Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AND POLITICS
FR ED E R IC K H. CRAM ER
Professor of History
M ount Holyoke College
THE
A M E R IC A N ' P H I L O S O P H I C A L
IN D E P E N D E N C E SQ U A R E
P H IL A D E L P H IA
S O C IE T Y
TO
THOSE WHO ARE NO MORE
BUT
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Is perhaps the historians travail more profitable? They lost more time
and oil. The thousandth page, indeed, tops the preceding ones, and the
expensive paper pile is still growing. The enormous amount of subject
matter and the rules of the profession insist on that What, however,
have they to show for it. what fruits of the wide world? Who would pay
a historian even the trifle paid to a mere reader reciting the daily
newspaper!
Juvenal, Satires, 7, vv. 98-104.
CON TENTS
PAGE
P art I. T he R ise
I.
...............................
P r e f a c e ...............................................................................................................................................
1.
2.
3.
4.
II.
l
III.
of
A strology
in th e
L atin W o
rld
3
4
9
19
B . C . ) .............................................................
44
44
50
58
69
81
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
IV.
T r ium ph
and
I n t r o d u c t i o n ............................................................................................................................
81
The age of transition: 44 b . c . - a . d . 2 .................................................................................
82
The decay of Augustan s c e p t i c i s m ................................................................................
90
Thrasyllus and A u g u s t u s ...................................................................................................
92
Thrasyllus and Tiberius ( a . d . 1 4 - 2 2 ) ................................................................................
99
Thrasyllus at the zenith of his power ( a . d . 2 3 - 3 6 ) ........................................................
104
7. Ennia T h r a s y l l a ......................................................................................................................108
8. Balbillus and C l a u d i u s ......................................................................................................... 112
9. Balbillus and N e r o ............................................................................................................... 115
10. Balbillus and his house under the Flavian r u l e r s .............................................................. 131
11. C o n c l u s i o n ............................................................................................................................ 144
146
PAGE
P
art
II.
str o lo g y
in
om an
aw
u n t il
th e
nd
of
th e
r in c ip a t e
P r e f a c e ................................................................................................................................................ 232
PART I.
V.
VI.
Empire wide legal restrictions of astrology and other divination during the principate
248
n c l u s io n
I ndex
................................................................................................................................................281
......................................................................................................................................................284
PR E FA C E 1
It is not often realized to what extent symbolism and
languages have preserved concepts and terms of GraecoRoman astrology. Astronomers speak of conjunction
and opposition of planets; one freely discusses the
aspects of a given problem. People thank their
lucky stars for escaping from a danger. An unsuc
cessful venture is ill starred. The stars " of the
realm of arts, or that of sports are those who rose to
prominence in their respective field of endeavor. The
flag of many a nation reflects astrological symbolism.
The rising sun of Japan, the Crescent and Star of
the Ottoman empire, as well as our own flag, in which
each state of the Union is symbolized by a bright star,
all of which in turn are set into a blue field, encompass
ing them as heaven does the stars these are but a few
instances chosen almost at random from the numerous
national flags l>earing witness to the continued popu
larity of astral symbolism. The possibility of the eleva
tion of a human soul and its transformation into an
eternally shining star was a belief which left a profound
impact on artistic style. Roman rulers beginning with
Julius Caesar were ceremoniously catasterized. i. e.
the soul of the departed officially reported as having
ascended skywards. H is effigy thus became the first of
any Roman to bear a star-shaped halo, a symbol trans
formed into the haloes of the images of countless saints.
To the development and to the theories of ancient
astrology the Romans contributed next to nothing, but
were it not for the long and enthusiastic i)elief of Roman
devotees, the Renaissance would hardly have l>een calla
ble of using in its art so many astrological elements. The
names of the days of the western week are those of the
Latin star-gods. We still speak of jovial," saturnine.
or mercurial temperaments. Moreover the bulk of
our extant Greek astrological literature stems from the
first five centuries of our era, when Roman emperors
controlled the Mediterranean world. W ithout the stead
fast interest of the Roman upper class, especially during
the first three centuries, these Greek writers of the
Roman empire would hardly have found enough patrons
to encourage and propagate such literary efforts. And
even when originality and zest began to fade from
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
F. H . C.
October 1, 1953
I. T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
1.
T H E M E A N IN G O F S C IE N T IF IC A STROLOG Y
was completed : Once again astronomy came to denote 14 in Greek literature and learning began to stir in Rome.
as it still does man's purely scientific endeavors to As the century drew to its close, not only Greek plays,
find a rational explanation for the nature and motions epics, and lyrical poetry came to be appreciated by a
of the stars. Xot until the age of Newton, however, small but growing number of aristocratic Roman
did this readopted term definitely exclude irrational humanists, but also scholarly works, especially in the
offshoots like scientific astrology."
field of historiography, found enthusiastic Roman
In Hellenistic and Roman times astrology in the readers. Simultaneously, however, a wave of eastern
minds of scholars and laymen alike tended to l)e accepted cults inundated Italy, some of them star cults. Their
bv a growing number of people as the scientific, the chief appeal at first was with the lower Roman strata.
rational method of divination. The arguments in its There too astrologers found their first devoted clientele.
favor looked impressive, indeed. The vital effect of the Not until the last century of the republic did they suc
sun upon terrestrial life was obvious and was constantly ceed in winning over Rome's upper class. In the end,
cited as incontrovertible evidence of astral influence however, not scientific astrology but a star cult, sunacross space. Painstaking and prolonged observations worship. became (in the third century a .d .) the domi
had, astrologers asserted, obtained corresponding proof nant official creed, paving the road for the ultimate
of the influence of lesser stars upon all life on earth. triumph of Judaeo-Christian monotheism. So strong
In essence the principles on which these theories rested was the belief in the Invincible Sun (Sol Invictus) 17
were scientifically valid.15 Manilius in his magnificent that for example Constantine I (d. 337), himself at first
Astronomica (early first century a . d . j stressed this a devotee of the sun cult, found it. indeed perfectly com
aspect of astrology time and again. His famous
patible with his pro-Christian sympathies to authorize
his own portrayal as Helios. And in 354 the ascendant
Fata regunt orbem, certa stant omnia lege! la
Christian church in the reign of his pious but unsavory
(Fate rules the universe,on immutable law everything son. Constantius II. found it prudent to change the cele
rests.)
bration of the birth of Jesus from the traditional date
formulated the basic axioms of all science. Fatalistic (January 6) to December 25, in order to combat the
astrology thus two thousand years ago preached the pagan Sun gods popularity his birthday being
mechanistic creed that cause-and-effect relations alone December 25.
The story of star worship in the Roman empire has
determined organic, as well as anorganic processes com
pletely, and beyond that sphere also all human thought been competently dealt with by a number of modern
and action. In spite of such Simon-pure rationalism scholars, especially F. Cumont.18 but the all-pervading
Hellenistic astrology from the very beginning was per influence of scientific astrology during the era of
meated with religious elements too. Greek astrologers the late Roman republic, and particularly under the
for example were responsible for the eventual identifi principate, does not yet seem to have attracted the de
cation of all planets with specific deities, while in pre- tailed attention it deserves. It therefore became the
Heilenistic Mesopotamia only some, but by no means object of this study. Inevitably related activities, in
all, planets had been associated with divinities. The volving the use of magic and witchcraft, will have to be
Greeks labeled planets with a variety of names, among touched upon on occasion, but the history of secular,
which lesser divinities like Heracles were also repre '* rational." i. e. scientific, astrology in the Roman
sented. Eventually, however, a standardized system empire will form our main topic of discussion.
evolved in which the planets were uniformly referred
2. T H E O RIGIN'S O F H O R O SC O PA L A STR O LO G Y
to as, for example, the star of Kronos," " the star of
Ancient and modern literature on this topic has
Aphrodite,-' the star of Zeus. and so forth. U lti
mately one simply identified each planet with its par wavered between accepting Chaldaean. i. e. Mesopo
ticular divinity, for example, Hermes. Aphrodite. Ares. tamian. or Egyptian priority claims on behalf of the
Zeus, and Kronos. The Latin terminology of this invention of astrology. If. however, the term is used
nomenclature. Mercury, Venus. Mars, Jupiter, and in the strictest sense of the word. i. e. applying to horoSaturn, became that of western astronomy until the scopal techniques, thus excluding henierology, omens,
astro-magic, etc., the evidence now available is in favor
present day.
The third century b. c . was the one in which an almost of Mesopotamian priority in this field. But even for
explosive development of Hellenistic astrology took place.
Compare H. Usener, Sol invictus, Rheinisches Museum, 60.
It was the very time at which the first serious interest
1905 : 465-491; F. Cumont. La celebration du Natalis Invicti en
14 Fur instance in the writings of the Alexandrian Pappus
( fourth century a . d . ) .
15 On the interrelationship between science and religion, see
F. Cumont. Les rcli<jious orientates dans le paganisnte romain,
4th ed .: 151 If., Paris. Librairie orientaliste. Paul Geuthner, 1929.
* 4 :v . 14, ed. Tli. Breiter. Leipzig, Th. Weicher, 1907.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W ORLD
Mesopotamia the extravagant claims of ancient and
modern sources about the antiquity of Mesopotamian
scientific astrology, claims already occasionally suspected
in ancient times, have had to be modified considerably.
Prezodiacal astrology, i. e. astrology practiced prior to
the introduction of the zodiacal system of constellations,
cannot be regarded as " horoscopal astrology," but only
as a form of star omen technique, whose predictions
had the primitive character illustrated in the following
sample of Mesopotamian hemerologv:
W hen on the first of the m onth of N isan the risin g sun
appears red like a torch, w hite clouds rise from it. and the
w ind blows from the east, then th ere will he a solar eclipse
on the 28th o r 29th day of the month, the kin g will die that
very month, and his son will ascend the th ro n e.19
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
I- ti;. 1. AB 2S1: Horoscope of April 29, 410 b.c.: BM 33667 ( Rm. IV 224) : Horoscope of December IS. 258 b .c.; BM 35516
y. I l l 22) : Horoscope of March 1, 142 B. c .: BM .>4567 ( Sp. 11 39) : Horoscopes ( ?) of three persons Juiy 3. 114 b. c January
116, b.c.. December 27, 154 B . C . ) . From A. Sachs, Babylonian Horoscopes, Jour, of Cuneiform Studies 6, 2 (1952) : 50-57.
Fir.. 2. M LC: Horoscope of April 4, 263 b .c.: MLC 2190: Horoscope of June 3 (m orning), 235 B.C.; BM 33741 (Rm. IV
299) : Horoscope of July 3. 230 b. c. The tablets shown in figs. 12 and 13 were computed, translated, and commented upon by A. J.
Sachs of Brown University. These illustrations and texts were published in his Babylonian Horoscopes, Jour, of Cuneiform
Studies 6, 2 (.1952) : 50-75.
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
circles than among political orators and social scientists
of antiquity.
Even without personal contact with eastern scholars,
however, the Platonic circle would have had ample
opportunity of familiarizing itself with oriental develop
ments in the realms of astronomy, astrology, and cos
mology. Fanatical philhellenes most recently have of
course denied any serious influence of this kind upon
the Academic group or other contemporary Greek
scholars. They have stressed the Greek contempt ot
barbarian wisdom, characteristic for the declining
era of Greek intellectual development. They are firm
in their ridiculing the tradition ascribing the infiltration
of oriental learning into the Greek world of the fourth
century (and before) through extended travel of Greek
scholars in the near east.45 W hether or not, for ex
ample. Eudoxus of Cnidus (ca. 408-355 B . C . ) , the
greatest mathematician of his time and author of an astrometeorological handbook entitled Phaenomena, owed
his scientific erudition to travel or other contacts with
the O rient49 is immaterial in view of the fact that this
influential member of the Academy (which he joined
after 370 b . c . ) was definitely aware of Mesopotamian
hemerology, probably also of omen-astrology, and per
haps already of fatalistic astrology'. Said Cicero (from
Greek sources) :
Let us now arrive at the performances of the Chaldaeans.
On them Eudoxus, a student of Plato, who according to
the judgment of the most learned men was by far the most
eminent scholar in the field of astrologia. has left his opinion
in writing: One must least of all believe the Chaldaeans
with regard to their detailed prediction of a person's life
on the basis of the day of his birth. 47
Cicero, in using this passage as an introduction to his
scathing attack on astrology as a technique of divina
tion, probably overlooked the fact that in the days of
Eudoxus the word Chaldaean did notas in Cicero's
dayconnote astrologer only, but also the priestly class
of Babylon, or even the population of the area in gen
eral. From the very text itself it is clear that, while
paying due respect to other achievements of the Chal
daeans, Eudoxus took exception only to their predic
tions based on the day of birth. Such predictions may
therefore have been merely the age-old omen astro
logical ones of hemerology. W hether or not Eudoxus
meant to refer to the then new development of horo
scopal astrology cannot be decided on the basis of this
isolated passage. The almost universal assertion there
fore that Eudoxus knew and opposed astrology as such
could safely apply only when the broadest possible
definition of astrology is used. As evidence for a spe
cific knowledge of horoscopal astrology on the part of
See above, ch. i, n. 34.
Compare Aristotle, de caelo 2, 12 (f. 292 A, 7; Strabo, 17.
1, 29 ( f. 806) ; Bidez, Eos . . ., ch. iv; Festugiere, op. cit., 17:
44; Koster, op. cit. : 25 ff.
* Cicero, de divinatione, 2, 87.
T H E R IS E OF H E L L E N IS T IC ASTROLOGY
10
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W ORLD
11
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
VI
Sun.
P A R T S C IE N C E
AND
Lao.
THE
A R T S . A
U r a so p o U * (X m d o n sa ).
*3 3 -
A M I O c k (S * I n c is u d
, a 7.
P ta r ia ).
A le x a n d r ia (E g y p t).
C onstellation.
S ag ittariu s,
A a * t r U < P * p h U * o n ia ) .
,3 3 .
P I. u .
stro n o m y .
Aquarius* 9ifn o f
t o .* 6,
. a , to U i.
, 3o
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
sig n o f
A le x a n d r ia (E g y p t!
E u c a r p e l a ( P h r ? * ,.).
Coins decorated with the sun and various constellations. From L. Anson, Numismata Grncca, pt. 6, pi. ii.
13
14
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
actually from the pen of Critodemus, would be the
earliest Greek horoscopes extant. They have, however,
been computed by O. Neugebauer and stem from the
years a . d . 87-115!98
Two of Critodemus astrological treatises are known
by name and partly by content. One, the Horasis
(V ision), was composed in the popular form of this
type of hellenistic literature. Like most hermetic writ
ings the Horasis purported to reveal a divine visionary
message.99 Since its synopsis has been found.100 it has
become clear that, among others, Vettius Valens (ca.
a .d . 150) and the astrologer, Rhetorius (who wrote
ca. a .d . 500), both knew that treatise and borrowed
heavily from it.101 The other known work of Crito
demus was entitled Pinax. It was mentioned as late
as the fourth century a. d. by the astrologer, Hephaestion of Thebes.102
Another important figure that might well belong to
the same generation of Hellenistic pioneers of astrology
was Apollonius of Mvndus (fl. 225 b . c.? ).103 His views
on comets were said to be derived from oriental con
cepts and in any case exercised an important influence
upon Greek and Roman tradition.104 The time to which
he belonged is uncertain. An earlier suggestion that he
was a contemporary of Seneca and thus lived in the age
of Nero ( a . d. 54-68)105 has been seriously questioned
in the light of recently found evidence which tends to
support the belief that Apollonius of Mvndus flourished
in the third century b . c., not long after Berossus.106
Similarly uncertain is the date of another hellenistic
astrologer. Epigenes of Byzantium. He also claimed
* The horoscopes, ascribed to Critodemus in another manu
script of Vettius Valens work (Cat., 5 (2 ): 120f.), are also
found in Krolls edition of the Antliologiae. The ascription may
be of long standing. F o r an extant synkephalaiosis of a work of
Critodemus lists a chapter on horoscopes which presumably
would be the source of Vettius Valens Critodemian horoscopes;
Cat. 8 (3) : 102. Unfortunately, however, the horoscopes in the
Anthologiac, supposedly taken from Critodemus' work, have
shown themselveson computation by O. Neugebauerto refer
to constellations which occurred only about three hundred years
atfer the time of Critodemus.
** Vettius Valens, Anthologiac 3, 12: 150. ed. Kroll. and 9. p r .:
329, 18, ed. Kroll. On the mystic tendencies of the work, com
pare F. Cumont, Le mysticisme astral dans lantiquite, Bullet.
Ac. Bclg., 1909 : 256-286.
100 Printed from cod. Paris, gr. 2425 in Cat.. 8 (3) : 102.
101 Vettius Valens, 4, 17: 189-200, ed. K ro ll; for Rhetorius see
Cat. 8 ( 1 ) : 257 ff.; 8 (4) : 162, n. 1; 199 and a 1; 270 (.index).
103 Hephaestion, 2, 10; see Cat.. 8, 2: 64, n. ad lineam 24. On
various aspects of Critodemus theories, see F. Boll. R E 7. 1912,
s. v. hebdomas, 1912: 11. 1922: c. 1928, no. 4; Zur babylonischen
Planetenforschung, Zcitschrift fuer Assyriologtc, 25. 1911: 372;
28, 1913 : 340 f.
1,1 O. Neugebauer, The exact scicnccs: 183. suggests about
200 B. c.
144 Seneca, quaestiones naturales 7, 17. 1; also 4, 1; Cat.. 1: 80,
8; 113, n. 1; compare F. Cumont, R E , 2, 1896: c. I ll , no. 114;
W. Gundel. R E , 11, 1922: c. 1143-1193.
F. Boll, Sphaera: 368, Leipzig, Teubner, 1903.
1M W . Kroll, R E , suppl. 5. 1931: c. 115.
15
16
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
n. 1.
" F o r a specimen see R. Eisler, op. c it.: 128 f.
120 W . Gundel. D ekane: 27. The date suggested on page 92
in a stemma is conjectural and apparently much too early.
1=1 Pap. Oxyrh., ed. Grenfell and H unt, 3, 1912: 126 ff.; see
also the partial ed. and tr. by F. Boll in A. Laudien. Griechische
Papyri aus Oxyrhynchus, 1912: 44; Sudhoff, Iatromathematisches
auf Papyrusblaettern, Archiv fuer die Geschichte der Naturziissenschaftcn 11, 1909 : 471 ff.: a German tr. in W . Gundel,
D ekane: 413 f .; compare his Individualschiksal, Menschentypen
und Berufe in der antiken Astrologie, Jahrbuch der Charakterolot/ie. ed. E. Utitz. 4, 1927: 135-193. esp. 176 ff.
123 The lack of many of the later hermetic trimmings in the
Salmeschoiniaka was already criticized by Jamblichus in the
fourth century of our era; de mysteriis Aegypt., 8, 4, ed.
H o p tn er: 342.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O RLD
T h e L ord of Flam e. H is im age is an u p rig h t statu e of
a m an w ith the face of a . . . tow ards the back, how ever, th a t
of a piglet having a snout in fro n t of its lace. H a v in g
sw ords in his hands, four, and a knife. H is tongue and
the face of fire. H e indicates th a t this period makes m any
find th e ir livelihood as advocates, others as w izards, m am
as singers of gods and kings, and m any as tra n slato rs of
languages and m any in- . . . ed and from place to place
m ig ratin g and men ea rn in g much w ithout labor n o r w orry
how it was earned . . . a re eaten up. M any, how ever, also
consum e the substance of o thers. H e makes m any passive
hom osexuals and m any cohabiting w ith their aunts and
stepm others so as to debauch them. . . .
17
18
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
Salmeschniaka or a manual like that of NechepsoPetosiris. Nevertheless, there also developed a dif
ferent kind of astrological literature, trying to base its
systems on astronomical and mathematical foundations.
Men like Hipparchus (second century b . c . ) or Ptolemy
( second century a . d . ) represented the best prototypes
of this group. But they lived long after the age of
Hellenistic pioneers of astrology.150
4.
S O M E T E N E T S A ND T E C H N IQ U E S OF
S C IE N T IF IC A STROLOG Y
19
20
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
F ig . 5.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W ORLD
]>
$
2t
c?
?
5
nr
Q
7
X
nl 3
Y 21
7 15
O 28
ny 2 7 0
7 28
X 27
np 1 5 0
X 15
(3)
Each 10-degree sector was in turn subdivided
into smaller sectors, ruled bv subdccani. A system
of minute subdivisions covering only fractions of one
degree was called myriogenesis.0
MC
TA B LE 1
A
S a m p i.e
of
N c m e ro lo g ic a l
Ia tr o m a th e m a tic s *
(ascribed to Thrasyllus)6
A tried method of calculation concerning patients
and other problems.
Put down the day, when the patient went to bed ill. or when
the child was born, or the fugitive escaped, or someone departed,
in short of anything about which you want certainty. Count then
from May 18 until that particular day. Divide that number as
often as possible by 36. Take into your hand the final rest and
address yourself to the table. If you find the number in the first
line, then announce that the patient will live . . . . the traveler
will have a good journey, the fugitive will be captured, the new
born will live long, etc. If the number is found in the second line,
then the patient will long be ill but in no peril of death, the
fugitive will be recaptured eventually, the traveler will encounter
bad weather etc. If the number occurs in the third line, then
death carries off the patients, the fugitive will never be recap
tured etc.
Life
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 happy end
Medium 2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23 26 29 32 35 long end
Death
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 bad end
19 0
Y 19
3
& 21
G 15
21
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
U a b e k a a n te N e b e a q u e lle
Archetypo* da*
Defcankataloge* im
Testa mcntum Salomon's
n
(a. Jahrh. v. C hr.)''
Aphroditcaemaioa
j
/
j y
Necbepeo
Necbeceo nod Patoairi*
(a. Jahrh. v. Chr.)
Sphaera barbarica
(1. Jahrh. .Chr.)
Chairemon
(Mitt* 4 . 1. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Celaus-Origene*
(a. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Zowmoa von Panopoii*
(3. - 4. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
Tewkroe M Babyloo
(1. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
(1 j. Jahrh. a. Chr.)"
