Imagery and Narrative in an Ancient Horoscope
P.Lond. 130 (Greek Horoscopes No. 81)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v7i4.397Keywords:
horoscopes, ancient astrology, narrative, poetic astronomy, narratologyAbstract
In a Greek papyrus horoscope from the first century CE, highly elaborate descriptions of planetary journeyings have replaced the usual matter-of-fact listing of celestial longitudes. An analysis of the horoscope’s language and narrative form demonstrates how ancient astrologers understood the stars and planets as agents that communicate by their appearances, configurations, and motions.
References
Bouché-Leclercq, A. 1963 [1899]. L’astrologie Grecque (Brussels: Culture et Civilisation).
Jones, Alexander (ed.). 1999. Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), vols. 1 and 2 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society).
Neugebauer, O., and H.B. van Hoesen. 1987. Greek Horoscopes (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, 48; Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society).
Jones, Alexander (ed.). 1999. Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), vols. 1 and 2 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society).
Neugebauer, O., and H.B. van Hoesen. 1987. Greek Horoscopes (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, 48; Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society).
Published
2014-03-13
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Beck, R. (2014). Imagery and Narrative in an Ancient Horoscope: P.Lond. 130 (Greek Horoscopes No. 81). Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 7(4), 397-406. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v7i4.397
