer who lived in Terenutis, Egypt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC.
Her tombstone was recently discovered by archaeologists, who in a 2021 paper reported that she was the earliest woman in the Greco-Roman tradition to be a practicing astrologer.
During the episode, we’ll talk about what is known about Heliodora, where and when she lived, and discuss other historical women who may be associated with astrology and astronomy.
To learn more about Demetra, check out her website:
This episode is available in audio and video versions below.
Bibliography
Roger S. Bagnall, Cathy L. Callaway, and Alexander Jones, “The Burial Stele of Heliodorus the Astrologer” Muse: Annual of the University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archaeology53/54, 2019-2020 (2021 edition), pp. 28–45. (Link to PDF)
Nadia Anderson, Drawing the Moon and Aglaonicus of Thessaly (Link to PDF)
Previous episodes
Previous episodes of the Astrology Podcast mentioned in this episode:
Time signs
- 00:00:00 Login
- 00:02:45 Why there were few ancient female astrologers
- 00:04:00 Horoscope for ancient women
- 00:09:25 Hypatia in the 5th century and Queen Buran in the 9th century
- 00:10:48 Heliodora article
- 00:14:05 Heliodora as a “mathematician” or mathematician
- 00:21:28 Urania, Greek goddess of astrology
- 00:23:13 Enheduanna, poet and priestess
- 00:25:44 Egyptian goddess Seshat, scribe and astronomer
- 00:27:45 Aglaonics, predictor of seizures
- 00:34:22 Were women practicing astrology before Hellenistic astrology?
- 00:39:20 Delphine’s Oracle and Prophecy
- 00:44:43 Tomb of Heliodora
- 00:46:35 Time period and location of Heliodora
- 00:58:04 Mixing Egyptian and Greek cultures with Helidora
- 01:01:37 Image and inscription on tombstone
- 01:03:54 Heliodora did not marry to practice astrology
- 01:11:40 How Helidora learned astrology
- 01:18:04 Family of Astrologers: Balbilla, Thrasillus, Commagene
- 01:31:00 Julia Balbilla, poet
- 01:40:33 Female astronomers in Sumerian-Babylonian history
- 01:42:04 Ellen Black’s death and her role in starting the Hindsight project
- 01:46:28 The rise of female astrologers in the 20th century
- 01:51:04 New discoveries are being made by prominent Islamic and Indian female astrologers
- 01:54:40 Lost text of Ptolemy found
- 01:55:55 Background of Demeter
- 01:59:29 Demetra’s course on manual charting
- 02:07:14 Asteroid retreat and lectures
- 02:09:27 Sponsors and sponsors
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