SiddhlnU^^
Varahamihira
(6. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Muhammad I t a M M
(Mitt* de* 8. Jahrh. X T h r . ) ^ /
(1. H tlite de*
I
___Ap&maar
9. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
(9. Jahrh. a. Chr.) (9. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
AchnMt dar h w
\ 1I bo Wahilja (?)
de* 10. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
(9- Oder 10. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
(1. Halite <
Abenragel
P*. Ptdeaaau* liber da im afim bai ~~~Picatrix
(10.1a. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
(II. Jahrh. n. Chr.) (11. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
_^6andt
ib td M da*
-'
SyakretktiadM Dekaaliste
d a Zonaiter
und tuner Sohne
(i. Jahrh. v. Chr. ()
Tierkreis-
x Oxeaa
I
Mittdgnechiich*
Johanne* Hiapalanu*
Zothoro* Zaparus Fendalu*
Obenetzanf
(Lateiniich)
(la. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
(11.11. Jahrh. a. Chr.) (ta. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Obenetter aabekanat
I bo E*ra
(Avenariaa. Hebrtiach
ta. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
dtt Dl
Astroiabium Ptanum
da* Petros von Abano
(13. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Ludovicus de Anfulo
(Lateiniich. 13. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Jean de Beauvais
(Fr*nittich, 13. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Galatien
A 't J *
3 Lydian
Germanien und
Bastanien
Zwillinge
Krebs
1 Meder
Kykladen
3 Amaxonen
Seekilate Klmnanwi*
3 Semiramiden ( = Baby
lon ?)
Kypern
1 Teukrer (Troas)
Hyrkanien
3 Peraia
Armenian
3 Parthian
Mantiane
1 Syrian
Phrygien
3 Awyrien
Bithynien
3 Athiopien
Kolchike
1 Indian
Italics
LOwe
a unbekaonte* Land
Gallien
1 - 9 .0
3 unbekannte* Land
Waage
6r*
Skorpion
$ c .o * p to
SchfltM
1 Arabian
Babylonien
3 Armenian
Mesopotamien
3 Elephantine
Aa*yrien
1 Agypten
Baktrianien
3 Tracbonitrum (Trachonitia?)
Kaspien
3 Libyan
Serike
1 Faustina, P h tn iU n
Syrien
3 Kilikian
Kommagene
3 Kappadokien, Galatien,
Kappadokien
Phrygien
t Achaia. Pamphylien
3 Meer von Nikere
3 Alrika
1 Mauretanien
Stembock 3 Pannonien
3 Galatien
Athanaaia* Kbchar
(17. Jahrh. a. Chr.)
1) t)ber die venchiedenen Obenetxungen de* arabiachen Apomasartextea orientiert DyroM bei B oll. Sphaera 4*4, Raphael Levy,
The astrological work* of Abraham Ibn Ena. The John* Hopkina Studies in
Literature* and Unfuafe* VII (19*7) '9 - end
S a rto a . Introduction I 5O8, II 187K.
iG. 8.
A stemma of \V. Gundel ( Dckane 92 f.) of the historical transmission of the Egyptian-Hellenistic descriptions of the dccani.
Etrurien
Kelten
Spanien
Sauromatien
Oxiane
Sogdiane
1 Britannien
Lydien
Kilikien
3 Cbauldlikaonien,
Etrurien, Italian and
Kampanien
Penien
Babylon
Kappadokien
Armenian
Kleinaaien
Italien
Kilikien. Kreta
1 Syrien
3 Germanien
3 Sarmatien
3 Dakien
Paulua Alexandrinua
Britannien
3 Vactricani (Baktrer?)
WaaierUKtin
Scalifer
(Lateiniich. 16. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Tetrabibios II esp. 3
Widder
Jungfrau
Steinbuch
de* KOaif* Alfoo* X.
(13. Jahrh. n. Chr.)
Agypten
Rotes Meer
Pamphylien
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
TABLE 2
T abula
A r is t o b u l i*
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Bendonc
Mensour
Carexon
Gisan
Tourtour
Ballat
Farsan
Vaspan
Parquia
Panem
Catarno
Hellors
Jarea
Effraa
Havas
Angaf
Bethaphen
Baroche
Zercuris
Baham
Pieret
Haziza
Nacy
Alleinac
O rtusa
Daha
Satan
Eracto (E ro )
Salac
Seros
Tonghel
Anafa
Simos
Achaf
Larvata
A jaras
1
5
9
2
6
10
3
7
11
4
8
12
13
18
23
28
14
19
24
29
15
20
25
30
16
21
26
31
17
22
27
32
33
35
34
35
From cod. Pal. lat. 1367. ff. 149M52 published in German translation by W . Gundel,
D ekane: 407.
The consecutive thirty-six numbers in two columns and the names of the decani which follow
them present no problem. They indicate the childishness of this kind of numerological-astrological superstition, but also the kind of questions most likely to be asked by the gullible public.
The numbers in the last column remain the unknown authors secret; compare W. Gundel,
op. c it.: 406.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
Finally, however, the crude and obvious method of
simply identifying the divinity with its particular planet
prevailed. It had from the astrologers point of view
the obvious advantage of allowing him to define the
planets influence in terms of the powers which tradi
tionally had been ascribed to the Greek divinity involved.
Thus Kronos (Saturn) was baleful. Zeus (Jupiter)
lordly, Venus determined ones love-life and so on. To
each planet was furthermore assigned at least one
zodiacal sector in which its influence was considered
dominant." Since there were only seven planets to
distribute among the twelve zodiacal constellations, a
planet would normally be Lord (Snro-n^. dominus)
in more than one zodiacal sector. To this somewhat
unsatisfactory, but arithmetically unavoidable, arrange
ment another element was added; the concept of cosmic
cycles. In Stoic philosophy this theory took the form
of an eternal sequence of fiery deaths (mtp<u<r') and
rebirths (iraA lyyenpm ?) of the entire cosmos. The in
terval between a palingenesis and the next eh-pyrosis
was often called great year."
This term in Hellenistic times was. however, used for
other spans of time also.183 It might for example apply
occasionally to the periodicity of a given planetary con
stellation. Such spans of time would have potential
astronomical and certainly astrological importance, but
would not necessarily have anything to do with the
rebirth and death of the universe. One specific hypo
thetical planetary constellation, however, was eventually
defined in astrological literature as the thema rnundi,*
the constellation which had prevailed at the teginning
of the present cosmos, and when recurring would bring
about the next el;pyrosis. Firmicus M atemus for ex
ample related that Mesopotamian cosmologists dated
the beginning of the present era 473.000 years prior to
Alexander the Great.1*5 The constellation said to have
prevailed at that palingenesis was Mercury in Virgo.
Venus in Pisces, Jupiter in Cancer, and Saturn in Libra.
The date of the beginning of the great year " of this
type was assigned by Nechepso-Petosiris to the time
25
26
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
first century a . d . the rhetorician, Quintilian, still had
to admit that the work of A ratus was indispensable
reading for anyone aspiring to a higher education,
although he criticized the poem for its dry subjectm atter.187 As late as the fourth century a . d . Firmicus
M atemus in his astrological handbook. Mathesis, re
ferred to Aratus with great respect. According to
Firmicus. Aratus was a poeta disertissimus , 188 Within
the rising Christian church, the apostle Paul was thor
oughly familiar with the Phaenomena,18 and after him
a number of church fathers, including Jerome and
Augustine. A t the very time when Christianity tri
umphed. Festus Avienus. proconsular governor of Africa
in a . d . 366, paraphrased the poem, then more than six
hundred years old, in no fewer than 1878 Latin lines.10
Aratus began his versification of Eudoxus treatise
with a description of the polar axis and an account of
the zodiacal and other constellations, listing first those
north of the ecliptic, then those south of it. Instead of
following this section with an account of the planets,
however, he preferred to discuss next in considerable
detail heavenly circles like the Milkv Way, the tropics
of Cancer and Capricorn, the equator, and finally the
zodiac, in whose vicinity his seven planets (Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, as well as Sun and
Moon) did move. In the concluding part of his poem
the author dealt with the paranatellonta whose astro
logical significance has already been mentioned.181 Be
sides mythological and astronomical material the Phae
nomena contained some astrometeorology, an ancient
precursor of scientific astrology. F or instance:
W hen th ro u g h the d ark n ig h t shooting stars fly thick and
leave behind w hite tracks expect a w ind from th a t direction
too. If oth er shooting stars m ove from the opposite direc
tion. others still from d iffe re n t angles d a rt be on thy g u ard
for winds from every q u a r te r ! 19-
27
28
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
29
CRESCENT
No.
1
2
P lacb
Vestini.
Picenam.
Bull's head,
above, -
R evemse
Uncertain. Crescent.
Acs Grave.
Cent Italy.
3
4
Obverse
Crescent.
Crescent ?
Metal
Size W t .
D enom .
P late
R webexci
B. M. Italy, p. 43,
No 1.
,,
p. 60, No 46.
Triens.
,,
p. 61, No 47.
Luceria.
Apulia.
,,
p. 138, No 20.
, .7 5 115
19 7.45
,,
p. 140, No 53.
Venusia.
Apulia.
Thespiae.
Boeolia.
, , p. 150, No 10.
Carclli. X /. V.,
T. LXXXIX-14.
Boeotian shield.
O E V Crescent, horn* up /R . 4
wards.
10
Similar.
Similar.
/f t . 25 3 Tetarte6
.19 morion.
8*
Similar.
yft.25 5 .7
6
.35
Date
Athens.
Attiea.
15
2
13
Obol.
B. C.
:W7374
B.
,,
'
Hemiobol.
M. Cent. Gr.,
p. 90, No 5.
.,
No 8.
430322
10 Zacynthus. Head
of
Dionysiac IA - C rescent: below, t r i yft.55 32*
Hemi- B . C .
Nvnipli r., crowned
dent.
14 2.09 drachm . 250Xff*.
w ith vine.
191
PI. 1 B. M. Peloponnesus,
10
p. 99, No 60.
11
PI. 1
11
P akt.
Crescent.
jE .
4
10
,,
p. 101, No 76.
V I.
Fic. 10. List of Hellenistic and Roman coins with stars and constellations (L. Anson, Numismata Graeca 6, 1916: 1 ff.).
Although of course since the publication of this table additional coins of this kind have been found, it constitutes a good sample
of such Greek and Roman coinage.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
CRESCENT
No.
P i.ack
AND
R everse
OnvERSE
Mctai
W t.
S i/ e
Al.45
II
13
A .5 5 25
14 1.62
14
15
16
Cresceut.
IA
Cresccnt.
Crescent.
Crescent, horns
upwards.
ei
LEAF
D ate
Pl.ATK
R efer K3CK
Triobol. llcfore
a. c.
431
PI. 1
12
B. M. Peloponnesu*.
p. 94, No <J.
1It.NOM.
Babelon, 7". M .G .R .,
.p . <J05, No 1265.
B. M. C rete, p. 31,
No :w>.
B. C.
200.67
4i.
JE. 4
10
cent.
B. C.
PI. 1
15
Ne
phew
of
Au
gustus
A. D.
4
/E .45
11
B. M. Troas, p. 88,
No 21.
B.
M. Alexandria,
p. 5, No 34.
Carrhae.
Mnopot*-
H u n t e r i a n C o ll
p. 301, No 1.
L. Verua.
9 160* Stater.
Head of D emeter or labyrinth of Mueander pat
te rn ; in centre, crescent. 22.5 (0 .3 9
Persephone r., w ear
ing earring and neck
lace; hair rolled and
bound
w ith com w reath.
Similar
ed).
C.
500431
B.
Pefo/joaiwIB * .
grows au ivy-lcaf.
A . 5 20*
12.5 1.89
PI. I
20
B. M. Peloponnesus,
p. 94, No 8.
D emon.
Date
Populonia. Head of Pallas, full face, Y<M- Crescent, horns up /R.85 129*
Etruria.
tow ards 1., wearing
w ards, enclosing
star 21 8.38
earring, necklace, and
of four rays. Ihc whole
Athenian helmet with
within a border of dots
th ree
c re s ts ; hair
hair off the co in ; to the
lo o se; Ixtrder of dots.
1., outside of this border,
are traces of the obversetype and Imrder of ano
ther specimen, incusc,
also half oir the coin ; the
two borders form tangent
semicircles.
P late
R eference
Venusia.
A/iulia.
B. M. Italy, p. 301)
No 1.
Sexuncia.
Gordianus
Pius.
25
>.65
16
Sept.
Seve
rn*.
Ho
man
domi
nion.
,,
p. 57, No 13.
..
p. 153, No 28.
B. M. Thrace, p. 38,
No 83.
,,
p. 43, No 17.
Mionnel.vol, I, p.378,
No 95.
B. M. Thrace, p. 87.
No 43.
27
"
Similar.
/E .75
19
28
Similar.
JE. d
20
B. M. Thrace, p. 96,
No 40.
29
Crescent, JE. 7
MAMAIA AVr Hum of BVZANTIHN.
Julia Maniaea r.. drap
and star above it.
17.5
ed.
Julia
Mamaea.
Icln.
H u n te r i a n C o ll .,
p. 441, No 6.
b.
Head, H itt. N u m .,
p. 183.
31
B. c.
431
Mitai
S i/ k W r.
30
Diobol.
R everse
24
156*
10.14
O bverse
P lace
/E .65
16
No.
LTranopolis. OYPANiAAN
S tar on a orescent.
Mactthunt. n O A E H t
1 rama
in Stola " seated ou
globe 1., in the r.
hand aceptre; wearing
cap.
12.5
300
,,
p. 105. No 99.
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
32
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
32
33
R ev erse
36
Magnesia
ad
Maeandrum.
Ionia.
After
B. c.
168
K Y
Star within cres- /E. 9
Head of
Apollo r., la u r.; bor A f l
c e n t; border of 22.5
der of dots.
dots.
20067
flAIinN.
39
40
Orodes 1
king1of
Part hi.i.
41
42
43
"
6
15
C.
400344
B.
5
12.5
Pamphtjljn.
38
Da te
K ANTTETAC KOAMHTPOnOAIC
KAPPHNnN-Star within
Heads of Caracrescent.
laur. and Geta
back to back.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
P late
PI. I
32
PI. 1
33
p. 182, No 118.
,,
/ .
Caracalla.
1*1.
Supp.
XXI
39
> .4 5
s. c.
5738/37
PI. 1
40
,,
10
41
/C .4 5
PI. I
11
42
. c.
PI. I
3 8 /3 7
3 /2
43
P lace
vol. 1, No 30.
45 A rtabanus
III
kin); o f
Parthia.
46
R ev erse
47
M btal
Sue
W t.
D en o m .
/E . 5
13.5
P late
s. c.
3 /2
i .5 5
14
C arrhae.
ileaopotamia.
A. 8
AVTKAI...OYHPOC- AOVKIA A -KAPPACrescent upwards, upon 30
Bust of Septimus Se
a cushion; between the
vern* r., laur., wear
horns, star of six rays.
ing cuirass and paiudam entuiu.
Sept.
Seve-
KAPKOAMHTPOTTOAIC- A . 8
AVKMA..NTCON...
Grescent upwards, rest 30
Bust of Elagabalus r.,
ing, on globe, and having
rad ., w earing cuiraaa
eight-rayed star between
and palud.
h o rn s ; the whole placed
on p edestal; two fillet*
bang down over globe
and pedestal.
Ela
gaba
lus.
48
R etebeu cs
a . d.
A. D.
40/4151
PI. I
45
,,
p.. 153, No 5 .
PI. 1
46
,,
p. 177, No 185.
PI. I
47
H u n te ria n C o ll.,
p. 301, No 3.
ru s.
45
PI. 1
48
A . D.
,,
p. 303, No 14.
,,
p. 617, No 9.
33-40
B. M. Alexandria,
p. 3, No 8.
Au
gus
tus.
D a te
Gotarzes
king of
Parthia.
B. M. P arthia, p. 78,
No 83.
p. 79, No 90.
O bverse
P I. 1
/ . 4
No.
No 24.
B. M. Ionia, p. 172.
No 96.
Gordia11 us
Pius.
Elagabalus.
,,
,.
II
B. M. Thessaly, p. 42,
No 9.
B. M. Crete, p. 31,
No 23.
B. C.
i . 1*
37.5
j
R eferen ce
"
j D enom .
35
'
Cydonia.
Crtle.
M eta l
W t.
S ize
34
37
O b verse
P lace
33
No 91.
p . I 2 1 . N o 177.
51
53
Iguvium.
Umbria.
Silandus.
Lydia.
As.
2
61
Sept.
Severu s o r
Caracalla.
PI. I
53
B. M. Lvdia, p. 280,
No u :
1
34
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
CRESCENTS
No.
P lace
Obverse
TWO
BACK
Metal
Size W t.
R everse
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
Denom.
Date
P late
R eference
No.
P uck
Imp.
Time.
PI. 1
53
H u n t e r i a n C o ll.,
p. 493, No 3.
B. M. Phrygia, p..W3.
No 4 (vai\).
61
Iceni.
Urn,nn.
62
55
Diadti*
im'iiian
Si*|limti*
Sew*
ru*.
K.. 7
56 Nicomedia. AVTKAICAP ANTH
M H T K H A inP flT
Bithynia.
Crescent, with 17.5
NINOC- Head of An NIKO-horns upw ards; w ithin it.
toninus Pius r., laur.
three stars.
57
Paulalia.
Thrace.
Philippopolis.
Thrace.
.,
Ingots.
Tw o cresccnts, back to Similar to obverse.
Cent. Italy.
back.
p. 165, No 32.
>e.75
AV KAC C6VH. Head OVATTIAC OAVTAAIAC
Crescent, w ithin w hich,
19
of Sept. Severus r..
four stars.
laur.
A .2S
6
3
.19
|- |J t3 0 Two crescents, A . 4
back, to back in incuse 10
circle.
i
10.
.64
Crescents, two
A. I>.
5ii
Septi
mus
Seve
rn*.
B. M. Thrace, p. 143,
No 19.
3*
.21
67
3*
.22
.,
p. l65,N o33.
68
PI. 1
:>o
H u n te r i a n C o ll.,
p. 607, No 6.
1*1. 1
60
Ohol.
a. c.
367374
B. C.
334
PI. I
64
PI. I
69
Evans, Coins of Ta
rentum ,
./Yam.
CAron.,1889, pl.V ,
8. p. 84, No 111.
B. M. Italy, p. 143.
No 4.
,,
p. 216, No 457.
>
,,
p. 217, No461.
B. C.
300212
*. 3
7.5
3*
.19
72
ft 3
7.5
3
.19
''
Hunterian Coll.,p.84.
No 177.
a. c.
400272
p .2l9,N o486.
"
69 Aes Grave. Two naked figures, dan Two crescents, horns out / . I 625 Semis.
cing, that u r. w ith
Central
wards, in each of which a 32.5 40.50
drapery over 1. arm :
Italy.
star of eight rays, w ith
p. 727, No I.
H u n t e r i a n C o ll .,
p. 729, No 15.
fourth
and
Ihird
cent.
B. C.
70
A. 0.
50
1*1. 1
1
B. M. Italv, p. 66,
No 4.
4.V
2.92
Kefkremce
65
"
Pl.ATK
JE.4' 9445
2 .3 610.03
H u n te r i a n C o ll.,
p. 253, No 6.
i . 7
lA in n o n o A E iT f iN AVKAC CVHPOC
C rescent; above which 17.5
Head of Severus r.,
are nine -tars, and ben
laur.
eath, two.
Xs
.54
Anti
nimi
Pius.
llubi.
Apulin.
l>EM>tl. 1) VTK
Stars
Iceni.
Britain.
Mm,
Si*i: W t.
Crescent in laurel-wreath
60
Ht-VKRSt
JE.75
o iA in n o n o A iT U N .
Crescenl, horns upw ards; 19
above, three stars.
Crescent and
B; M. Thraoc. p. 33,
No 41.
Oavensi.
,,
Qua
drant.
,.
1 . c.
400272
p. 61, No 48.
,.
No 49.
,,
p. 217, No462.
,,
.,
No 463.
36
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
P lace
R evibke
Osvebse
iI e t a i .
1S ize W t.
1)kkom.
STAR
Datk
Hd e id k i
P late
No.
P lace
Crescents three
73
Caelia.
Apulia.
c.
288200
Qua
d ran t.
.5 5
14
Venusia.
Apulia.
Cockle-shell.
75
Croton.
Bnmltii.
s. c.
420300
76
Cydonia.
Crtle.
20* Trihem i- a. c.
obol.
4001.31
300
77
78
7*
.49
Hemiobol.
79
Tanus.
Crete.
17
1.10
Obol.
80
Athens.
Attica.
8
.51
74
B. M. Italy, p. 134,
No 7.
1.
Head, H ist.
p. 38.
/R .45 14*
.92
11
Thebe.
Myaia.
Venusia
Apulia.
82
83
m .y s
24
Metal
R ev erse
S iz e
W t.
D en o m .
D a te
P late
.,
4U.
R efeien cx
Millingen's Sylloee,
p. 68. pi. IV, No 43.
Dumersan's Descript.,
Allier de Hauteroche, p. 80, pi.
XIII-19.
B. M. Mysia, p. 179,
No 1.
cent.
B. c.
M am .,
B. M. Italy, p. 150,
No 8.
s. c.
292250
579
17.51
84
p. 336, No 116.
,,
85
N o ll.
PI. I
78
H u n t e r i a n C o ll .,
p. 179, No 5.
B. C.
400300
PI. 1
79
Head, H itt. N a m .,
p. 406.
T ritarte- s c.
moria.
430322
PI. I
80
B. M. Attica, p. 18,
No 187.
A . 884
1 57.28
49
Semis.
B. M. Italy, p. 17,
No I.
Crcsccnts lour
86
Athens.
AUica.
8*
.55
Obole.
H. c.
430322
Hemiobol.
h. c .
3S0300
Pi. I
86
B. M. Attica, p. 17,
No 180.
Heraclea.
Luca nix.
38
Megara.
Megan*.
89
Mnlaca.
Ilitpania
ulterior.
O sv ebse
Mead of Pallas, e e
73
37
178
11.53
Similar.
Qua
dra ns
Crescents five
K. M. Italy, p. 152,
No 24.
,,
,,
,,
p. 150. No 12.
