This chapter presents editions and translations of three cuneiform tablets from Babylon which contain statements of planetary periods. One of these texts is an astronomical procedure text which presents instructions for how to predict future planetary phenomena from earlier observations. The other two tablets, however, are primarily astrological tablets: one tablet contains sections of material dealing with predicting the number and general characteristics of children to be born, material relating to astral medicine, and associations between the signs of the zodiac and various different kinds of death of an individual, along with the statements of planetary periods; the other tablet contains various astrological associations along with the statements of planetary periods. Comparing these and other previously published tablets which contain planetary periods I show that there is a difference in the way that the periods are presented in astronomical and astrological texts and discuss the importance of considering the periods given in primarily astrological texts in the context of astrology rather than predictive astronomy.

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Three Texts Concerning Planetary Periods from Babylon

  • John Steele

摘要

This chapter presents editions and translations of three cuneiform tablets from Babylon which contain statements of planetary periods. One of these texts is an astronomical procedure text which presents instructions for how to predict future planetary phenomena from earlier observations. The other two tablets, however, are primarily astrological tablets: one tablet contains sections of material dealing with predicting the number and general characteristics of children to be born, material relating to astral medicine, and associations between the signs of the zodiac and various different kinds of death of an individual, along with the statements of planetary periods; the other tablet contains various astrological associations along with the statements of planetary periods. Comparing these and other previously published tablets which contain planetary periods I show that there is a difference in the way that the periods are presented in astronomical and astrological texts and discuss the importance of considering the periods given in primarily astrological texts in the context of astrology rather than predictive astronomy.