No 25.
H. C.
400338
PI. I
88
B. M. Attica, p. 118,
No 2.
Secntl
or
first
COIlI.
PI. I
89
H u n te r i a n C o ll.
p. 658, No 5.
Star
P abt . V I.
90
Semis.
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
38
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
STAR
No.
90
91
92
93
P lace
R ev erse
O bverse
STAR
M et a l
W t.
S iz e
94
Luceria.
Apulia.
95
96
Syracuse.
Sicily.
M ionnel, 1, S ., p. 168,
No 144.
JE. 15.98
1.8 ioa.M
45
Qua
dra ns.
iE .
2.7
70
Aes
Grave.
M ionnel, 1, S ., p. 209,
No 82.
&.
1.65
42
Similar.
M.
369
1.1 23.90
27.5
98
Pantica- Tripod-lebes.
paeum.
Tauric.
Chertonete.
"
R eference
P late
,,
Star.
Otbia.
Sarmatia.
OABIO-
101
Achillea.
I, o f
Sarmatia.
Dolphin.
,,
No 83.
B. M. Italv, p. 137,
No 10.
Qua
dra ns.
,,
"
B. C.
P I. I
412345
96
103
104
P lace
Issa.
h . Illyria.
IZZA-
106
"
107
In gen.
Eitirut.
JE. 5
12.5
JE. 7
17.5
,,
p. 32, No 138.
"
O n ON
bunch of O within star of sixteen <R. 4
grapes on either side
rays; border of dots.
10
of Amphora.
8*
.51
Hemiobol.
102
Mionnel, III,
p. 174, No 1125-
Itauus.
C rtlt.
"
Star.
A. 4
10
/E.65
16
.5
13.5
p. 361, No 20.
B. C.
387369
A .45 I05
11
.66
Head, H u t. N um .,
p. 268.
B.
B. C.
369338
B. C.
338300
B. C.
387374
p. 305, No 250.
,,
Obol.
,,
Mionnet,
III. S.,
p. 358, No 13.
12*
.*9
113
R eterence
Mionnet, III,
S .,
p. 174, No 1126.
4"*
cent.
B. c.
Z r
A m phora; an
Circle of d o ts ; w ithin of Al.45
star of sixteen ra y s ; bor 11
0 .0
ivy-leaf on either side
der of dots.
of Amphora.
114
(la s -
M. 9
22.5
LocriO punti.
Locria,
4
Kantliaros to r., Star, the
pedum.
longer.
P late
109
112
p. 22, No 83.
sander
Star.
D a te
Time
of
Cassande
Corey ra.
la. Epirut.
B. M. Thrace, p. 10,
No 48.
P I. I
I2 IA -
DexOM.
108
111
of
Female head.
W t.
-.55
14
105
p. 237, No 2.
M eta i
S iz e
Man nude
retaining 0E P A - S tar in the middle A . 7
horse which is running
of incuse square.
17.5
110
Time
R ev erse
345275
A fter
Alex.
the
G reat.
O bverse
Plicrae.
Thntahj.
p. 139, No 40.
,,
No.
B. M. Sicilv, p. 182,
No 241. '
,,
B. C.
Head of Pan 1., behind Sim ilar: in field bow and jE .95
24
0.
A-
100
102
D ate
B. M. Ilalv, p. 31.
No 7.
97
99
D em o n .
39
Part. I B. M. Centr.
PI. I
p. 1, No 3.
80
P art. I
PI. V
284
,,
p. 5, No 35.
Part. I
PI. V
281
,,
p. 6, No 48.
PI. I
112
,,
p. 56, No 36.
P I.
7*
.46
B. C.
400300
B. C.
3*
rent.
G r.,
Harw ood,
Gr., p. 7.
N n m it.
PI. 1
114
H u n te r i a n C o ll.,
p. 100, No 8.
PI. I
115
9. M. Mysia, p. 63,
No 2.
PI. 1
116 1
,,
,,
No 11.
40
No.
117
P lace
Colone.
Troas.
118
Salamis.
Cyprus.
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
SU N
ZODIACS
REV EH Sr
O b v e r se
S iz e
Star of
D exom .
D ate
II. c .
400310
A iA ft
16
JE. 4
10
Similar.
Similar 1.
Wt.
/ft. 35
9
R eference
P la t e
P I. 1
117
P I. I
O b o l.
No.
P lace
O bvebse
B. M. Troas, p. 47,
No 2.
,,
,,
No 5.
118
&
00 ^
119
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
361351
W t.
D exom .
D ate
P late
R if e b e x c b
1
|
i Time ,
f
Istnderl
i ft
Macedonia
p. 134, No 5 .
B. C.
Mitai.
S ize
B. M. Cyprus, p. 60,
N o 68.
ra s II
c irc a
R kvkiisk
41
300
a. c.
J.
Mae
sa.
PI. II
127
Stars
120
Tomi.
Moetia Inf.
Zodiac, Signs of
B. M. Thrace, p. 54,
No 3.
Dr fore
| to .
mun
domi
nion.
127
Amastris. IOVAIANMAICAN
/ .
AMACT PIANflNPaphlagoHera (?) and Zeus, hold 1.25
CEBAC- Bust of Julia
nia.
Maesa r. (as Demeter);
ing sceptres standing fac 31
in r. hand, ear of c o rn ;
ing one another; around,
in 1., corn and poppy
the signs of the Zodiac ;
in ex., H(counterm ark,
fO Bust of Gordian III r.)
128
Aegeae.
Cilicia.
B. M. Ponthus, p.
No 34.
AIT AinN-NEHK-NAY-ET / . 1*
T r ( = 303 year). Head 30
of Meduse surrounded by
the signs of Zodiac.
Valeria11us.
PI.
Sr s -
Mionnet, V ll
167, No 78.
Sun as Globe
123
PI. II
107*
6.95
B.
122
129
OYPANIAflN
rO A E n i
Similar
type ; no symbol.
Alexandria. AYTKTAIAAAP
Zodiac, within w hich,circle M . 1>
of the epouy mous gods of 32.3
Egypt.
ANTCONdNOC C
the days of the w eek;
BVC- Head of Anto
busts of Saturn r., Sun
ninus Pius r.. laur.
r.. Moon r.. Mars 1 Mer
cury 1.. Jupiter 1., Venus
1.: in upper partof circle.
LH ; in inmost circle. Bust
of Sarapis 1., wears niodius.
Zodiacs tw o. one within the other enclosing busts of Sarapis and Isis
/ft. 8
20
120
7.70
M. Macedonia,
p. 133, No 1.
I
I
|B .
M. Macedonia,
p. 134, No 2.
130
Similar.
PI. II
130
,,
p. 126, No 1078
42
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E R IS E O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E H E L L E N IS T IC W O R LD
CAN C ER
No.
P lace
A q u a r iu s
131
Antioch
Head of Zeus r., laur.
Seleucit anti
Pieria.
s ig n
P late
R eference
No.
53 a .
O bv erse
R ev er se
i .
1
31
M etal
W t.
S iz e
D exom .
D ate
P late
Time
of
PI. II
R e t e r k ic x
Gemini sign of
Anto
ninus
Pius.
PI. 11 H u n t e r i a n C o ll .,
131
p. 460, N o 467.
B. M. Alexandria
p. 128, No 1088.
136
Ha
drian.
Leo sign of
137 Alexandria. AY T K A IA A A P
B ust of Helios radiate, r . ; / . 1
beneath, Lion rushing r . ; 32.5
Egypt.
ANTCONEINOCCC
BYC- Bust r., lau r., of
above head, slarbenealh.
A ntoninus Pius.
LH (The Sun in Leo).
H u n te r i a n C o ll.
p. 150, No 64.
Au
gus
tus
A Y T K T A IA A A P AN
TCONINOCCCB CYC
Head of Antoninus
Pius r., la u r.
Nero.
PI. II
133
,,
Pisces sign of
p. 155, No 96.
PI. II
138
Sagittarius sign of
o.).
P la ce
o ).
AP (=*
D ati:
of
Deno.u .
of
33
.34-
s ig n
Alexandria. AYTKTAIAAAP
Bust of Kronos 1., wearing AE. I 5
Egypt.
veil and globe on head, 32.5
ANTCONINOC CBY
at 1-. shoulder t'alx; in
Bust of Antoninus
Pius r., laur.. in cui
front sta r; beneath youth
swimming 1., looking
rass and palud.
back and holding inver
ted ja r on his hands ben
eath date LH (144-145
a . d .) (Saturn in Aqua
rius).
A rie s
132
TA URU S
Metal
W t.
S ize
R evi:r$e
O bverse
43
Gordianus
Pius.
,,
p. 310, No 3.
Similar.
PI. 11
139
Scorpio sign of
140
Similar.
,t
PI. II
140
H u n te r i a n C o ll .
p. 468, No 462.
1 4 5 A . D .).
Canccr sign of
135 Alexandria. A Y T K T A IA A A P AN
Bust of Selene r . ; in front. i . 1*
s ta r ; beneath, crescent 32.3
Egypt.
TC0N INOCC6 BCYCmoon ; beneath all. Crab
Head of Antoninus
(the moon in Cancer); in
Pius r., laur., in cui
rass and paludara.
lield, LH-
Taurus sign of
Anto- PI. 11 B. M. Alexandria,
p. 127, Nol082.
135
niuus
Pius
141
A V T K T AIAAAP
ANTCONCINOC CEB
LH-
PI. II
141
B.
M. Alexandria
p. 127, No 1060.
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
44
No.
P lace
O b v erse
R e v erse
M e ta l
S ue
W t.
D enom .
D ate
P late
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STROLO GY
R eferen ce
Similar.
t>
PI. II
142
No 1003.
45
46
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STRO LO G Y
Less than twenty years after this official introduction
of another eastern divinity to Rome, a scandal exposed
the extent to which oriental cults had taken hold in
Rome. In 186 b . c . unspeakable orgies connected with
the exotic cult of Bacchus caused the senate to impose
by a lengthy Senatus Consultmn ( S C ) not only on
Roman or Latin citizens, but even on Rome's allies
stringent regulations concerning such rites.-3 F ortu
nately a large section of the text of this decree itself
has been discovered as part of an official letter in which
the two consuls of 186 b . c . notified the people o f the
Teuranian district in South Italian Bruttium of the new
SC which also was to apply to all allies of Rome. Since
this unique document characterizes the still overwhelm
ingly conservative outlook of Rome's upper strata at
the time, it may in part be quoted:
In the matter of the orgies of Bacchus they passed a
resolution that the following proclamation should be issued
to the focderati:
Let none of them be minded to keep a Bacchanal.
Should there be some who insist that they must neces
sarily have one, they must come to the praetor urbanus in
Rome, and when they have had a hearing the Senate shall
make the decision provided that at least 100 senators be
present when the matter comes up for discussion. Let no
man. be he a Roman or a Latin citizen, or one of the allies
be minded to attend a meeting of Bacchant women unless
they have first approached the praetor urbanus and he have
authorized them by a vote of the Senate to do so, provided
that at least 100 Senators be present when the matter comes
up for discussion. Passed.24
1
The ambiguity of the Latin text lies in the use of the
word Bacanal which might denote a shrine of Bacchus,
as well as the rites connected with the cult. In view of
the last passage quoted above it seems more likely that
the S C was directed against excesses rather than against
the cult itself. This was even more clearly shown by
the detailed instructions which followed. They were of
the same pattern, making all exceptions conditional
upon the twofold approval of the praetor urbanus and
a meeting of the Senate with a quorum of 100:
Let no one be minded to hold ceremonies in secret
whether in public capacity or in private, or be minded to
hold ceremonies outside the city, unless (etc.). . . .
Let no single person in a company beyond five in all,
men and women, be minded to hold ceremonies, and let
men not more than two, and not more than three women
be minded to attend there, unless (etc.). . . .-5
2:1 Livy, 39, 8-18; cf. Remains of Old Latin 4 : 254, n. 5.
C IL 1, 1; 43 f., no. 1%; 1, 2, 2 : 723, no. 581; cf. Remains
of Old Latin 4 : 256 f.
25 Ib id .: 258 f. To actual shrines of Bacchus special exemp
tions were granted; besides the text of the inscription itself,
compare also Livy, 39. 8 IT., esp. 18, 7; 41, 6 ; 40, 19, 9; Valerius
Maximus, 1, 3, 1; cf. F. Cumont, Les mysteres de Bacchus a
Rome, Les religions orientates . . , 4th e d .: 195 ff.. Paris, 1929;
compare also E. Fraenkel. Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus.
Hermes 67, 1932 : 369-396; VV. Krause, Zum A utbauder Bacchanalien-Inschrift, Hermes 71, 1936 : 214-220; M. Gelzer. Die
Unterdrueckung der Bacchaualien bei Livius. Hermes 71, 1936:
47
48
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V ER SIO N O F R E PU B L IC A N R O M E TO ASTROLO GY
military triumph, the victory of Pydna over King
Perseus of M acedon41 actually was due to a combina
tion of Roman military and psychological leadership.
On the eve of the battle (June 21, 168).
. . . when night had come, and the soldiers, after supper,
were betaking themselves to rest and sleep, on a sudden
the moon, which was full and high in the heavens, grew
dark, lost its light, took on all sorts of colors in succession,
and finally disappeared.4This phenomenon was of course equally visible to
both armies. That the Roman host should be frightened
and resort to traditional techniques of propitiating the
apparently irate deities of heaven was hardly' surprising:
The Romans, according to their custom, tried to call her
light back by the clashing of bronze utensils and by holding
up many blazing fire-brands and torches towards the
heavens. . . ,43
This ritual remained, indeed, standard Roman prac
tice long after the scientific explanation of eclipses had
become common knowledge amongst Romes educated.
Cicero referred to these practices, and Tacitus described
in detail a similar incident at the beginning of the reign
of Tiberius ( a . d. 14).44 Evidently the scientific ex
planation never became generally known to the ordinary
people of the Latin west. Yet the Greek east did not
demonstrate a more enlightened populace at large either.
One should have expected for example that the eclipse
on the eve of the battle of Pydna would be easily ex
plained to the Macedonian host, or might even have
been scientifically predicted to occur. F ar from it!
. . . the Macedonians . . . did nothing of the sort, but
amazement and terror possessed their camp, and a rumor
quietly spread among many of them that the portent sig
nified the eclipse of a king.45
This crude astrological superstition seems to have
been unknown to the Roman soldiers. F or Rome being
a republic, they would in all likelihood not have worried,
but would interpret the moon's disappearance as an
omen of the impending fall of their enemy, King Perseus.
But they could also and did consider the eclipse as a
bad omen for themselves in general. In contrast, how
ever, the leaders of the Roman army were apparently
better informed than their Macedonian counterpart on
the scientific reason for the lunar eclipse of June 21,
168 b . c . They took steps to impart this rational ex
planation to their soldiers. According to one version
the commander-in-chief himself, L. Aemilius Paulus
was not altogether without knowledge and experience of
the irregularities of eclipses, which at fixed periods carry
the moon in her course into the shadow of the earth and
41 Livy, 44, 40 ff.
" Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus, 17, 3.
41 Ibid., 17, 4.
44 Tacitus, Annals 1, 28.
41 Plutarch, Aemilius Pauhis 17, 4.
49
50
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STR O LO G Y
Of the successors of Zenon.57 Chrysippus ( ca. 282206 b .c .)a native, incidentally, of Soli, the very town
where his older contemporary, Aratus, was lx>rnnot
only reorganized the Stoic school successfully, but also
gave Stoicism a more sceptical slant on divination, in
cluding astrology. H is attitude for example was ex
pressed in a repartee to the Academic philosophers of
his time in which Chrysippus. himself a writer on
dreams and their interpretation, admitted at least that
appearances seen when we are awake are much more
distinct and trustworthy than those seen in dreams. 58
A note of caution about divination thereafter became an
accepted Stoic deviation for about a century, until
Posidonius successfully preached a return to the uncom
promising views of the early Stoics on matters like
fatalism, ekpyroseis, and palingeueseis.
The ultimate issue inherent in Stoicism the belief
in Fate (ftap/u*Vjj ,5" or its rejection was skirted
neatly by Chrysippus. He could not abandon the scien
tific Stoic creed of an immutable cosmic Fate governing
by the law of cause and effect every single action, in
cluding of course those taken bv man. Desirous of
allowing for some leeway of human decision, Chrysippus
established a distinction between Fate and Necessity.
F or him the human conscience became a factor to be
reckoned with. W ithout admitting a minimum of free
dom of choice, one could not account for the existence
of man's inner voice. Chrysippus, therefore, created
what might be called the concept of a conditional
Fate, itself a contradiction in terms. Fate thus Ixxame
the totality of all effects, allowing also for those which
would only occur conditionally upon the occurrence of
some other cause.1,0 Prim ary and secondary causes
together would shape the course of human events. Mans
own free decision in many cases thus was the necessary
secondary cause to be added to the primary one of Fate
in order to produce the occurrence of a specific effect.11
Cleanthes, Zenos successor as the head of the Stoic
school, coined the immortal phrase for the Chrvsippean
concept, a phrase better known in its Latin version
which Seneca quoted from Cicero: Ducunt volentem
fata, nolentem trahunt
( Fate guides the willing,
drags along him who resists).
51
Epictetus, Discourses 2, 8, 4; cf. if . Pohlenz, Kleanthes Zeushymnus, Hermes 75, 1940: 117-123.
Cicero, de natura dtorum 2, 5, 13-15; dc fato, 12, 28-13, 30;
for the somewhat different attitude of Chrysippus see Chalcidius,
in Tim. comment., 160-161, Leipzig, 1876.
** Details in J. Bidez, Les ecoles chaldeennes sous Alexandre
et les Seleucides, MeUmyes . . . Capart: 41-89, Brussels, 1935.
**The Index stoic. Hercul.: c. 48, lists him as a student of
Chrysippus; cf. M. Wellmann, R E 5, 1905: c. 773, no. 45,-c. 776.
Diogenes of Babylonhis native town was the cradle of ancient
astrologywas frequently referred to in Greek and Roman
literature.
Suetonius, de rhetoribus. 1; Gellius. 15. 11. 1.
52
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N RO M E TO A STR O LO G Y
be ascertained, but it was perhaps due to the generally
favorable impression which Crates created amongst
Rome's ruling group that the senatorial decree of 161
b . c . which expelled philosophers and rhetoricians79
did not include grammarians also.
The Crates episode, however, was merely the Roman
introduction to the serious philosophical debate con
ducted soon afterwards amongst the most renowned
Greek philosophers of the time before Roman audiences.
The decadence of Greece in the political sphere ludi
crously contrasted on this occasion with the impressive
intellectual levels preserved in her great philosophical
schools. Athens had pillaged Oropus and then refused
an arbitration of the damage by a panel of Sicvonians.
Rome, the policeman on the Greek beat. promptly
imposed upon the culprit a fine of about 500 talents.80
Thereupon the Athenian government selected three
ambassadors to plead with the senate that the fine be
remitted. In recognition of the humanist susceptibilities
of influential Roman noblemen, a truly formidable trio
was chosen in 156 b . c . to go to R om e: Diogenes the
Babylonian, head of the Stoic school in Athens. Car
neades. head of the Academy and founder of the socalled New Academy, and Critolaus, head of the
Peripatetic school.31 The senior member of the group
was undoubtedly Diogenes the Babylonian. Six years
later, in 150 b . c ., he apparently was no longer among
the living,82 having reached an age of eighty-eight.83
Consequently, he would have been bom about 240 B. c.
and thus, at the time of his arrival in Rome in the
consulate of P. Scipio and M. Metellus, well above
eighty years old.
Critolaus, scholarch of the Peripatetic school at
Athens, belonged to the younger generation, being ap
proximately of the same age as Cameades (ca. 214/13129 B . C . ) . In contrast to the fiery Academician, how
ever, Aristotles disciple was a cool dialectical speaker,
as befitted a Peripatetic.34 None of the three am
bassadors apparently was able to converse in Latin.
The senate, on the other hand, would not treat in any
other language. The problem was eventually solved
when the senator Gaius Acilius volunteered to act as
interpreter. Even before the case could be heard
officially, however,
7 Suetonius, de rhetor., 1; Aulus Gellius, IS, 1, 1. Gellius errs,
however, in beliving that the decree was directed against Latin
philosophers and rhetoricians. In 161 B. c. too few o f these if
any would be found in Rome to w arrant senatorial action.
a0 Plutarch, Cato maior. 22. 1; Polybius, 33. 2, 8-9; Gellius.
6. 14, 8.
81 Cicero, Acad. 2, 45, 137; de oratore 2. 37, 155; epist. ad A tt.
12. 23; Tuscul. disp. 4, 3, 5; Pliny, Nat. H ist. 7, 30, 18; Gellius,
17, 21, 48.
M Cicero's ( fictitious) dialogue with the older Cato as the
chief speaker was supposed to have taken place in 150. B. c. In
it Diogenes is already referred to as deceased, de sencctutc. 23.
83 Ps.-Lucian. macrobii, 20.
"* On his views compare Philo, de aeternitate mttndi. 11, 55 ff.;
14, 70 ff.; 15, 74 ff.
54
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
the Stoic had been infected with the spirit of his time.
He would have l)een the natural champion of fatalism
and fatalist astrology before Roman audiences, but ob
viously he had !>een straying from the path of his Stoic
predecessors in the direction of scepticism. This trend
can be traced and apparently was intensified during these
last years of his long life. Earlier he had computed a
great year, demonstrating his acceptance of the doc
trine of ekpyroscis and palingeneseis. H e also had
paid tribute to Cleanthes' astral pantheism and identi
fied. for instance, Apollo with the sun, and Artemis
with the moon.97 On the favorite Stoic topic of divina
tion Chrysippus and A ntipater had each written two
books, and Posidonius subsequently compiled no fewer
than five; Diogenes, however, deemed a single book on
the subject sufficient.98 Towards the end of his life he
seems to have developed even some doubts about the
validity of the traditional Stoic theory of ekpyroseis
and palingeneseis." A note of cautious scepticism was
also sounded in his attitude towards astrology, an atti
tude which, however, still remained too favorable to
please Cicero, when he demolished divination:
Diogenes the Stoic makes some concession to the Chal
daeans. He says that they have the power of prophecy to
the extent of being able to tell the disposition of any child
and the calling for which he is best fitted. All their other
claims he absolutely denies. He says, for example, that
twins are alike in appearance, but that they are generally
unlike in career and in fortune. Procles and Eurysthenes,
kings of the Lacedaemonians, were twin brothers. But they
did not live the same number of years, for the life of Procles
was shorter by a year than that of his brother and his deeds
were far more glorious.104
The twins argument was a stock piece of antiastrological warfare. It is, therefore, significant to find
it used by the very head of the Stoic school to refute
astrological fatalism. Assuming that the trend towards
a more sceptical attitude took place towards the end of
Diogenes long life, one may suspect that during his
sojourn in Rome, only a few years prior to his death,
his outlook on astrology may have been presented to
Roman audiences in alx>ut the manner shown in the
aliove fragment, stemming probably from his essay On
Divination.
W ith ekpyrosis and palingenesis, as well as the tenet
of astrological fatalism being abandoned, albeit reluct
antly, by the titular leader of Stoicism himself, Diogenes
peripatetic fellow-ambassador, Critolaus, surely could
** Aetius in Doxographi graeci, ed. Diels, 345b, 7, Reimer,
Berlin, 1879.
,T Philodemus, ibid., 549b.
* Cicero, de divinatione, 1, 3, 6.
Philo, de aeternitate mundi, 15, 77.
*Cicero, de divinatione 2, 43, 90-91. Cicero commented:
But for my part I say that even this concession which our
excellent friend Diogenes makes to the Chaldaeans in a sort of
collusive way (quasi quadam praevaricatione) is in itself
incomprehensible.
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E T O A STR O LO G Y
not be expected to carry the torch for astrology to
Roman audiences. W e know that, in any case, he op
posed both ekpyrosis and palingenesis and defended the
Aristotelian concept of the eternity of the universe.101
Altogether, however, Critolaus was not averse to ac
cepting certain other Stoic and Academic doctrines.
A middle-of-the-road scholar of his type was in any
case unlikely to excite any audience, be it Greek or
Roman. N or was he likely to carry the torch on behalf
of Hellenistic astrology. Cameades, finally, could be
relied upon to bring his great influence fully to bear
against it. It was Cameades, the arch foe of all divina
tion, whom (perhaps via Panaetius) Cicero, a follower
55
Caraeadea-ClitomacbiM
P ia k liii
(bl Cie. <U
diT. n 87 ff.)
C ic #
d folo
U rse h rift
F a T a v la a *
d e r P .-C U s .
0U iw
B k o fo iXIV I)
(W abrseheie- A u f a t t i n
Itoh durob
da d r . d6
m U U ta f
V 1
iM M n<U g ia.
pU toaiktr*:)
Utt. I I 2?
ft
. d U l O f M <(
M trotoft*
I t 4 a. 5
ftts ta a
H ip p o ljtn
JaL
iafc omn.
yirmioas
IV IB .
I * ff.
hava.
JUtoraat
Bo k a
A a b r o iiu i
b*x*emroa
G ro g o ria t
N jim bm ,
P r o k o p iu i
r. U r n
56
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N RO M E TO A STRO LO G Y
between his studies at Athens and travels to his native
town 1=0 or other places.
It can be assumed with certainty that in Athens the
returning philosophers in 155 B .C . dwelt proudly on
their Roman triumphs. If not before, Panaetius must
then have received the impression of a Roman aris
tocracy, in which a number of young and middle-aged
noblemen professed an enthusiasm for philosophy, simi
lar to that which had brought to Athens the young
patrician from Lindus himself. An opportunity to visit
the new capital of the Mediterranean world offered itself
when the Greek statesman and historian, Polybius, after
many years of exile in Rome, finally had received per
mission to return to Greece.1-1 Polybius, on a visit to
Athens, recognized in Panaetius a Stoic of calibre and
a social equal of his great Roman friends in Italy.
Apparently at the instigation of Polybius, Panaetius
went to Rome, perhaps in 146 or shortly afterwards.
He soon became one of the most intimate friends of the
conqueror of Carthage and was as warmly received into
the Scipionic circle of humanists as Polybius had
been.12- Until about 130 Panaetius seems to have spent
most of his time in Rome, but undertook a number of
voyages to Athens and. on one occasion (140-139 b . c.).
a journey to Asia Minor as Scipios personal companion
on an official mission.123
The Achaean hostages of 167-166 for the most part
had been well educated men, some of them brilliant,
but Panaetius seems to have been the first important
Greek philosopher who voluntarily chose to spend a
considerable part of his life in Rome among that strange
Latin race whose leaders, victorious on every battlefield
over the armies of Hellenistic states, listened humbly to
words of wisdom addressed to them by a leading scholar
of the politically declining east. Among the numerous
friends Panaetius made amongst the Roman humanists
were Scipios friend Laelius
and his sons-in-law.
Fannius and Q. Mucius Scaevola.125 and also of the
younger generation, Q. Aelius Tubero. an enthusiastic
disciple of Panaetius ( who dedicated some writings to
his favorite Roman student " ) . t2U Lucilius. Rome's
1=0 Blinkenberg-Kinch, op. cit., inscr. no. 223, 17, names Pauaetius ca. 149 a. c. among the local itpoSvrai.
1=1 See Polybius. 35, 6; Plutarch, Cato maior, 9. 2-3, on the
final granting of permission to the Achaean hostages to return
to Greece: compare F. W. Walbank, Classica et Medlaevalia 9.
1948: 172, n. 2; cf. H. H. Scullard, Roman politics : 239.
1:2 Cicero, dc repubttca 1, 21, 34: (Panaetius and Polybius are
called) two Greeks, who were perhaps the best versed ot
them all in politics ; Index stoic. H ere.: c. 56: compare
Velleius Paterculus, 1, 13, 3; Pliny, Nat. H ist. 5, 1, 9; cf.
Cichorius, Panaetius und die attische Stoikerinschrift, Rhein.
Mus. 63, 1908': 197-223, esp. 220 ff.
151 For the close ties between both men, see Cicero, pro
Murcna, 31. 66: Tusc. disp. 1, 33, 81; epist. ad A tt. 9, 12, 2:
dc officiis 1. 26. 90; Velleius Paterculus, 1. 13. 3, and the entire
beginning of Ciceros dc republica.
Cicero, dc finibus 4, 9. 23; cf. 2, 8, 24.
Cicero. Brutus. 26. 101: cf. 31. 118.
2* Cicero, dc oratore 1, 45; cf. 43 and 75; Acad. 2. 44, 135.
57
58
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A S T R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STROLO GY
took sixty more years for a formidable slave rebellion
to break out in Italy itself, adjacent Sicily for example
produced two very serious slave wars within the last
four decades of the second century. The humanist
nobility of Rome, still inspired by the Hellenistic scepti
cism of the second century, so ablv represented by
Panaetius in Rome, might frown on astrology and
coarse forms of eastern superstitions, but the lowly
knew no such scruples. Although our chief source of
information is the fragmentary account of Diodorus
who in turn probably leaned heavily on Posidonius
history of these events,143 the facts speak for themselves.
The two most important leaders of the two Sicilian
slave-wars were men who owed their position largely
to reputed prophetic powers, the Syrian Eunus, and
the Cilician Athenio. As effective examples of the
exploitation of lower-class credulity their careers may
briefly be recorded.
Eunus, apparently already at least middle-aged, was a
slave of Antigenes of Enna. A Syrian from Apamea,144
he was credited with having gained his m asters favor
by demonstrations of prophetic gifts and certain magical
tricks.1'15 As his source of prophetic inspiration Eunus
named a Syrian goddess. His reputation as a prophet
(with or without the use of some popular astrology)
became so great that some slaves sm arting under a
Simon Legree m aster by the name of Daniophilus asked
him to predict whether a rebellion they were planning
might meet with success. According to the rhetorical
report of F loras:
E unus . . . co u n terfeitin g an inspired frenzy and w aving
his dishevelled h a ir in h o n o r of the S y rian goddess, incited
the slaves to arm s an d lib erty on the p retence of a com m and
from the gods. In o rd e r to prove th a t he w as ac tin g u nder
d ivine insp iratio n , he secreted in his m outh a n u t w hich
he had tilled w ith su lp h u r and fire, and by b reath in g gently,
sent fo rth a flame as he spoke.14
59
60
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N RO M E T O A STR O LO G Y
also addressed to Tubero.174 The profound influence
of these Greek Stoics on the Roman gentleman of con
summate excellence and sagacity 175 was also manifest
in the disdain in which Tubero held the then fashionable
art of public speaking.170 According to Cicero Laeiius
had to write for Tubero the funeral oration in honor of
Scipio Aemilianus when this special occasion called for
an effective public speech.177
In the light of this evidence the conclusion seems
inescapable that Tubero in contrast to the humanist
dilettantes of the Scipionic circle178 took a deep inter
est in the intellectual offering of the Hellenistic east.
He certainly emerges as the most serious-minded of
the group, and the role assigned to him by Cicero in
the Republic conforms to that picture. There Tubero
acts in the absence of Panaetius as the authoritative
advocate of Greek astronomical views. Actually it is
he who, before the other partners in the discussion
arrive, suggests as its topic a recent phenomenon in the
heavens: the appearance of a second sun. A brief duel
ensues in which Scipio criticizes and Tubero defends
the great intensity with which Panaetiusand Tubero
devote themselves to the study of astronomical prob
lems.179 The suggestion that Tubero himself composed
an astrometeorological work cannot be definitely proven
or disproven,180 but a reference in Pliny's Natural
History 181 and possibly another one by Alexander of
Aphrodisias 182 may be construed as an indication that
Tubero, perhaps the first Roman to do so, compiled a
parapegma,183 i. e. weather calendar relating meteoro
logical phenomena to certain planets, fixed stars and
constellations, respectively.
In themselves these peasant-calendars were far
removed from the esoteric circle of Hellenistic scientific
astrology. Nevertheless by listing in great detail the
real or apparent connection between the stars and the
seasons the Dog-Star ( Sirius), for example, ushering
in the dog-days of midsummer these almanacs
strengthened the general belief in sidereal influence on
mundane affairs. This attitude received a considerable
61
62
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N RO M E TO A STR O LO G Y
In paving the way for the Roman surrender to the
faith in astrology Posidonius placed great importance
on the theory of an all-pervading cosmic sympathy.
He therefore also contributed much to the rise of
Graeco-Roman mysticism, which looked towards magic
and mystery cults as redeemers from the inexorable
fatalism reimposed by the great Stoic. In contesting
correctly the possibility of comprehending the cosmos
through reason alone, Posidonius thus opened the flood
gates to the torrent of anti-rationalism which in the end
was to triumph over the age of reason in antiquity.
From the days of Posidonius onward the anti-astrological majority of Roman humanists began to shrink
until it became a minority of very small proportions.
The sceptics fought their rearguard battle magnificently
during the first half of the first century b . c. Fighters
against astrology of the calibre of a Lucretius or Cicero
(as well as the smilingly sceptical Julius Caesar) made
a fine but losing stand against the swelling hosts of
educated Roman believers in fatalistic astrology. With
the death of these champions of free will, however, an
era began which from Augustus to Domitian displayed
only a small current of anti-astrological sentiment. Not
until the second century a . d . occurred a final and
shortlived revival of the earlier scepticism.
The juxtaposition of the trends in Roman intel
lectual life was for the first time represented with
striking clarity by two contemporaries, both flourishing
in the first half of the first century b . c., both ranking
members of Roman society, both intellectuals of wide
horizons, both deeply devoted to the cultural values of
the east: Publius Nigidius Figulus (ca. 99-45 b . c .),20-'
and Marcus Tullius Cicero (Jan. 3, 106-December, 43
b . c .).
They were not merely contemporaries, but also
personal friends and political allies. During Ciceros
consulate for example Figulus was already a senator
and one of Ciceros closest advisers during the crisis of
the conspiracy of Catiline in 63 b . c. :
W hile C icero was in this perplexity, a sign w as given t j
the women who w ere sacrificing. . . . T h e sacred virgins
bade T e ren tia the w ife of C icero . . . to tell him to carry
o u t his resolutions in behalf of the country. . . . So T c rentia . . . g av e him this m essage and incited him against
the c o n s p ira to rs ; so likew ise did his b ro th er Q uintus, and
Publius N igidius. one of his philosophical companions, of
whom he m ade the m ost and g reatest use in his political
u n d ertak in g s.2#s
63
64
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO ASTROLO GY
the Roman senator. Geography seems to have l>een
covered by a work On countries, while zoology was
dealt with in a book On animals.22* By far the most
lasting and important contribution made to posterity by
this Roman scholar, however, were twro works on the
heavenly sphere, one devoted to the oriental sphaera
barbarica, the other to the Greek sphaera graecanica.2-*
Astronomers no less than astrologers were indebted to
Nigidius who. at a time when the ultimate triumph of
the sphaera graecanica ( the Hellenistic terminology for
stars and constellations) was close at hand, preserved
in his sphaera barbarica a then still well known com
posite oriental nomenclature.225 Together with M.
Terentius V arro (116-27 B.C.22) P. Nigidius Figulus
represented the first generation of Roman research
scholarship. Both men were universalists in the scope
of their interests and were to live jointly in the memory
of posterity as the greatest Latin scholars.227 The basic
difference between them was one of accent, but the
vagaries, which preserved some works onlv and con
signed others to oblivion, did not facilitate a valid
comparison between the two men. Said Servius for
exam ple:
65
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
jxisition of the stars at its very origin, he concluded
his account of T arutius astrological feats 011 an even
more sceptical note than the one in which he had
reported th em :
These anti similar speculations will perhaps attract readers
hv their novelty and extravagance, rather than offend them
hv their fabulous character.-30
One hundred and fifty years earlier Cicero, a good
triend of Tarutius. had commented even more acidly:
What stupendous power delusion has! And was the citys
natal (lav also subject to the influence of the stars? 237
Although obviously respected as an astrological ex
pert by Varro, Tarutius seems to have been an extremist
in his theories, although a measure of them was recog
nized by more temperate astrologers also. H is use of
the Egyptian names for the months 238 was in line with
the syncretistic practice of his time.
The so-called neo-Pythagorean movement whose most
renowned Roman leiader, if not founder, was Nigidius
Figulus had gained greatly in strength through the
conversion of Rome's (next to Cicero) most influential
scholar, Terentius Varro. Men like Nigidius Figulus
and Terentius Varrp. who specialized in the rational
historical explanation of religious cults and their divini
ties. ironically enough themselves became captives of a
new mystique which blended in the manner of Posi
donius rational and irrational elements in its strange
doctrines. Young Varro had joked, Are not astrologi
those men who scribble away depicting the heavens ? 253
But as he grew older, V arro moved from a youthful
scepticism more and more deeply into the realm of
Xigidian mysticism. His final wish was to be buried
according to Pythagorean ritual,240 and when he died,
almost ninety years old. it was probably fulfilled.
Inevitably his later Writings were affected by such senti
ments. In his Hebdomades he celebrated the mystic
number S even241 for whose astronomical and astro
logical values V arro seems to have relied on informa
tion supplied by his friend Nigidius.242 Numerological
concepts ascribed to Chaldaeans led to the fear of cli
macteric years, i. e. all multiples of seven (and nine).243
I11 his main work, the Antiquities, six books (14-
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STR O LO G Y
of the knowledge then considered necessary for an edu
cated Roman, may have been an outgrowth of that
humanist view, so aptly expressed by Cicero a number
of years earlier:
. . . the whole content of these liberal and humane arts
( ingenuarum et Im m anarum a rtim n ) is encompassed by a
single bond of union.211
The most important users of the work included the
elder Pliny, Suetonius. Gellius. and especially Martianus Capella. Cassiodorus. Augustinus, and Isidorus
of Seville. Like Cicero, Varro used astrologia to denote
the entire field of astronomy which in his opinion of
course also included astrology'. This was clearly indi
cated by Cassiodorus (sixth century a .d .) . In the
seventh chapter of his brief de artibus ac disciplinis
liberalium litterarum, inscribed de astronomia, he men
tioned the following pagan au th o rs: Senecas de forma
mundi, Ptolemys M inor et major astronomus, while
the most investigative V a rro ( curiosissimus Varro)
was referred to twice, both times in regard to the de
disciplinis, once to book IV (de geometria), and once
to book VI (d c astrologia) 2i2 It does seem probable
that from the latter stemmed the detailed list of the dif
ferent subdivisions of what Cassiodorus called astro
nomia. None of these was astrological, but with an
almost audible sigh, Cassiodorus at the end of his
discussion of these branches continued:
The remaining subject matter, however, which is con
nected with the knowledge of the stars (cognitio siderum).
is unquestionably contrary to our [Christian] religion and
must therefore be so completely unknown that it should
seem as if nothing on this topic had been written at all.253
He thus omitted what was probably the astrological
part of V arro s de astrologia, and quoted from Basilius
Hexameron (homilia 6) and Augustinus de doctrina
Christiana (2) the condemnation of any interest in or
knowledge of astrology. Cassiodorus then concluded his
chapter on astronomy resignedly. Having stated from
l)ook IV (de geometria) of V arros de disciplinis the
theory on the egg-shape of the earth, he added quickly:
But for us it suffices to know only as much as can be
read in the holy scriptures.2*4
A younger contemporary of Cassiodorus, John Lvdus,
preserved in the middle of the sixth century a. d. some
fragments, including at least one astrological passage,
from the aeuvre of another Roman adept of divinatory
mysticism and astrological lore: C. Fonteius Capito.285
751 Cicero, de oratore 3, 6, 21.
Cassiodorus, de artibus ac disciplinis liberalium litterarum,
~ in Migne, Pair. Lat. 70. c. 1217 D ; c. 1218 D.
Ibid., c. 1218 C-D.
M4 Ibid., c. 1218 D-c. 1219 A.
St. Weinstock. C. Fonteius Capito and the Libri Tagetici.
Papers of the British School at Rome, 18, N. S., 5, 1950 : 44-49,
suggests that two authors, Capito and Fonteius, both quoted
67
68
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
But Diodorus realiz'ed the dubiousness of such assertions. Speaking of the Chaldaeans, he said (obviously
quoting a different a u th o r):
. . . They [the C haldaeans] spend th e ir en tire life in
study, their g reatest renow n being the field of astrologia
. . . [and a g reat maliy other divinatory disciplines also],
. . . A nd since they have observed the stars over a long
period of time and have noted both the m ovem ents and the
influences of each of them w ith g reater precision than any
other men. they foretell to m ankind m any things th a t will
take place in the future.382
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E PU B L IC A N RO M E TO ASTROLOGY
able chain of cause and effect to the exclusion of
free will on both the divine and the human level.
That Diodorus accepted this point of view was in a
sense a sign of the lingering scepticism in both Greek
and Latin intellectual circles. Nevertheless, Diodorus
source mentioned accurate astrological prophecies
made to Alexander the Great, Antigonus, and Seleucus
Nicator. Diodorus (i.e . his source) also stressed re
peatedly 266 that not only the captains and the kings
were deemed worthy of astral attention, but also private
citizens of ordinary station:
M oreover they [th e Chaldaeans] also foretell to men in
priv ate statio n w hat will befall them, an d w ith such accu
racy th at those who have m ade trial of them m arvel a t the
feat and believe th a t it transcends the pow er of man. . . .
T h is point, how ever, a m an m ay fittingly m aintain, th at
the Chaldaeans have of all men the g re a te st g rasp of
astrologia.-87
4.
T H E LA ST G R EA T S C E P T IC S O F T H E ROMAN
R EP U B L IC
69
70
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IX T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STR O LO G Y
71
Acknowledging his allegiance to the Academy,*4 attitude on this basic point of Stoicism and fatalistic
Cicero joined Philo in assuming the probability of astrology. The essay itself has survived only in frag
things against the certainties of Stoicism, the genial mentary form. It was written after the two other works
nonchalance of the Epicureans, and the belief of the related to it, On the Nature of the Gods, and On D ivi
Peripatetics in empirical verification, while the nihilism nation ,287 The time of its composition was the spring
of the Cynics was too apodictic for the Roman sceptic. after the assassination of Julius Caesar.288 although an
One wonders, however, whether Cicero did not at outline or a draft may well have existed before then.
an earlier stage in his development feel more friendly In abandoning the Platonic form of the dialogue Cicero
towards astrology than in his dc divinatione which he himself became the sole speaker.-89 He promptly attacked
wrote at the very end of his life. In the years follow (although respectfully) Posidonius' defence of omens
ing his consulate he wrote a poem On my consulate and other forms of divination, exclaiming:
he had held that office in 63 b . c . and in the second
If th ere w ere no such w o rd a t all as fate, no such thing,
book of this poem had the Muse, Urania, address him.
no such force, and if eith er m ost things o r all things took
the ex-consul, as follows:
place by m ere casual accident, would the course of events
But Diodotus. wIki in the age of Posidonius in all likeli \Iolo with whose teachings Cicero had already come in
hood defended astrology against its Academic enemies, touch at Rome and who now cured him of his youthful
the others interpreter was
.lid not convert Cicero. Dreaming of an active career oratorical exuberance:
in the law courts aim eventually in ]x>litics he must Posidonius the Stoic. If Cicero had also met him in
have found the concept of man Iteing the maker and in 87-86 h. c. in Rome, they now renewed their acquaint
large measure the master of his own life far more attrac- ance. Otherwise, they met for the first time. Cicero
:ve than the one of dreary submission to an inexorable was greatly attracted by the philosopher's magnetism,-82
but even Posidonius was unable to persuade him to his
immutable Fate.
Political reasons and his apparent inability to sus- own wav of thinking. The apodictic certainty with
lin the strain which his forensic oratory imposed upon which the Stoic insisted on his concepts of the universe,
mi persuaded Cicero to leave Rome and, like other on the all-pervading cosmic " sympathy,'' the fated
atin humanists of his kind, betake himself to the course linking original causes with ultimate effects, and
istern fountainheads of oratorical and philosophical hence upon the validity of fatalistic astrology, antago
arning.-74 On this vovage which lasted from 79 to 77 nized the Roman sceptic, already fortified with the
c. he first spent about six months in Athens. There teachings of the New Academy.
For Ciceros final stand in the realm of the sp irit283
c attended the lectures and discussions of the new
-ad of the Academy. Antiochus of Ascalon.275 but was one must look to the philosophical treatises which he
>en-minded enough to frequent also the auditoria of composed in the last three years of his life, especially
.:;icureans like Phaedrus and Zeno.-70 Demetrius the the Tuscitlan Disputations, On Duties, On Divination.
m a n was his favorite professor of rhetoric.-77 In the and On Fate. The Nature of the Gods and some earlier
lilosophical center pf the Greek world Ciceros passion works, for example the Republic, also shed some light
r philosophy apparently reached such height that he on this point. But real caution is needed in an attempt
is on the point of devoting himself henceforth mainly to identify Cicero with specific views proclaimed in
. its pursuit, a decision from which Antiochus of his writings, even in passages where he himself is the
scalon was said to have dissuaded him.-78 It reflected speaker in his dialogues. Altogether, however, there
e spirit of Romefs young humanists that Cicero's can be no doubt about his fundamental attitude that no
;low-students at Athens included. I>eside his own definitive truth about anything could ever be incontroother Quintus, a cousin Lucius. M. Pupius Piso. vertibly established by man. His didactic aim of familiar
<i Cicero's life lorig friend, the future banker, Titus izing Latin readers with the gist of the major trends in
' unponius Atticus.-f8 who already then was an ardent Greek philosophy caused Cicero to draw freely on the
'hucurean and vainly tried to transfer Cicero's alle- writings of men whose intellectual importance he
:ince from the Acaflemv to his own school. It should fully appreciated without, however, agreeing with their
noted that these Roman students were mature men. Weltanschauung. At all times men like Cicero, and his
rero himself (having been Iwm on January 3, 106 philosophical antipodes, V arro and Nigidius Figulus,
:.) being twenty-seven years old when he set out for considered a fanatical insistence on their own brand of
philosophy as unworthy of a Roman gentleman. Nigi
:hens.
From Athens Cicero proceeded to Asia Minor after dius, the mystic, thus remained to the end of his life
a journey through the Peloponnesus, and there devoted an intimate friend of Cicero, the rationalist. V arro's
himself chiefly to the study of rhetoric.280 but his voyage Pythagorean speculations and his faith in astrology and
ached its educational peak upon his arrival at Rhodes. numerology did not bar close contact with Cicero either,
There he found the most profound gratification of his who made Varro one of the main figures in the Acatwo great loves: the art of rhetoric and the realm of demica and dedicated it to Rome's greatest scholar in
philosophy. The one was represented by Apollonius return for the promised dedication of Varro's On the
Latin Language to Cicero. In short, these Romans
were gentlemen Ibefore everything else, devoted as
Cicero. Brutus, 91, 313 f .; cf. Plutarch. Cicero. 3, 6; 4. 4.
humanists to the pursuit of the best in Hellenistic civili
Cicero, Brutus. 91, 315; Acad. 2. 31. 98: 35. 118; cf. I, 4.
!3; Tuscul. disp. S, 8. 21 f .: dc uatura dcorum 1. 3, 6; Plutarch.
zation as they saw it. Their philosophical preferences
Cicero. 4. 1-4; Cassius Dio. 4 6 . 7. 21.
remained their personal affair and did not interfere
Cicero, dc finibns 1, 5. 10; Tuscul. disp. 3, 17, 38 ; .-Jcud. 1,
with their mutual political or scholarly relations. Being
12. 46.
receptive rather than creative they wore their GreekCicero. Brutus. 91, 315.
inspired creeds gracefully if not lightly.
178 Plutarch, Cicero. 4. 3.
Cicero, dc finibns. 5. 1. 1 ff.; Acad. 1. 4, 14; dc legibns 1.
20-21: 54; Sallustius, in Cicer. 1. 2.
=-1 Cicero. Brutus, 91> 315 t . ; 95. 325 t . ; pro Plancio, 34, 84;
cf. pro Cluentio, 11. 32; Plutarch. Cicero, 4, 4-7; Caesar. 3, 1:
compare U. v. Wilamowitz-Moellemlorf. Der Glaubc der Hellencn. 2 : 436; cf. M. Gelzer. RE. I. Reihe. 7. 1. 1929; c. 287.
no. 29 ff.
14- 44 B-c>-
72
T H E R ISE AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V ER SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO ASTROLO GY
73
In Cicero the scepticism of Cameades and Panaetius for her oriental prototype, the goddess of fertility, than
shone brightly for the last time in Rome at the end of for the Graeco-Roman Aphrodite-Venus. Thou alone
the republican era. Except for a short-lived renaissance guidest the cosmos ( naturam rerum ), the poet pro
of anti-astrological sentiment in the second century a . d . claims. For this reason she is asked to l>ecome Lucre
paganism thereafter overwhelmingly on all levels of. tius' partner in the enterprise, a rather strange con
society accepted to a greater or lesser degree the dogma cession to convention, considering the fact that the
of fatalistic astrology, or, on the lower social levels, whole work is to be devoted to an annihilating blast
religious concepts of star worship. The most profound against the gods and religion in general. The remainder
and moving expression of late republican scepticism, of book I is largely filled with Epicurean cosmology
however, did not come from Cicero, but was formulated which in itself opposed the gloomy Stoic tenet of
for posterity bv someone else.
periodical ekpyroseis and palingeneseis. Not only mat
M. Tullius Cicero's brother Quintus, the ardent ter, composed of atomsno distinction is made between
defender of divination in the first book of the de divi them and molecules but also energy is imperishable
natione. received (some ten years before the treatise (vv. 483-634). Nothing is bom from nothing, and
was written ) from a friend 307 a manuscript. Its author, nothing vanishes into nothingness (w . 164-328). The
a melancholy poet, had killed himself in a fit of insanity book concludes with a triumphant presentation of the
at the age of forty-three.308 The manuscript itself was Aristotelian concept approved by Epicure that the uni
a torso. Furtherm ore, Quintus found numerous repe verse is infinite and eternal (vv. 921-1109).
titions and other indications that even the finished parts
In logical progression book II unfolds the argument
were not readied for publication. Nevertheless he re in favor of free will as against fatalism. The law of
ceived a strong impression of the poem and sent the nature governing the motion of all atoms, i. e. of all
manuscript to his brother. Marcus, whom rightly he con matter, is not completely dominant (as the Stoics and
sidered a real connoisseur of Latin literature. Cicero s astrologers m aintained), but atoms unaccountably and
extant verdict was pronounced in his reply to his brother. unpredictablv do swerve at will from their appointed
On February' 10 or 11, 54 B.C.. almost four months p a th s:
after the author's death, Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote:
T he poems of L u cretiu s a re ju s t as you w rite w ith
frequent flashes of genius, and yet exceedingly artistic.
B ut w hen you com e . . . [w e can discuss the m atter
fu rth e r].309
251-262).
It is easy to dismiss this reasoning in the light of
our modem scientific knowledge of biochemical and
hereditary material influences which physically con
dition man. Yet ultimately what drearier aspect of
the human species and the world at large is there than
to view everything as a gigantic clockwork or as the
puppet-show of a supreme puppeteer or clockmaker?
Fortunately the very atoms of Democritus and Epicure
now help to dispel such notions by their weirdly inex
plicable, and seemingly wholly irrational behavior. Yet
fatalism in the guise of scientific conceit struts as dan
gerously today as it did when cloaked behind the
venerable facade of supposedly age-old scientific
astrology in the time of Lucretius.
Linked with-the-question whether or not the human
body was a mere machine, a point of view again ex
pressed for example in Lamettries L homme machine
in the eighteenth century and often repeated since, was
to Lucretius the problem of the freedom of mans mind.
In ringing verses which in our own age of rampant
74
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E PU B L IC A N RO M E TO A STR O LO G Y
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
should
on the
was to
purely
75
76
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IX T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO ASTROLO GY
and tlie breezes th at h erald the seasonal winds begin to blow,
w hich in G iesar's opinion is perceived in Italy on July 23.
. . . A nd the Royal S ta r in the b reast of the Lion rises,
acco rd in g to C aesar, on the m o rn in g of July 30. . . . On
A u g u st 11 the settin g of the L y re b rings the beginning of
autum n, acco rd in g to C aesar's note, b u t a tru e calculation
has discovered th at the d ate of this is really A ugust 8.
W ith C a e sa r re f e r r e d to tim e a n d a g a in in th e ab o v e
p a s s a g e P lin y m ay w ell h a v e ta k e n th e italicized p a s
sag e o u t of th e v e ry te x t of th e de astris, a n d ev en if he
d id n o t. b u t m e rely in te r je c te d it as h is o w n re m a rk ,
he co u ld n o t h u t e x p r e s s th e o p in io n s ta te d in th e
alm a n a c of S o sig e n e s -C a e sa r. Im m e d ia te ly a fte rw a rd s
(A r. H ., 18, 272) P lin y w r o te :
In this in terv al the crisis for the vines occurs, the co n
stellation w hich we have called the L ittle D og deciding the
fate of the g rapes.
T h e c o n s te lla tio n is r e f e r r e d to as decretorio sidere,
a llo w in g fo r n o d o u b t of its s u p p o se d ly d ecisiv e p o w e r
o v e r th e v in e y a rd s . E la b o r a tin g o n th e to p ic of s in is te r
a s tr a l p o w e rs o v e r c e rta in c ro p s . P lin y d iv id e d it in to
tw o sectio n s ( N. H. . 18, 69. 2 7 8 f.)
. . . T h e re a re tw o kinds of dam age done by the heavens.
O ne we entitle tem pests, a term understood to include hail
storm s, h u rrican es, an d the o th e r things of a sim ilar nature,
the occurrence of w hich is term ed exceptionally violent
w e a th e r; these take th e ir o rig in from certain noxious con
stellations, . . . fo r instance A rctu ru s, O rion, the K ids. T he
o th er is [due] [to ] those [phenom ena] w hich occur w hen
the sky is quiet.
B y e m p h a s iz in g th a t h e, P lin y , w as th e firs t o n e to tr e a t
th e seco n d c a te g o ry h e m a d e it p la in th a t th e firs t ty p e
h a d b ee n th e s u b je c t of e a rlie r tre a tis e s , in c lu d in g
u n d o u b te d ly th e de astris, P lin y s fa v o rite so u rce on
a s tro m e te o ro lo g y .336
A lto g e th e r th e de astris w as a p p a re n tly n o t im b u ed
w ith a b elief in fa ta listic a s tr a l p o w e rs N a tu r e r e
p e a te d ly w as c a lled m e rc ifu l b u t w ith th e a s s u m p tio n
o f a s tr o n g a n d o c c a sio n a lly d ec isiv e in flu en ce e x e rte d
by s ta r s a n d c o n s te lla tio n s u p o n th e p la n t-life o n e a rth
by m e an s of th e w e a t h e r ; i. e. th e a s tr a l in flu en ce w as
in d ire c t, b u t it w as c a u sa lly a c k n o w le d g e d . In trin sic a lly
a c e rta in a s tr a l in flu en ce o n h u m a n a ffairs w as also
a d m itte d . F o r , as in th e e x a m p le of th e te x tile m e r
c h a n ts . th e c h a ra c te r o f a s e a s o n m ig h t in flu en ce h u m a n
lieh av io r as w ell, a fact w h ich th e seaso n al in c id en ce of
c e rta in d isea se s w o u ld d e m o n s tr a te ev en to th e lay m an .
In th e a b sen ce o f a n y co n c lu siv e ev id en ce to th e co n
tr a r y , o n e ca n o n ly a d m it a b elief o n th e p a r t of C a e sa r
in th e w e a th e r-m a k in g p ro p e n s itie s of th e s ta rs . E v e n
th is p o w e r w as n o t h eld to b e a b so lu te , b ec au se d iffe re n t
c o n s te lla tio n s m ig h t c a n cel e a c h o th e r s in flu en ce, o r a t
le ast w eak en it. I f C a e s a r, th e re fo re , b eliev ed in an y
k in d of a s tro lo g y , h e c o u ld a t th e m o s t te n d to w a rd s
33 During the latter part of this section Pliny quotes chiefly
from Varro, but beginning with Nat. Hist. 18. 4, 309 ff.,
Caesar's de astris again becomes Plinys major source.
77
78
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E C O N V E R SIO N O F R E P U B L IC A N R O M E TO A STR O LO G Y
T h e only place in the whole w orld w here a com et is the
object of w orship is a tem ple at Rome. H is late M ajesty
A ugustus had deem ed this com et very propitious to h im se lf:
as it had appeared at the begin n in g of his rule [.sic/], at
some gam es which n o t long after the decease of his [adop
tive] fath er C aesar, as a m em ber of the college founded by
him. he was celeb ratin g in honor of M other Venus. In fact
he m ade public the jo y th at it gave him in these w o rd s:
" O n the very day of my Games a com et was visible for
seven days in the n o rth e rn p art of the sky. It w as risin g
about an hour before sunset, and was a b rig h t star, visible
from all lands. T h e common people believed th at this star
signified the soul of C aesar received am ong the sp irits ot
the im m ortal g o d s.'1 . . . T h is w as his public u tterance,
but p rivately he rejo iced because he in terpreted the comet
ns h av in g been born fo r his own sake and as containing
his ow n b irth w ithin it: and to confess the tru th , it did
have a health -g iv in g influence over the w orld.35-'
79
80
IN T R O D U C T IO N
81
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
a profound change. From then on until the death of
Domitian in 96 the faith in astrology acquired a strong
hold over every ruler, a hold so firm that during this
era the influence of coiurt astrologers rose to an unprece
dented |ieak. The first empire wide legal curb of astro
logical (and other divinatory) practices was introduced
by Augustus himself in a. d. 11. H is successor Tiberius
(14-37) was a practicing astrologer and adamant be
liever in this pseudo-science. Caligula. Claudius, and
Nero, as well as Gallia. Otho, Yitellius. Vespasian, and
his sons. Titus and Domitian. all of them maintained
lose ties with astrologers. Vespasian alone seems to
have tempered his faith in the stars with an occasional
grain of scepticism.2 while Vitellius revealed his super
stitious fear of the accuracy of unfavorable astrological
predictions bv a merciless persecution of astrologers.3
Although it is usually difficult to appraise the full meas
ure ot the court astrologers' influence in a given case,
there can be little doubt that often the very life of
members of the imperial family, or of influential Roman
noblemen depended upon the interpretation of their
horoscopes by the erriperor and his trusted astrological
advisers. For the mo$t part the names of these gentle
men are buried in oblivion, and those known by name
remain shadowy figurles at best.
Two men, father afld son, however, emerge from the
host of nameless or little known court astrologers of
the first century. Their influence began in the reign of
Augustus and extended into that of Vespasian, and pos
sibly even that of Titus (d. a . d . 81) : Tiberius Claudius
Thrasyllus (d. a . d . 36) was the father, Tiberius Claudius
Balbillus the son (d. ca. a . d . 81?). Thrasyllus was a
Greek scholar who bwed his Roman citizenship to
Tiberius whose friendship was not only instrumental
in gaining for the Alfexandrinian grammarian the still
coveted boon of Roniian citizenship, but also for the
introduction in a . d . 2of this outstanding astrologer
into the innermost circle of the aging Augustus wherein
the newcomer soon began to exercise a profound influ
ence upon the Roman ruler and his court. Thrasyllus
daughter was to m atry a Roman knight, as did his
granddaughter Ennia Thrasvlla, who gambled for the
position of an emperors wife. Thrasyllus son, Bal
billus. inherited the fathers potent role at court. An
intimate personal frielnd of the emperor Claudius he
also became a trusted adviser of Nero, and finally courtastrologer of Vespasian. The fortunes of this family
continued to flourish. A daughter of Balbillus, Claudia
Capitolina, first married a royal heir designate, A nti
ochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus IV of Commagene,
and later it seems a Roman knight Junius Rufus who
became prefect of Egypt. Of the children of Claudia
and Antiochus two reached high station. A son, C.
! Suetonius. Vespasian, 14.
1 Suetonius, Vitellius, 14, 4; cf. Cassius Dio, ep. 64(65), 1, 4;
naras, 11. 16.
83
84
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STROLO GY IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FRO M A U G U ST U S TO D O M ITIA N
85
The versatility of the prolific grammarian was greater and other diviners in Rome. Following the general
than his scholarly depth, but Vergil, who was one of ban of astrologers from the capital in 33 b . c ., the next
his students,2* probably owed much of his knowledge expulsion order of this kind which we know of was
on agriculture and horticulture, as well as apiculture directed against a renowned mystagogue. Anaxilaus of
Hyginus was the first Latin writer on bees to this Larissa. The date of the blow against him is not alto
widely informed teacher. Needless to say, Hyginus gether certain. Jerome did record it as of 29-28 b . c . , :!wrote such works not from practical experience, as for but one may wonder whether perhaps he was not already
example the older Cato had done, but at the book- banned with the sorcerers, expelled, along with the
covered desk of his study. Similarly his lengthy treatise astrologers, from Rome by Agrippas ordinance of 33
On astronomy the title varies in the manuscripts, B. c.33 Anaxilaus whose native Thessaly was rightly
where it occurs for example as de astrologia, or de or wrongly renowned for its inhabitants proficiency in
astronomia, or de signis caelestibus was not based on magic arts was certainly no ordinary charlatan. A lead
his own observations. H e dedicated the work, which ing neo-Pythagorean he was even credited (though on
in modern editions is usually divided into four books, dubious authority) with having been something like
to a M. Fabius. The introductory section 27 laid down the grandmaster of an Alexandrinian order of neothe table of contents: Hyginus intended to give an Pythagoreans. A treatise On philosophers was also
exposition of the basic subject-matter by means of a ascribed to him.3*
description of forty-two constellations and their myths,
W hat did arouse the Roman government perhaps
dealing (1 ) with an explanation of the cosmos and the more than his esoteric neo-Pythagoreanism was his
celestial sphere and its sections (Introduction and eight proficiency in alchemy and its related disciplines,
chapters) ; (2 ) with the stories of the heavenly con astrology and magic. W e have for example reason to
stellations (forty-three chapters) ; (3 ) with the forms believe that Anaxilaus was suspected of possessing a
of the constellations (forty chapters) ; (4 ) with the method of making silver, a recipe borrowed from the
rotation of the five circles amidst the heavenly bodies notorious Bolos of Mendes (second century b . c . ? ) .
and with the planets (the end is m issing).28
For more than a century after his expulsion from Rome
It seems established that Hyginus knew and used the he was remembered as an authority in the realm of
Phaenomena of Aratus, the most popular work on astral science. His reputation was great enough to induce,
mythology.29 He also had access to commentaries of for example, the older Pliny to have recourse to Anaxi
the poem, as well as to other authors, possibly Eratos laus as one of his sources in a number of books of his
thenes.30 H e furtherm ore availed himself of a celestial Natural H istory.3 About a century later the Thes
globe. Unfortunately, as a grammarian Hyginus was salian was still remembered, but was less highly regarded
too much interested in mythology and too little in by both pagan and Christian authors.37 Even towards
astronomy. H e was also handicapped by the limita the end of the fourth century a . d . Jerome deemed him
tions of his knowledge of Greek. Moreover, as might worthy of mention in his adaptation of Eusebius
be expected from so prolific a writer, his accuracy left Chronica. Following perhaps Suetonius the great Chris
much to be desired. Small wonder that his work was tian humanist referred to Anaxilaus as a Pythagorean
long neglected.31 Isidorus of Seville (early seventh and a magus. 38
century) was the first later scholar to quote it, inaugu
Jerome, Chron., 01.188 (Abr. 1989) : Anaxilaus Larissaeus
rating perhaps thereby its popularity, for our manu
scripts date from the eighth to the fifteenth century. Pythagoricus et magus ab Augusto urbe Italiaque pellitur. The
information may stem from Suetonius.
Like the work of his contemporary Vitruvius, that of
33 This is suggested by R. Helm, Philologus, Suppl. 21: 62,
Hyginus too was evidence of the mounting interest in but if Jerom es urbe Italiaque pellitur is literally correct, then
the heavens which characterized the late republic and Anaxilaus cannot have been banished by Agrippa's aedilian
ordinance of 33 b. c., because such a decree would have been
the Augustan era.
valid only for Rome, but not for Italy as a whole.
The belief in astrology in particular was now so firm
Diogenes Laertius, 3, 2, and possibly 1, 107.
33 Papyrus Holm, 3, 13 Lag., prefaced a recipy with ti
that Octavianus himself felt it necessary to continue the
Am^tXaos avatpipti xai rode. M. Wellmann, Die
policy of watching carefully the activities of astrologers <t>vtTina, des Bolos-Demokritos,
Abh. A k. Berlin. 7. 1928 : 40 ; 48;
Columella, de re rustica 1, 1. 13, referred to Hyginus as deceased
for a quite long time.
Columella, de r. r., loc. cit.
27 Ed. Bunte : 19, 3-10.
28 Ibid., p r .: 21 and 27.
See above, p. 26 f.
Compare A. Rehm, Mythographische Untersuchungen ueber
Sternsagen: 6; Muenchen, 18%.
31 Toikiehn. R E 10. 1919: c. 644; ibid., c. 649-651 on other
works of this kind, possibly also from the pen of Hyginus.
86
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
T H E P O W E R O F A S T R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
tan version of the catasterism of Julius Caesar,42 and
he also made, for example, magnificent poetic use of
the traditional Stoic belief in palingenesis, as well as
of the hallowed theory of successive saecula.43
F or the moment in our own day Einsteins concept
of a finite space seems to prevail, having successfully
replaced the earlier Euclidean assumption of an
infinite void filled with an infinite number of stars,
comets, and nebulae. At the same time this modem
finite universe appears to expand into nothingness at a
rate defying rational understanding. W hether or not
this cosmic catastrophe will affect our small planet
within the brief span allotted to the human race we do
not know, but the prospect of an all-encompassing catas
trophe in space is today perhaps less incredible than it
was to the sceptics of antiquity. Vergils pious dream
of a new era following such a disaster was not original
with him, but found lasting poetic expression in his
fourth eclogue in which a better age was to be launched
by a child redeemer.
Yet withal Vergil refused to accept blindly the astro
logical belief in an inexorable fate. H e did no more
than pay lip service to the fashionable interest in natal
constellations and planetary influences: Aeneas flattered
Helenus as a man who knew the stars,44 while elsewhere
the natal sign of Augustus, Libra, was referred to by
the poet,45 an indication of his being at least conversant
with the more common terminology of astrology.
Of the Augustan circle, Horace and his patron
Maecenas shared the gentlemanly attitude combining
astrological consultations with at least some grains of
scepticism, an outlook characteristic for the upper
Roman society of the late republic and the early
principate.
In an ode written in 26 b . c ., when Agrippa was
building the Pantheon in Rome, Horace made full use
of the astrological terminology of that era. H e empha
sized that both Maecenas and he had the same chronoc ra to r48 in their respective horoscopes. Their fate was
thus linked.47 The almost miraculous escape of Mae
cenas from death on a certain occasion was blandly
ascribed by the poet to the fact that in his patrons
horoscope Jupiters benign influence had been stronger
than the baleful one of Saturn. Yet the earthy common
sense of the poet was not to be entirely befogged by
such astrological claims. Jokingly he ascribed his own
escape from recent peril not to any zodiacal sign, be it
Libra, Scorpio, or Capricorn, or any other that might
See above, p. 78 ff.
See above, pp. 25. 27, 50 ff.
*" Acneid 3, v. 360: qui sidera sentis.
Georgies 1, vv. 33 ff.; compare W. v. Voigt, U nter welchen
Gestirium wurden Caesar, Agrippa und Tiberius geboren.
Philolorjus 58 (N . F. 12), 1899: 170-204.
** The chronocrator is the dominant planet in the natal
constellation; see Bouche-Leclercq: 491. n. 1; 491 ff.
,T Odes 2. 17. vv. 21 f .; compare F. Boll, Zu H oraz' Oden. 2,
17. Zeitschrijt fuer das Gymnasiaischulwesen 65, 1911: 765.
87
88
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
89
71
90
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A S TR O LO G ER S FRO M A U G U ST U S T O D O M ITIA N
German tribes between the Rhine and Elbe and to fetch
his brothers body for burial in Rome. Meanwhile Julia s
escapades continued to keep Romes ever-busy tongues
awagging. W hen Tiberius returned to Rome, he was
highly honored by the grateful emperor. H e was made
consul (7 b . c.) and granted a triumph. But life with
Julia had become intolerable. Divorce was unthinkable.
It would have mortally affronted Augustus had Tiberius
opened the doting fathers eyes to the conduct of Julia.
Tiberius was a Roman gentleman. He chose a curious
way out of his dilemma. A laughing stock of Romes
gay blades he asked formally for Augustus permission
to withdraw to Rhodes, ostensibly for the purpose of
resuming his studies . 79 The strange request was
granted with ill grace . 80 All that Livia could obtain
for her son from the irate emperor was a face-saving
appointment which made him a Roman ambassador
(legatus) to Rhodes . 81
W hen Tiberius with a very small retinue left for the
Greek island in 6 b . c ., he was still the most logical
successor to Augustus whose grandsons were far too
young to be seriously considered for the throne in case
Augustus should die during the next decade. The open
estrangement between the emperor and Tiberius, on the
other hand, encouraged malcontents who still hoped to
restore the old senatorial regime of the late republic.
Fully aware of the serious weakening of the dynastic
position the ruler did what he could to bolster it. He
adopted both Caius and Lucius and pursued tenaciously
his policy of arranging intra-family marriages. Of these
the match between Tiberius nephew Germanicus, son
of the late Drusus. and Julias daughter Agrippina (the
elder) proved fateful for the future fortunes of the
dynasty. F o r from it descended the emperor C. Caligula,
his sister, the younger Agrippina, and through her the
emperor Nero. Also married by Augustan arrange
ment during these years was Julias other daughter,
the younger Julia. The husband selected for her was
L. Aemilius Paulus, whose mother, Cornelia, had been
immortalized by Propertius, and who herself was a halfsister of Augustus. W ith the imperial family thus
cemented by all conceivable kinds of marital ties, the
princeps reached the zenith of his political career when
on February 5 .2 b . c . he was solemnly voted the highest
honor which could be bestowed upon a R om an: the title
of pater patriae. At the zenith of his fortunes fate struck
him down.
H is eyes were suddenly opened to the true character
of his beloved daughter, Julia, and the life she was
leading. Even the hard-boiled and anti-imperial his
torians of the first century admitted the King Lear
7* O ur sources more or less agree on the real reasons; see
Velleius Paterculus, 2, 99, 1-3; Suetonius, Tiberius, 10-11:
Tacitus, Annals 6, 51 (57) ; cf. 1, 53; Cassius Dio. 55, 9. 5-8;
(or the pretext of further studies. ibid. 55. 9, 5.
" Suetonius. Tiberius, 10f.
M Ibid.. 12. 1.
91
92
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
4.
T H R A SY L L U S A N D A U G U ST U S
94
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
Ibid., 59, 1.
:0 Ibid., 32, 2.
111 Suetonius, Tiberius, 14, 2.
07 Tacitus, Annals 6, 21; Suetonius, Tiberius, 14, 4 ; Cassius
111 Tacitus, Annals 6, 21; Cassius Dio, 55, 11, 1.
o. 53. 11, 2-3; Anonymus Byzant., cod. Paris, gr. suppl. 607 A.
lls Tacitus, loc. cit.-, Cassius Dio, 55, 11, 3.
- ' r. ed- Cat. 8, 4: 99 f; compare A. H . Krappe, Tiberius and
111 Suetonius, Augustus, 65, 1; Velleius Paterculus, 2, 103.
rasyllus, Am er. Jour. PhUol. 48, 1927 : 359-366; C. Cichorius,
118 Corpus Inscriptionum Graecorum (C IG ) 3, no. 7107, con
miscke Studien: 390tf.. Leipzig and Berlin, Teubner, 1922.
firmsaccording to C. Cichorius, Roemische Studien: 396, and
"* Tacitus, Annals 4, 37; compare 1, 4.
Rhein. M us. 76, 1927: 103Hirschfelds suggestion that Tiberius
Ibid. 3, 48, and especially 4, 15. Suetonius, Tiberius, 12, 2,
may already have been able to obtain the Roman citizenship
res that at first all Romans of importance made a point of
for Thrasyllus even before both men left Rhodes.
ling on Tiberius whep passing through Rhodes, but ceased
1,8 This name has been reconstructed by E. Honigmann. Zu
io so after the succession of C. and L. Caesar seemed assured.
CIG 4730, H erm es 59, 1924 : 477 f., while Peek (op. cit. above,
. after 2 b . c . ; see ibid.. 12, 3; 13, 1.
ch. iii, n. 4) prefers to assume that the missing letters added
10 Tacitus. Annals 2. 42. On one occasion, however, Tiberius up to a2pa, not "Aica.
:.ad forgotten the name jof an old Rhodian friendwith tragic
111 Compare a first century b . c. relief, showing Antiochus I
=ults: ibid. 6, 10. On the episode involving Archelaus. compare
of Commagene and the Sun-god M ithras; F. Cumont. Les
i Suetonius. Tiberiusi 36; Cassius Dio. 57. 17, 3 ff. Velleius
religions . . .: 133. The tomb of the king was decorated with
Paterculus 2, 99. 3-4; liOO. 1; cf. 103, 1. for o!>vious reasons
his coronation horoscope of July 6 or 7, 62 b . c . when Pompey
-rred only to the first years of Tiberius' sojourn at Rhodes;
had reinstated him. F o r astrological epitaphs in Syria and Asia
inpare on Archelaus Tail W . E. Gwatkin. Cappadocia as a
minor, compare for example F. Cumont, Inscriptions du Pont.
'' n a n procuratorial province. Cnk'. of Missouri Studies 5 (4)
no. 33; F. Boll, Akrostische Inschrift von Sinope. Arc kip fuer
v'l: 7-16.
Religionswissenschaft 13, 1910 : 475-478.
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S T O D O M IT IA N
95
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O LO G ER S FRO M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
The spirit of this passage is akin to that of Lucretius,
and the proud ratio omnia vincit would hardly be
considered a contradiction to the neo-pvthagorean and
platonic mysticism espoused by Thrasyllus. For reason
was thought to be the foundation of their concepts also.
The assumption that Augustus, having greatly expanded
the territory of the Roman empire during his lifetime,
would similarly after his death expand the heavenly
realm also, was of course a piece of gross flattery, but
it was in keeping with the rhetorical ecstasies of the
period.
In the same vein Manilius after describing the civil
wars against Brutus and Cassius, and against Mark
Antony and Sextus Pompeius, as well as the shattering
defeat of Roman armies under Varus in Germany ( a . d .
9 ), exclaimed:
B ut this will have been enough for the F ates. Now the
w ars will quieten dow n, and D iscord, chained w ith adam ant
fetters, is eternally leashed in h er prison. Be there an
invincible fath er of the co u n try ( pater in victu s pa tria e),
and be Rome [invincible] u nder h im : Since he gave a god
to heaven, she need n o t seek one on earth .13*
97
:*8
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
This attitude corresponded with the Horatian odi profanum vulgus et arceo and was shared by almost the
entire Roman aristocracy (and any other aristocracy
anywhere at any tim e). In strange contrast to such
caste feelings, however, Manilius poem was permeated
with certain manifestations of the Stoic spirit, revital
ized by Posidonius, especially the belief in a cosmic
sympatheia. an all-pervading harmony . 152 The deeply
religious longing for an orderly universe expressed the
very essence of what seems to have been Thrasyllus
Weltanschauung, which he so successfully imparted to
the Augustan inner circle.
This influence must have begun soon after his arrival
in Rome (presumably together with Tiberius) in a . d . 2.
It cannot have been long before Tiberius introduced
his teacher and friend to the emperor himself. The
somewhat paradoxical attitude of these men who, on
one side, became increasingly sceptical about the oldfashioned methods of divination and, on the other, were
with increasing firmness addicted to the infallible
scientific revelations of astrology was of course not con
fined to the imperial court. It was to a growing degree
shared by educated men throughout the Roman empire.
The common people, however, continued simply to add
new methods of divination to the long familiar Latin or
Etruscan ones. Until the end of pagan antiquity they
patronized devotedly the diviners of both the older and
the more recent techniques. So strong was the popular
faith in seers and prophets, for example, that Augustus
in a . d . 7 found it prudent to feign belief in some crude
superstition for the benefit of the restive populace of
Rome:
H e m ade a vow w ith reference to the M egalenian gam es,
because some w om an had cu t some letter on h er a rm an d
practiced som e so rt of divination. H e knew w ell to be sure
th a t she had not been possessed by a divine pow er b u t had
done this th in g d eliberately : b u t inasm uch as the populace
w as terrib ly w ro u g h t up over both the w ars and the fam ine,
. . . he. too, affected to believe the common re p o rt an d p ro
ceeded to do an y th in g th a t w ould m ake the crow d m ore
cheerful, re g a rd in g such m easures as necessary.1*3
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
torv elements in the manner in which Agrippa in 33
b . c. on behalf of the government had purged from Rome
astrologers and sorcerers. But during the restive years
which followed the Augustan vow of a . d . 7 no measure
of this kind was recorded.
Instead in a . d . 11 a wholly novel type of restriction
was imposed upon diviners, a restriction particularly
applicable to the practitioners of astrology. Augustus in
an edict proscribed on an empire wide basis, not merely
in Rome and Italy, all consultations on certain topics.
The death of any person should never again be the
subject of divinatory curiosity. N or should, to assure
observance of this ruling, any seance take place d deux,
i. e. between the diviner and his client alone . 154 One
may well wonder to what extent Thrasyllus, by now a
friend of long standing of both Augustus and the heir
designate, Tiberius, was responsible for inaugurating
this novel legal policy of the imperial government. The
immediate reason for the edict of a . d . 1 1 may easily
be guessed: a persistent and wide spread rumor, fanned
by diviners to please their clients, that the aged ruler was
about to die and great changes might be impending . 155
Augustus after issuing his edict challenged his foes
directly in their own arena. He himself published his
horoscope to p ro v e that his demise was not immi
nent. The familiarity of Augustus and Thrasyllus
during the last years of the reign was shown by an
incident from the very end of the Augustan era. The
scene was Capri, the island destined to become Tiberius
refuge in years to come. Augustus, Tiberius, and T hra
syllus were at dinner. Torches were seen burning in
the distance near the tomb of Masgabas, a former
favorite of the emperor. Jokingly Augustus
. . . recited w ith a loud voice the follow ing G reek verse
which he w as im p ro v isin g :
T h e founder's tomb I see revealed by torches b rig h t.
T h ereupon he tu rn ed to T hrasyllus, a G reek belonging to
T ib e riu s entourage, w ho w as u n aw are of the fact [th a t
the verse w as im provised] and asked him from w hat poet
in his opinion the v erse w as taken. S ince the man was
unable to guess, he quickly added ano th er o n e: D o you not
see. 't is M asgabas w ho thus is honored ? 156
99
TH R A SY L L U S A ND T IB E R IU S (A .D . 14-22)
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
101
a fear generally felt by high and low alike. Not only did
Tacitus in the above passage indicate his own acceptance
of these popular views, but the emperor Tiberius also
had been possessed by anxieties of this kind. Thrasyllus,
possibly himself the author of a lapidary,I6r seems to
have strengthened rather than discouraged this belief.
This was not at all strange, for magic, like astrology,
was looked upon as an accurate science. The precise
combination of physical ingredients and the repetition
of exactly the same formulae were held to bring about
the same results in every instance and at any time . 168
Anyone possessing the proper formula would thus be
able to produce infallibly the desired magical result.
A scientific mind like that of Thrasyllus therefore had
no reason to disbelieve in magic or to inculcate scepti
cism concerning it in the minds of disciples like Tiberius
and Germanicus. T hat Tiberius himself acquired some
knowledge of magic and its techniques is well estab
lished. W ho else but Thrasyllus could have been his
instructor in this dangerous craft ? Astrology and
magic were sister " sciences. Thrasyllus had certainly
taught Tiberius the one, and most probably the other
as well. T hat both men practiced these two arts jointly,
was asserted by Cassius D io :
12 tf.
17' Thrasyllus was perhaps also in sympathy with Ti'xjrius'
renewal of the technical restrictions imposed on haruspices;
Suetonius, Tiberius, 63, 1.
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O L O G E R S FRO M A U G U ST U S T O D O M IT IA N
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
102
. . . were . . . disturbed by an utterance of the Sibyl, which
peror may have pressed tor at least temporary curbs of although it did not fit this period of the citys history at all,
astrological activities in the disturl>ed capital. A t any was nevertheless applied to the situation then existing.
rate within less than four months after the death of It ran
When thrice three hundred years have run their course,
Lil>o Tiheriits, certainly not without previous consulta- Civil strife upon Rome destruction shall bring, and the folly,
'ions with TlirasylluB. instigated two senatus consulta too. Of Svbaris. . . .
Tiberius, now. denounced these verses as spurious and
spelling astrologers and other diviners from Rome . 180
made an investigation of all the books that contained any
1' wo men. perhaps diviners who had been more actively
prophecies, rejecting some as worthless and retaining
participating in Libos plot than merely by inflammaothers as genuine.185
-orv predictions, were executed: L. Pituanius and P.
W ho could doubt that in this scrutiny Thrasyllus
XLarcius, Roman citizens both . 131 T heir death apparntly occurred soon after the trial and the senate's ban had a leading part? W hile less radical than the great
it astrological practice in Rome and Italy. O n the other purge of Augustus in 12 b . c ., Tiberius action proved
hand, it may have been due in part to the influence of the ever-recurring need of curbing the violent faith in
Thrasyllus also that Tiberius expressly permitted astrol divinatory revelations, however unwarranted.
In the same year, the one in which (as has been said)
ogers who gave up their profession to remain in Rome , 12
i clear indication that the purely scholarly pursuit of Germanicus died believing himself the victim of witch
craft. Tiberius also proceeded severely against a t least
astrology was not to be curbed.
The limits of the influence of Thrasyllus over his two oriental cults and their adherents in Rome. Once
imperial patron and: friend were, however, indicated more the Jew s were expelled, apparently for too suc
by his inability to prevent the fall of the kingdom of cessful missionarizing amongst the Romans . 186 Young
Commagene. T his little realm, important as a buffer- Jews, four thousand of them, were conscripted and sent
state on the upper Euphrates between the Parthian to Sardinia, known for its m urderous climate, to work
( kingdom and the Roman empire, was in a . d . 17-18 in the quarries. Some kindly senators expressed the
j incorporated into the Roman province of Syria upon prevailing feeling that even if all of them fell victim to
' the death of its king Antiochus I I I (d. 17). It was not the climate it would be no great loss. Those Jews,
a special blow aimed at Commagene in particular. F or however, who foreswore their religion, received the
already Augustus haidas early as 25 b . c.embarked same lenient treatment granted to penitent astrologers
on a policy aimed at eliminating Roman satellite kings in a . d . 16: They could remain in Rome.18T
A t about the same time, certainly in the same year
in Asia Minor and to establish a firm Roman border
again . ' 1 he Parthiart kingdom. In a . d . 17 Tiberius a . d . 19, the tempie of Isis, the divinity by some con
re-'::!'
because of the faltering sidered more powerful than Fate itself, was razed, the
Ron
"
-ample, the aged priests executed, and the idol itself thrown into the
king
ordered Tiber. Although a scandalous incident provided the
to Rome, on.
. *
eased to immediate reason for the governments action, intrinsic
rule.1** In Commagene the death ol - U u u x a ; u s I I I in ally the motive was similar to the one prom pting the
the same year made things even easier. If Thrasyllus expulsion of the Jew s: the success of the priests of Isis
could do anything to soften the blow it may have been in missionarizing amongst the great of Rome. It also
his suggestion made to Tiberius to await at least the added, if further proof were needed, another example
death of the king before annexing Commagene. The to those attesting the limitless credulity of even Romes
personal interest of Thrasyllus in the m atter was of best educated society. Satum inus, a Roman knight,
course due to the fact that Antiochus I II was by m ar and his young and fair wife, Paulina, were known as
riage related to him, being perhaps his father-in-law . 184 one of those rare couples who though m arried were
In Rome itself the vigorous action of the government devoted to each other. Both had joined the cult of
n a . d . 16 seems t o have curbed for some years a t least Isis. Another Roman knight, young Dicius Mundus,
le activities of astrologers and their colleagues. But was strongly attracted to Paulina, but his advances
were so firmly repulsed that he determined to end his
; a . d . 19 another wave of unrest swept the capital,
oking from Tiberius a counter-measure, reminiscent life by starving himself to deathafter an outright offer
t the great antodaje of oracular literature which Augus- of 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 drachmae for her favors (a fine sidelight on
Roman social mores in the Tiberian age!) had been
:us had held in 12 B.C.: The people of Rome
flatly rejected by the virtuous Paulina.
C o m p a re F. H . Cramer, Expulsion of astrologers from
The old nurse of M undus saw his plight and asked
m c ie n t R o m e . Classiid et Mediaevalia, 12, 1-2, Copenhagen,
about its cause. Being told she promised the melan
1!5 1 : 21-28. f o r a detailed analysis of these SC.
choly Mundus that for only 50,000 drachmae she would
Tactius, Annals 2, 32.
" S u e t o n i u s . Tiberius, 36.
' 3 C o m p a re f o r a summary of imperial policies in A sia during
is period, Th. Mommsen, Roemiscke Geschichte 5, 10th e d :
J ff.. Berlin, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1927.
'* See the family tree above, p. 95.
103
obtain for him what he desired. Having little to lose the trial of Aemilia Lepida by Tiberius son, Drusus.
Mundus gave her the sum. The wilv woman went Actually, the two men exchanged blows on one occa
forthwith to the temple of Isis and persuaded the some sion ,11,2 and, although an outward reconciliation was
what reluctant high priest to cooperate in a scheme effected, Drusus remained hostile to Sejanus. His
based on his greed and Paulina's religious devotion. jealous nature may have reacted in a similar manner
A down payment of 25,000 drachmae with the promise to Tiberius preferment of Thrasyllus in whom the
of another 25,000 if the plan succeeded pacified the haughty Drusus probably saw nothing but a noxious
Greek parasite. Little was needed, therefore, to bring
none too tender conscience of the priest.
about a political alliance !>etween Sejanus and T hra
Paulina was duly informed, with considerable cere
syllus. Indeed, one may wonder whether at least in
mony no doubt, that none other than god Anubis
part the rise of Sejanus had not been due to support
himself had fallen in love with her and desired her
received from Thrasyllus who possessed a unique posi
company at midnight in the temple. Being a dutiful
tion of vantage for influencing Tiberius decisions.
and loyal wife, Paulina reported the proposition to her
Elevated to the position of praetorian prefect Sejanus,
husband. H e, too, felt highly honored by the divine
an energetic, hard-working man, carried through
interest in his spouse and not only permitted, but urged
with imperial consent, of course an innovation of
her to accept the invitation. The wife of a Roman
far-reaching political consequence: the concentration of
knight went to the temple at midnight. The mistress
the praetorian guards in a single camp outside the gates
of a god returned to boast before her friends about the
of Rome . 103
glory that was hers. Unfortunately, however, Dicius
In dealing with Sejanus, Thrasyllus found himself
Mundus met Paulina a few days later. Unable to hide
his trium phant mood any longer he jokingly informed in a dilemma. His chief interest lay of course in main
her that for a mere 50,000 drachmae he had obtained taining Tiberius in power as long as possible. There
what he had been willing to pay 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 drachmae for. fore. he would hardly ever support any projected coup
A completely crestfallen Paulina at once confessed to by Sejanus. The hostility of Drusus, on the other hand,
her husband the impudent fraud whose victim she had augured ill for the future of Thrasyllus and his house.
been. The irate Satum inus hurried to Tiberius to Tiberius, already an old man by Roman standards,
invoke imperial vengeance against the guilty. I t was might die in the foreseeable future, leaving Thrasyllus
forthcoming. The nurse was crucified. So were the exposed to the antagonism of Drusus. Nevertheless,
priests. The temple, as has been said, was destroyed, Thrasyllus must have been far too prudent to assume
and Dicius Mundus barely escaped with his life. H e a part in the tragedy developing between a . d. 2 0 and 23:
Sejanus seduced the wife of Drusus, Livilla. She be
was banished .188
came so madly infatuated with him that, with the help
A year later one of the highest-ranking matrons of
Rome, Aemilia Lepida, was haled into court in another of two members of her household, she poisoned her
husband in a . d. 23.194 Twin boys (one of whom died
trial, meant perhaps to intimidate the Roman nobility,
many of whose members were only too eager to over in that very year) inherited their fathers claims, but
the surviving child, Tiberius Gemellus, was barely four
throw the ruling Julio-Claudian family. 180 She was
indicted for high treason, committed by astrological years old at the time and clearly incapable of assuming
consultations . 190 Tiberius as in the case of Libo was the heavy responsibilities of the throne for many years
to come.
firmly set on her not undeserved ruin. N ot to add to
Altogether the first nine years of Tiberius reign
the pent up fury of the large following of the defendant,
however, he forbade his son, Drusus, to make the witnessed the rise of Thrasyllus to the summit of influ
formal motion for a verdict of guilty, perhaps to avoid ence. In a sense he had come to be the power behind
increasing Drusus' already established reputation for the throne. F o r his astrological predictions, his intimate
harshness . 191 Aemilia was convicted. Once more a converse with the emperor day after day, and his shrewd
violation of the Augustan edict of a . d . 11 had proven advice based on his own keen appraisal of men and
things could not but carry great weight with Tiberius.
exceedingly costly.
The year a . d . 20 was pregnant, however, with a far Moreover, the imperial family, Drusus alone excepted,
more important development: the emergence of Sejanus seem to have been on friendly terms with the powerful
as imperial favorite. H e now was given the office of astrologer. H e had succeeded in marrying off his
praetor, a definite sign of imperial favor. The rise of daughter to a Roman knight. A granddaughter, Ennia,
the new' favorite had been bitterly resented before had been bom to the couple and was named after him
ls Josephus, ant. Jud. 18, 3, 4.
Compare R. S. Rogers, Criminal trials: 51 ff.
Tacitus, A nnals 3, 22.
1,1 R. S. Rogers, op. c it.: 55; see also his Drusus Julius
Caesar, Studies in the reign of Tiberius: 151.
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IX T H E L A T IN W O R LD
105
106
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O LO G ER S FR O M A U G U ST U S TO D O M ITIA N
episode with the court astrologer's prophecy . 217 W hether
or not he did so on honest astrological grounds is a
different matter. At any rate he possessed good political
reasons for a deceptive prediction: his own opposition
to the torrent of inaiestas trials which were character
istic for that year 34. a caedes perpetna according to
Tacitus.21*
The growing senatorial antagonism to his imperial
patron and to his own family could not but be a source
of great anxiety to Thrasyllus. Accordingly, he decided
to lull the emperor into a false sense of security:
A n d had n o t . . . T h rasy llu s, purposely it is said, induced
him to p u t off some th ings th ro u g h hope of a longer life,
it is believed th a t still m ore w ould have perished. . . -219
107
108
E N N IA TH RA SY LLA
_'0 . 1.
Suetonius. Xero. 6.
He returned to Rome in a . d . 41, it seems, probably as one
uf the leaders of an Alexandrinian embassy to Claudius: see
below, p. 113 f.
Suetonius. Tiberius. 7b. It is hardly surprising that Tiberius
had grave misgivings about both young men. Perhaps T h ra
syllus had made some ominous predictions about them also;
eompar? Cut. 8. 4: 1(W. 9 ff.; Cassius Dio. 58. 23. 2.
109
110
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
the complaint vciced by Tiberius (in Tacitus Annals. even had We been the most tactful of men he could
6 . 46).
Ennia Thrasylla's insistence on the fateful hardly remain in Caius favor:
formal marriage pledge was corroborated by Suetonius
K now ing th a t m any tim es he h ad saved Caius from the
(Caligula. 12. 2). Although Roman society had long very brink of death, M acro g av e him fran k and u nvarnished
ceased to lx? squeamish about marital infidelity, the advice. . . .-'41) F o r w hen M acro saw him stray in g from
the rig h t w ay and lettin g his impulses ran g e unbridled
marriage contract would seem to discredit the assertion
anvw hither and in any w ay he would adm onish and ex h o rt
that Macro himself was the instigator of the intrigue
him th inking th a t he w as the sam e Caius who w hile T ib eriu s
between his wife and Caius. It was far more likely still lived w as reasonably docile. . . .-50 In such m an n er
that Ennia Thrasvlla herself, carried away by ambition, did the hapless m an beseech C aius in o rd er to im prove
him. . . . H e, how ever, b eing co n trary and quarrelsom e
was at least a willing victim of Caligula's wooing.
Rumor had it even that the young man's infatuation tu rn ed his m ind in the opposite direction . . . and said to
some who w ere near h im : T h e re he is, the teacher of a
was due to a love potion administered to him by m an no longer benefiting from learning, the paedagogue
Ennia , 248 but there is no need to accept what might of one w ho is no longer a child, th e ad v iser of a m an m ore
merely be a rhetorical flourish as historical fact.
intelligent than he is him self, a m an who believes th a t a
Both Ennia and Caius, apart from any sexual attrac prin c e deserves to be ruled like a subject, a m an who w rites
like
one used to im perial pow er and to the role of an
tion they might have had for each other, had more than educator.
2=1
sufficient political reasons for their liaison. Ennia, who
Caligula was not slow in convincing himself that
lad married Macro probably about a . d . 29 or 30, at an
age of perhaps fourteen years at the most, was Caius Macro was l^elittling him :
junior by several years, but that need not have made
T hus in a sh o rt tim e he began to be estran g ed front
her less calculating. The date at which the affair began M acro and invented false th o u g h plausible and successfully
to prosper cannot be ascertained. The likeliest time m isleading reasons such as the follow ing w ords w hich h lwould have been the years between 34 and 37, i. e. after ascribed to M a c ro : " T h e re is m y C aius, the w o rk of M acro.
[ have crea ted him m o re tru ly , o r a t least n o less th a n h is
=iie had borne Macro several children, and the imperial
ow n parents. N ot once b u t th rice would he have perished
prospects of Caius, on the other hand, began to increase a t the hands of T ib eriu s who w as bent on slaying him , had
alter the death of his mother, the younger Agrippina,
it not been for me and my defense of him. B ut also w hen
he [T ib e riu s] died, I, h av in g com m and over the so ld ierj.
and his older brother Drusus ( a . d . 33).
The deluded husband was obviously cultivated by pledged them a t once to alleg ian ce fo r him [C aiu s], aw are
of the need for a single ruler. T h u s the g overnm ent rem ains
Caius with great care when the death of the ailing em- healthy and com plete. Som e w ere convinced th a t those
l>eror approached during the first months of 37. Ennia
w ords had actually been spoken for they ran g tru e
Thrasvlla would no doubt support the young princes because they w ere ig n o ra n t of the deceitful ch a ra cte r of
cause with her husband. At the same time she could him w ho rep o rted them [ i.e . C aiu s]. F o r his evil and
promise the cuckold that she would do her best to in treacherous ch a ra cte r h ad n o t yet been revealed. 2
fluence Caius in Macros favor. Consequently, the
It was obvious that in order to overthrow Macro.
praetorian prefect played his part loyally and was Caius had to ease him out of the command over the
instrumental in overcoming all opposition to the sole praetorian guards. H ad Thrasyllus still been alive he
succession of Caius.2 *7 The death of the luckless rival, might have advised Macro to put up a fight for his
Tiberius Gemellus, followed soon afterwards. Instead post or to throw himself guiltless though he was of
of inspiring gratitude in the fickle breast of Caligula, any treason on the emperors mercy. As it was,
Macro, through the demonstration of his far-reaching however, any suspicion which Macro and Ennia might
influence in Rome, alienated whatever affection Ennias have had of Caligula's intentions was apparently allayed
lover might have entertained for the praetorian prefect. by the em perors offer of the most important adminis
His political goal achieved. Caius also felt himself no trative position in the imperial service: the governor
longer bound to his pledge to marry a Greek astrolo ship of Egypt. The incumbent, Flaccus Avillius, was
ger's granddaughter:
the man whom Philo of Alexandria attacked soon after
wards in a venomous diatribe. H e was also a warm
W hen this first and greatest struggle had been won by
Caius there was no one left to share w ith him the suprem e
power, no man around whom some m alcontents and am bi
tious men m ight r^lly. H e began at once the struggle
ag ain st M acro, a m an who in all m atters concerning his
rule had fought on his side, not only after his accession
. . . but also before he obtained the principate.248
Ill
112
T H E R IS E A X D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
113
T iberius Claudius C aesar A ugustus Ciermanicus Iniperator. Pontifex M axim us, holder of the T rib u n ician Power,
consul designate, to the city of A lexandria greeting. T ib er
ius Claudius Barbillus [jric.']. . . . Chaerem on. son of
Leonidas. . . . T iberius C laudius A rchibius . . . your
am bassadors . . . discoursed at length co n cern in g ' the
city. . . . O f the two golden statues the one . . . . as mv
most honored Barbillus [.viV/] suggested and entreated,
shall be erected at Rome. . . .-7<;
114
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IX T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S T O D O M IT IA N
following in his footsteps at the time, adding a donation
of her own to the paternal one . 287 Inasmuch as Claudias
(second?) husband was prefect of Egypt around a . d .
90, one may tentatively ascribe her birth to the reign
of Claudius, perhaps to the very last years of it (after
a . d . 50?).
For her marriage to C. Julius Antiochus
Epiphanes. son of Antiochus IV' of Commagene . 288
probably took place sometime during the last years of
Nero, or at least not later than a . d . 72.
Unless Balbillus had been married before he must
therefore have married (o r rem arried) in the reign of
Claudius, perhaps about a . d . 50. A t that time he was
in his late forties, an age very suitable for a Roman
citizen of high rank to shoulder (or resume again)
what Roman law somewhat discourteously called the
burden of matrimony. W e know as yet nothing what
ever about his wife, but can safely assume th at her
familys station matched that of Balbillus. Perhaps she
too belonged to a great Greek house which had found
favor at the imperial court. Thus, as the reign of
Claudius drew to a close, the son of Thrasyllus was a
well-established pater familias. H e had not only re
tained the friendship of Claudius, but managed also to
ingratiate himself with the rising sun, the younger
Agrippina. It is, therefore, quite possible that he was
among those astrologers who foretold (for once cor
rectly ) 289 the death of Claudius. F o r forecasts of this
kind were (although forbidden by law !) Balbillus
specialty ! 280
Nevertheless one must never forget that a social abyss
separated him from that host of professional astrologers
who earned their living solely by their craft. To them
only did Seneca refer when he had Mercury joke about
the struggle which the soul of dead Claudius had in
ascending to the heavens. Addressing one of the three
Fates M ercury appealed to her;
Why, cruel woman, doest thou allow this poor man to be
thus tormented? He should not be tortured that long. For
lie has already struggled with his soul for sixty-four years
[i.e. all his life]. Let for once the astrologers speak the
truth, they who have prophesied his death every year, nay
every month since he ascended the throne. 291
There was, indeed, truth to the joke of Seneca. For
in a . d . 52 Claudius by a senatorial decree had renewed
earlier expulsion orders banishing astrologers from the
capital and from Italy as well. 295 Balbillus, of course,
"*7 F o r this inscription, compare Athenische Mitteilungen 32,
1907: 337 f.
-*8 Ib id .: 37; the inscription from which this is known appears
in Kaibel, Epigr., no. 991 ; Peek, M itteil d. Inst. f. alf Altertum skunde 5, 1934 : 96 f.
Compare Seneca, Apocolyntosis, 3.
H e wrote a whole work on the subject. I t is the only
treatise from his pen of which fragments have survived; see
below, p. 127.
3,1 Seneca, Apocolyntosis. 3.
3M Tacitus. Annals 12, 52.
115
was as little affected by the ban as his father, Thrasyllus,
had been by similar decrees in a . d . 16.293 Roman
gentleinen-astrologers in general, and court-astrologers
in particular, never needed fear such measures. N or
need one assume that even the rank and file took them
too seriously.
The reason for the senatus constdtum of 52 was the
one customary in such cases: fear of the influence of
astrologers in stirring up public unrest. Prophecies
promising the impending demise of the emperor were
among the most inflammatory ones. The outlawing of
such predictions since a . d . 1 1 had only been an added
incentive for the curious. W ith Britannicus barely
eleven years old, and even Claudius' adopted stepson
Nero less than fifteen, the question of the imperial
succession remained unsolved. Astrologers would have
a field-day, for example, in promising aristocratic clients
a chance of ascending the throne if and when the ailing,
elderly monarch died. Balbillus was of course fully
aware of the precariousness of the political situation.
H is father, Thrasyllus, in a similar period had reso
lutely backed the more logical of two candidates, i. e.
he had lent his support to Caius Caligula rather than
to the younger and feebler Tiberius Gemellus. Simi
larly Balbillus now banked on Agrippina, Seneca, and
Nero in preference to the ailing and unstable Britanni
cus, by four years the junior of Nero. It is most likely
therefore that his astrological advice was at least partly
responsible for the dynastic marriage by which Claudius
in 53 joined in wedlock his ill-starred daughter, Octavia,
to young Nero.
9.
B A LB ILL U S A N D N ERO
116
affections. Recalled from exile after Claudius acces To what extent she owed it to back-stage support from
sion. Agrippina regained custody of her son. but she Claudius' friend and court astrologer. Balbillus. will
never ceased to accuse Domitia of having grossly mis- never be known. That he took her side, however, is
educated the youngster.2'JB She also never forgot, as certain. For. as we know', he had prophesied the
probably !>ehooved a daughter of the elder Agrippina, eventual accession of her son to the throne . 103
From the very moment of her wedding, made possible
that young L. Domitius was a grandson of Germanicus.
great-grandson of M. Yipsanius Agrippa and his wife only by the scrapping of the Roman law forbidding a
Julia, i. e. a grcat-great-grandson of Augustus. He was marriage between uncle and niece. Agrippina began to
also closely related to the Claudian line. For Germani prepare the wav for her son s future by providing him
cus' father. Drusus, the brother of the emperor Tiberius, with a set of excellent tutors. She persuaded Claudius
to grant at long last the return of Seneca from exile.
had been a scion of the Claudian family.
As soon as this was accomplished, she underlined her
W hatever proud dreams, however, Agrippina might
opposition to her husbands past treatment of the famous
entertain for her son were dreamed under sinister
Stoic by inviting Seneca to become the chief tutor of
auspices. For she had received an astrological p re
young L. Domitius. then barely twelve years old . 304
diction. perhaps from Balbillus himself in a . d. 41 2!>:
Seneca was joined by the Alexandrian Stoic. Chaere
(when she was recalled from exile and Balbillus had
m on .305 perhaps the same one who in a . d . 41 had been
hurried from Alexandria to Rome j a prediction which a member of the Alexandrian embassy to Claudius.
promised the boy Che imperial throne but also forecast A man of such stature must have been well known to
that he would murder his own mother . 298 Domitia in Balbillus who after alt had long been the official head
turn entertained great hopes of seeing on the imperial of the Alexandrian Museion. It may therefore be
throne her own grandson. Britannicus. whom her assumed that Balbillus was at least consulted, and per
daughter, Messalina. had borne to Claudius a few wreeks haps directly responsible for the selection of this re
after his accessioni299 W as not Britannicus. the only nowned scholar, who not only himself had mastered
living son of Claudius, the logical heir, if only Claudius Egyptian hieroglyphs, but also had written a book on
ruled long enough for the boy to reach manhood? A the venerable script.301 as well as a history of Egypt.30'*
deadly race for power was thus run during the 'forties A member of the Egyptian priesthood he too like
between the two si$ters-in-Iaw, Agrippina and Domitia. Balbillus presided at one time (perhaps in the reign
The reckless ambition of Agrippina was perhaps accu of Caligula?) over the Museion at Alexandria.
rately reflected in her contemptuous exclamation :
A part from being a philologist and a historian, Chaere
' AI ay [myj son murder me. if only he will rule! 300 mon was also a renowned writer on astronomical and
Her wish was to be granted.
astrological topics. 309 H e had for example written a
The catastrophe which overtook Messalina in 47 cast redoubtable treatise on com ets 310 in which he expressed
its shadow over her mother. Domitia. as well. The the opinion that comets were not necessarily, as the
doomed daughter at the last moment sought refuge
traditional astrological interpretation insisted, harbingers
with her motherin vain. Messalinas very ruin paved
of disaster, but could also announce glad tidings. Chaerethe wav for the fourth marriage of the now widowed
Claudius. The match was engineered in the manner of
3'1 Tacitus, Annals 6 . 2 2 ; 1 4 , 9.
a horse race. Each of the three most powerful freed3 See tor example Tacitus, Annals 12, 8. Piquantly enough
tnen at court presented his own candidate for the em Seneca had been banished for adultery with Agrippinas own
peror's marital couch. Tacitus has described the mad sister, Julia Livilla: Casius Dio, 60. 8. 5; compare Suetonius.
race for power in Unforgettable dramatic term s .301 Of Claudius. 2 9 . 1 on Julia's death. It was even said that Agrippina
herself had been Seneca's mistress ; Cassius Dio. ep. 61, 10, 1-0 .
the three contesting women only the weakest one, Aelia see also Tacitus. Annals 13, 42. 6; Seneca, rirf'PM'ib. consol.,
Paetina, was to escape the jealous fury of the ultimate
13, 2 .
30r' Origines, contra Celsum 1, 59: Porphyry, de abstin., 4 , 6:
winner. H er muchj more dangerous rival, the fabulous
Lollia Paulina, ex-jwite of the late emperor Caligula, . . . o <ttuhkd5 . . . . and 8 : apSpos . . . iv r o t s (TTUHKDH irpwyApollonius, dc conjunctione: 515, 5 ; Suidas, s.v.
paid with her head ;for having dared to compete for the MOTncurdrow;
'WiiaySpoi A o a r o i and A io n u tf to j AX<ar{p<v?.
imperial couch."'- The victory finally fell to Agrippina.
3'" See above, p. 113.
Compare ibid.. 5 and 6, 3.
7 SuRgested by Taiftius. A nnals 6. 2 2; compare C. Cichorius,
Der Astrologe Balbillus, Sohn des Thrasyllus, Rhein. Mas. 76,
1927: 103 f.
Tacitus, Annals 14, 9.
;o Suetonius. Claudius, 27.
Tacitus. Annals 14. 9.
3,11 Ibid.. 12. 1 ff.
See F. H. Cramer, The Caesars and the stars, Sem inar 9,
1951 : 31-35.
117
118
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A S T R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
119
120
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
121
122
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
already had won for him the high acclaim of his con
temporaries . - 63 His writings are now lost except for
the torso of an epic poem, called the Pharsalia. In it
he attacked Julius Caesar so bitterly and, on the other
hand, glorified Caesar's foe, Pompey, to such an extent
that N ero's wrathstirred perhaps by a bitter feeling
i artistic jealousy for his successful rival poetwould
Iso lie politically understandable. In the Pharsalia
ucanus showed not only his own familiarity with at
ast the elements of astrology, but also that he could
xpect such a knowledge among his readers.
Like his contemporary Lucanus. young Persius
a. d. 34-62)384 also took it for granted that educated
people would know their horoscopes in some detail,
although not many would profess a deep seated astro>gical IV eltansc hawing. Persius himself used on occaon a stock anti-astrological argum ent: The same
>roscope will produce different characters in twins. 385
'.ut in his deeply felt fifth satire in which he paid tribute
i his friend and mentor, the Stoic Comutus. Persius
aiew of no better way to express their innate affinity
than by doing it in Horatian term s:
Do not. indeed, doubt that the lives of both of us arc
'Inked by a firm bond and that they are guided by the same
ar. Either a truth abiding Fate hangs our destinies on
i.e even-balanced Libra, or be it t,hat the hour which
iwned upon faithful people has divided among Gemini the
int fate of both of us, or that we break the influence of
ileful Saturn by our friend Jupiter, in any case there is
nothing more certain than that a single star joins my fate
yours. 388
>or Persius, alas, was wrong. For Comutus survived
m by many years, 287 busying himself among other
mgs with editing the poetic legacy of his dead young
mend.
The Pharsalia of Lucanus, on the other hand, seems
o have remained more or less in the unfinished conlition in which the author left his work. One may see
in this poem the application of Stoic rationalism to
L.atin epic poetry. For no longer do we encounter the
traditional flock of gods and goddesses guiding or
.antagonizing their human proteges. The poem has
Mspensed with such supernatural elements. A futile
attempt was made to appease Nero by the gross flattery
,,J The Iliaca, Saturnalia, Silvae, Epigrammata, and other
vorks of Lucanus are lost. F or an evalution of his writings
from the point of view of a rhetorician, howeversee Quintilian,
de inslit, oratorio 10, 1, 90.
* H ad the young poet lived until the year 65, he might also
have been destroyed in the anti-Stoic purge, especially since his
poetic fame could easily arouse Nero's jealousy.
,,s Persius, Satires, 5, vv. 18 f.
*** Ibid. 5, vv. 45-51. The passage is reminiscent of H oraces
proclamation of astrological affinity between his own fate and
that of his friend Maecenas; Horace. Odes 2, 17.
He was exiled, probably in 65, as were Musonius and other
important Roman S toics; compare Schanz-Hosius, 2, 4th e d .:
0/6-679, C. H. Becksche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Muenchen, 1935.
T H E P O W E R O F A S T R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S T O D O M IT IA N
Thessalus of Tralles, to ingratiate himself with either
Claudius or Nero by the dedication of a treatise setting
forth the astrological affinities of nineteen plants with the
twelve zodiacal constellations and the seven planets .372
The authorship of the tract (of which a Latin version 373
as well as the Greek text survives) was ascribed in the
Greek text to Harpocration, a physician of the Augus
tan era, but today the authorship of Thessalus has been
definitely established. T hat this physician of Tralles
was an excerptor of N echepso 374 was typical of his compilatory rather than original approach to astrology. Nor
was this instance unique. For Thessalus, whose pro
fessional reputation was great, was in the habit of
addressing letters to emperors. Galen, for example,
quoted from another epistle of this physician to the
emperor Nero . 375 The fantastic details which Thessalus
related in his botano-astrological tract rang true of the
homeland of Chaeremon. Having completed his gram
marian studies (perhaps at his native Tralles) Thessalus
had gone to Alexandria, the medical citadel of GraecoRoman antiquity, to devote himself entirely to medicine
and the sciences.378 These studies included obviously
religious mysticism as well as clinical practice. F or when
asked in a temple whether he preferred a discussion
with the spirit of a departed person or with a god, he
boldly chose Asclepius himself.377 The elder Pliny,
who must have often have passed the proud tomb which
the famous physician erected for himself on the Via
Appia, referred to h im :
T h e sam e e ra th ro u g h the reig n of N ero led to Thessalus.
who destroyed all accepted theories and attack ed as if in a
m ad rag e the physicians of any period. H is p rudence and
genius can be sized up by a single p r o o f : O n the m onu
m ent w hich he built on the A ppian W ay, he en g rav ed an
inscription, calling him self V icto r o v er all physicians
<iatronicen) . 378
Among the few known writers opposing fatalist
astrology in this era, Thessalus contemporary Colu
mella was the chief Latin spokesman . 379 His de re
rustica, written about a . d . 62, contains ( 1 1 , 2 ) the
most comprehensive Latin weather calendar which has
come down to us .380 In the chapter which precedes it
(11, 1, 31) Columella admitted that:
123
124
Or
C haerem on fell flat bn his back, struck by a poplar leaf
carried by the w ind, ahd he lies on the ground like T ityus
or rath er like a caterpillar, stretching on the ground his
skeleton body.391
|
If he was the mail referred to. the Egyptian gramniarian-astrologer serins to have been tall and sparse.
An earthy satire, now generally ascribed to Petronius,
a member of the innei* circle of Nero's court, portrayed
the permeation of thd lives of self-made men of eastern
origin with faith in astrology. Trimalchio. the hero "
of the extant fragmenta banqueting scenehas with
dubious validityIjeen taken for a Petronian take-off of
.Nero, but even if we accept this character at face value,
I bid. 11, no. 160; i. e. the astrologer should be sentenced to
tight the wild beasts in the arena of the circus.
1' Some samples of such inscriptions were quoted above: ch.
iii. n. 122; cf. F. Cumont. L u x perpctua: 303 ff., Paris. Librairie
Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1949.
J,l> Greek Anthology 9, no. 572.
3,1 Ibid. 11. nos. 106 and 107.
126
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
It should be remembered, however, that the antiastrological opposition of which Philo was perhaps the
most important representative of his time, was intrinsic
ally hostile to fatalistic astrology only. To deny astral
influences in general, even to oppose on principle catar
chic astrology was a different matter. The arguments
of the New Academy, restated by Cicero in his On
divination, or presented again by Philo were chiefly
directed against the mechanical fatalism rather than
against the very concept of astral influence on mundane
affairs. Similarly ih the realm of weather calendars
Philos younger contemporary Columella had objected
merely to the inevitable link between specific days and
certain definite kinds of weather. Non-fatalist astrology
for Philo as it later did for Columella remained a legiti
mate branch of astronomy, i. e. a real science. 408 He
did not object to astrological theories like those which
ascribed to the Big Dipper an influence on sexual inter
course or to the moon as well as to the sun an impor
tant influence on conception. In general he agreed that
the stars caused certain changes in the sublunar world,
but believed that they were only secondary causes.
Anticipating the later Christian argument, he based his
views on the biblical verse according to which God had
created the stars a$ signs. He asserted that not only
were they created to shed light on the earth, but also to
indicate future events. From their movements, eclipses,
and configurations could man make conjectures about
things to come, especially about natural phenomena
like the weather, crops, the birth or death of animals.
All terrestrial events were foretold by the stars. Steady
observations would eventually enable scholars to dis
cover in the heavens mundane events which were likely,
but not fated to happen . 407 Inasmuch as astrology for
'* This type of parricide was the topic of Ps.-Quintilian, decl.
niai.. 4.
"5 Philo, de providentia 1, 79-83. Latin translation by J.-B.
Aucher in his edition. 1: 36 ff.; Venice, 1822; cf. D. Amand,
op. c it.: 93 ff.; E. Brehier, Les idces pliilosophiques et religieuses
dc Philon d''Alexandria, 2nd ed .: 167; Paris, 1925, claims P an
aetius as Philo's chiejf source: Amand suggests Cam eades;
Wendland attributes to Posidonius the main influence; see also
E. Zeller, Phil. d. Gritch. 3, 2, 4th ed .; 442 ff.; Leipzig, Fues,
1903.
** D. Amand, op. c it.: 88 f.
407 For a summary, see E. Brehier, op. cit.: 165 f .; see Philo,
dc opificio mundi, 58; dc specialibits legibus 1: de monorchia, 1;
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O LO G ER S FROM A U G U ST U S T O D O M IT IA N
to F aen iu s R ufus, the d irection of the gam es w hich the
em peror w as p rep arin g to A rru n tiu s Stella, and the p ro v
ince of E gy p t to C. [ j i c /] Balbillus. . . .412
128
T H E R IS E AXD T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
130
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A S T R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U STU S TO D O M IT IA N
could proceed against malcontents. H is plan was suc
cessful. The complete horoscope of Anteius and at
least some data on that of Ostorius Scapula were found
and duly sent to Rome where Nero and his minister.
Tigellinus. considered the material sufficient prima facie
proof of the crime of maiestas to bring about the death
of the two men without even the formality of a trial . 451
The many sensational trials of 65 and 6 6 were fol
lowed by Nero's extreme scandalizing of Roman society
with his artistic antics. The flood of prophecies of
his impending fall must, therefore, have reached new
heights. Astrologers certainly swelled the chorus of
doom. Their predictions to the effect that Nero was
going to be deposed 452 could not but affect an emperor
who was so firm a believer in astrology. W e hear from
one source, albeit a dubious one, that towards the end
of his reign he lashed out at astrologers. In the fashion
customary at times of political crises in Rome it is said
that he banished them from Rome and Italy . 453 In any
case he seems to have accepted astrological predictions
of his fate unquestioninglv. H e meekly hoped, quoting
a Greek proverb, that art would find bread (for him)
anywhere on earth, even if he were deposed .454
Nevertheless some of these prophets [the astrologers] had
promised him the rule over the East in case he were de
posed, some of them even the kingdom of Jerusalem, some
even the eventual recovery of his entire dominion.455
Under such circumstances Xero was hard put to
know what to believe. At the last moment he did.
indeed, plan to flee to Alexandria, but events moved
too rapidly. D uring his last moments the doomed
ruler exclaimed repeatedly: W hat an artist dies with
me, 456 a verdict which neither his contemporaries nor
posterity have been willing to confirm. The death of
Nero ended in 6 8 the Julio-Claudian dynasty which
had raised Thrasyllus and his house to a height com
parable with any but the old senatorial families. During
the years which followed Balbillus. head of the Thrasvllan clan, had to face an unprecedented tempest from
which, however, his star emerged with undimmed lustre.
4,1 Tacitus, Annals 16, 14 f . ; compare F. H . Cramer, The
Caesars and the stars. Sem inar 9. 1951: 23 f .; R. S. Rogers, A
criminal trial of a . d . 70 (Tacitus, Histories, 4. 44), Proc. Amer.
Philol. Assoc. 80. 1949 : 349 f.
* Suetonius, Xero, 40, 2 ; Cumont suggested that this daring
prophecy stemmed from Balbillus, but the known prudence of
the knightly astrologer would seem to militate against such a
hypothesis.
* Cat. 8, 4 : 100, 18 f f.; compare F. H. Cramer, Expulsion
nf astrologers from ancient Rome, Classica ct Mediaevalia 12,
1-2, Copenhagen, 1951: 32 ff.
4 Suetonius, Nero. 40,2; Cassius Dio, ep. 63, 27, 2.
* Suetonius, loc. cit.
*** Suetonius, Nero, 49, 1: Qualis artifex pereo! ; Cassius
Dio, ep. 63, 29, 2.
10.
131
B A LBILLU S AND H IS H O U S E U N D E R T H E
F L A V IA N R U LER S
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
133
them. . .
181
He did receive among others prophe
cies from astrologers also, but seems to have developed
a strong antipathy against this particular branch of
divination. The reason for Vitellius' attitude was not
difficult to find. For
the horoscope which the astrologers cast for him [at his
b irth ] filled his parents w ith such h o rro r that his father at
all times, as long as he lived opposed the appointm ent of his
son to the g overnorship of any province, while his m other,
when she heard that lie had received the com mand over an
arm y, an d ag ain upon learning th a t he had been proclaimed
em peror, at once bem oaned him as doomed.482
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FRO M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
134
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H UK A S T R O L O G \ IX T H E L A T IN W O R LD
suspicion from striking them down. For, in spite of their recent predictions to the extent of insisting that at
their firm Ijelief in fatalist astrology and Fate, few least the reign of Vitellius would be short and his violent
rulers of the first century would have been convinced death near at h and!
The proclamation of Vespasian as emperor by the
enough fatalistsor philosophersto accept the wistful
truism that " n o one ever succeeds in killing his suc legions in Palestine in the early days of July 69 seemed
cessor. Nevertheless. Vitellius may, indeed, have held an immediate corroboration of such prophecies. Under
at least some personal grudge against astrologers, if the circumstances the m ajority of astrologers in Rome
only on account of the treatment received from his would, therefore, he inclined to see in Vespasian the man
father localise of their forecast. In any case, Vitellius who would vindicate their earlier forecasts in a slightly
could hardly relish the astrological prospect of a short revised form. In line with the imperial policy of the
past Vitellius. therefore, ordered the expulsion of as
reign and an ignominious death.
He entered Rome early in July, 69. On the eighteenth trologers, this time through an imperial edict. 480 They
the dies ater commemorating the Roman catastrophe were to leave Rome and Italy by October 1, 69. Im pu
at the river Alliahe formally assumed the supreme dently some of them at once posted a placard asserting
pontificate, a sign that he too shrugged his shoulders that bv then Vitellius would be dead .480 Although his
at traditional Roman superstitions. This, of course, tory proved this prediction false 491 Vitellius survived
merely meant that he fell prey to others. In particular for almost three months after October 1the wrath of
he seems to have been impressed with German prophet the doomed emperor against the tribe of astrologers
esses of whom Tacitus too spoke with considerable was great. A number of them were now executed
respect 496 and who enjoyed a considerable vogue in without much ado. Mere denunciations sufficed. It
Rome during this very period. One of them at least should, however, be remembered that even in ordinary
times of public peace the legal interpretation of the
accompanied Vitellius to Rome:
Augustan edict of a . d . 11 (which had forbidden astro
One suspected him when his mother died, alleging that logical forecasts concerning the death of any person)
he had ordered to refuse her any nourishment during her
illness, because a woman of the Catti whose words he took termed it treason to make such predictions about em
for oracles had predicted to him that only if he would perors and their family.4**
survive his mother would he reign long and securely.
Among those who were leaving Italy at this time
Others relate that his mother, disgusted with the prevailing was probably Ptolemy Seleucus. H e had much reason
situation and afraid of the future, had asked her son for to dread both Vitellius and his own disappointed clients
poison and received it without much difficulty.4*7
at Rome. H e may even have been formally banished
One may dismiss the first part as mere gossip. F or by Vitellius ,403 or. on the other hand, merely left Italy
one thing the oracle was ambiguous. Furthermore, the with other astrologers after the general ban was pro
whole story suspiciously paralleled the one about Agrip nounced. or, finally, he may have fled from Italy with
pina and young Domitius whom the astrologers had out even awaiting the arrival of Vitellius in Rome.
promised the throne while admitting that he was des Only the overthrow of Vitellius would enable Ptolemy
tined to murder his mother.48* T hat Vitellius mother Seleucus to return to the capital, to fame and prosperity.
died during his brief reign we may accept as certain. So long as Vitellius reigned people were only too likely
N or was it uncommon for hopelessly ill people to put to remind the astrologer unpleasantly of his extrava
an end to their sufferings by suicide. Euthanasia in gant predictions, which in large measure had influenced
those days was not outlawed. Neither his mother's Otho in his coup against Galba. Vespasian, therefore,
request nor Yiteliius compliance with it, therefore, would l>e the logical pretender for Ptolemy Seleucus
should be interpreted out of the context of their society to support. Although we do not know at what time
and its customs. W hat remains, however, is his ap Ptolemy Seleucus established himself in the good graces
parent faith in German prophetesses, an example of of Vespasian, he did, indeed, succeed in doing so in the
his addiction to divination (transmitted by Zonaras). very highest degree . 4'J4 W hat would be more likelv than
His relations with the host of astrologers in Rome were that these ties were first forged in the crucial summer
bail from the very start. Many of these had undoubtedly of 69 when Vespasian, still torn by doubt, whether or
been on Otho's side and predicted the downfall of the
<M Compare F. H. Cramer, T he Caesars and the stars, Sem imir 9. 1951: 8 If.
He seems to have been exiled more than once; Juvenal, 6,
vv. 557 ff.
* Tacitus, Histories 2, 78.
135
136
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FRO M A U G U ST U S T O D O M ITIA N
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
137
The son-in-law of Balbillus must have been born into the Parthian realm .521 Peace overtures, however,
prior to a . d . 38. F or he was in his early boyhood dragged out the beginning of m ajor warfare, the scene
betrothed to Drusilla, the daughter of king Agrippa I of which was to be Armenia. The Roman commanderof Judaea, to whom Caius Caligula had also restored in-chief was Corbulo, who in 58 instructed Antiochus
his kingdom in a . d . 38.518 Drusilla was the youngest IV to hasten to the provinces on his frontier . 522
of the kings daughters and barely six years old when During the war years which followed, the young prince
her father died i n a . d . 44. Since it does not seem must have seen action under the energetic Corbulo,
likely that Antiochus IV betrothed his son to a girl while Commagene. a border state, played an* .important
older than the boy himself, we may assume that Antio strategic role . 323
The fall of Nero and the accession of Gallw. were in
chus Epiphanes was horn in or before a . d . 38. The
marriage, however, did not take place, because Drusillas all likelihood accepted by the dynasty of Commagene
as passively as Vespasian and his legions in Palestine
r'13 Compare on him Stein, R E 10, 1919: c. 1S9, no. 66,-c. 163. had recognized the new ruler. Again, when Galba was
Compare above, p. 115.
assassinated and simultaneously news arrived of O thos
d.
2 )------A ka( ?) of
Commagene
r~
i~
Calliuicus
i
Iotape and sisters
Julia Balbilla
(d. after 130)
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
lenient treatment of princes who had so recently resisted
Roman forces on the field of battle was decidedly un
usual. Would it be too far-fetched to assume that
throughout the crisis Balbillus had used every shred of
is influence to modify Vespasians natural resentment
: Commagenian resistance? It may also be noted that
Jaibillus son-in-law, in spite of his relatively graver
sins, was at once allowed to come to Rome, even before
his father had obtained imperial permission to do so.
If the surmise is correct that Balbillus was the chief
conciliator at Rome in 73 and 74, it would follow that
his prestige with Vespasian was by then very high.
There is, indeed, strong evidence for this assumption.
Not that Vespasian liked astrologers in general, at least
not in so far as they were capable of advising private
clients of the political fu tu re! Actually among his first
acts as emperor had been the issuing of still another
expulsion edict banishing them again from Rome, before
Vespasian himself had even set foot in the capital. 530
On the other hand, it was his duty to obtain for his
own and the empires benefit the most accurate pre
dictions available, and these in his opinion were the
ones made by astrologers:
. . . H e was in the habit of consulting all the best of them
i him self, and, by w ay of show ing a favor to B arbillus [s ic ! ],
a man of th a t profession, even perm itted the E phesians to
celebrate some sacred gam es, a privilege th a t he g ran ted to
no other city.551
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FR O M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
he but a descendant of Augustus should worry about
the meaning of this. Again, when a comet appeared in
79, predictions of his death were rife. The emperor,
however, insisted that the long-haired Parthian king,
not he. the balding old Roman, should take heed ; 540
apparently this jest also involved a word play. For
comet was a Greek word, merning [long-]haired
star. Vespasian's light-heartedness may perhaps also
have been due to the fact that an earlier comet ( which
had appeared in 76 and inspired the emperor's son
Titus to a poem ) 541 had not proven fatal to any member
of the imperial family.
It has been suggested, and perhaps not without
reason, that Balbillus was the source of the reassuring
interpretation of the comet of 79 542 (and possibly also
already of the benign one of the comet of 76). He was
after all a renowned authority on comets, at least since
his interpretation of the comet of 64 which, indeed,
had not presaged the death of the emperor Nero, as
Balbillus had rightly foretold at the time . 543 Nor had
the comet of 76 killed Vespasian. Nevertheless,
one may perhaps wonder whether or not the reassuring
prediction of 79, no matter which astrologer made it,
was not a parallel to the (intentionally misleading)
prophecy which Thrasyllus had given to old Tiberius .544
Be that as it may, Vespasian died not long after the
comets appearance. Thereafter we lose all trace of
Balbillus himself. If he lived to the end of the reign,
as well he might have, it was to be expected that in
spite of his possible error about the comethe con
tinued in high favor with Titus, and if surviving into
the reign of Domitian (81-96) with that ruler also.
It may be assumed that he died some time after 75,
possibly in the early eighties of the first century, leav
ing at least one married daughter and two grandchildren
from this Claudia: Julia Balbilla and Caius Julius
Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappus, born to Claudia and
her husband Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus
IV, ex-king of Commagene. Approximately half a cen
tury had elapsed since the death of Thrasyllus. His
family had now fully arrived. It had become one of
the great houses of the Roman empire and continued
to retain close ties to the rulers of the realm at least
for another half century to come.
Meanwhile, a contemporary of Balbillus had probably
preceded him in d eath : the elder Pliny. He succumbed
to a heart attack during the frightful eruption of Mount
Vesuvius which took place soon after Vespasian's death
in 7 9 and might well have been interpreted by the super
stitious as the catastrophe foretold by the comet which
40 Suetonius, Vespasian, 23, 4; cf. Aurelius Victor, epit., 9;
Cassius Dio, ep. 66, 17. 2-3.
111 Pliny, S a t. H ist. 2, 22, 89.
F. Cumont, Astrologues romains . . .: 33; Bouche-Leclercq:
360, n. 3.
*** Suetonius, S cro , 36.
See above, p. 107.
139
140
T H E R ISE AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A ST R O L O G E R S FRO M A U G U STU S T O D O M IT IA N
and more widely accepted belief in astrology. Reject
ing fatalistic astrology Plinv had even less sympathy
with popular astral superstitions. For example:
W e have stated th at the stars a re attached to the universe,
not assigned to each of us in the w ay in w hich the common
herd believes, i. e. not dealt out to m ortals w ith a degree of
radiance prop o rtio n ate to the lot of each, the b rig h test stars
to the rich and pow erful, the sm aller ones to the poor, the
dim to those who are w orn o u t: they do not each rise w ith
th eir own hum an being, no r indicate by th e ir fall th a t som e
one's life is being extinguished. T h e re is no such close
alliance between us and the sky th a t the radiance of the
stars there also shares the fate of m ortality. . . . B ut the
heavenly bodies have a n atu re th a t is etern al they are parts
of the u niverse and a re blended w ith its w eft: yet th eir
potency has a pow erful influence on the ea rth .51,1
141
142
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O LO G ER S F
their astrological belief. Domitian, on the other hand,
represented the type of person who irrationally believed
in his grim destiny and yet tried to escape it. Like
Tiberius
D om itian. of course, had n o t failed to take careful note of
the days and the hours w hen the forem ost m en had been
born, an d in consequence w as destro y in g in advance not a
few of those w ho w ere not even hoping for the attainm ent
of pow er.582
T O D O M IT IA N
143
144
T H E R IS E AXD T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IX' T H E L A T IN W O R LD
C O N C LU SIO N
T H E P O W E R O F A STR O LO G ER S FR O M A U G U ST U S TO D O M IT IA N
Not even the use of inaiestas actions against the more
important violators of the imposed topical restrictions
could dampen the ardor of the faithful. We are of
course best informed about the lives of the rulers.
Every single one of them seems to have been given
promises of supreme political power, although not always
by astrologers. These, however, were at least said to
have been responsible for such prophecies in the case
of Octavianus Augustus. Tiberius, Nero, Galba, Otho,
Vespasian, probably Titus, and certainly Domitian.
Perhaps even Caius had received such predictions.
Claudius alone never obtained such astrological encour
agement. Nor was. of course, the receiving of such
promises confined to emperors-to-be. Many noblemen
lost their lives because they were known to possess
imperial horoscopes. Sometimes they had received
direct astrological promises to this effect, as for example
the luckless Mettius Pompusianus. Often, however,
court astrologers simply informed the emperor of their
having discovered dangerous men possessing im
perial horoscopes, whereupon a number of them were
exiled or slain, perhaps without even having themselves
known their fatal horoscope. But the practice of as
trology remained rare among the Roman gentry of the
first century. Tiberius was the only practicing astrol
oger on the throne during the first century. Nor do
we know of any successors to Republican aristocratic
astrologers, like Nigidius Figulus, Tarutius Firmanus,
or Manilius. although undoubtedly mere dabbling in
astrology remained in vogue among educated Romans.
Astrologers were ubiquitous, the majority still hail
ing from the east. The more often they were formally
expelled, or jailed and exiled, the greater became their
prestige. Clients were willing to keep a renowned
astrologer on their pay-roll even while he was exiled
to a far away island. Pammenes in his exile, for ex
ample, still drew a large income from Roman noblemen
who continued to patronize him by correspondence
with results fatal to some of them. Nor were ambitious
men the only source of revenue for astrologers. Aemilia
Lepida. Claudia Pulchra, the younger Agrippina, Lollia
Paulina, Domitia Lepida. Poppaea Sabina, to mention
only a fewr great ladies of the first century, were faith
ful, if not to their numerous husbands or lovers, at
least to their belief in astrology. Since high society
usually set the pace in such matters, one can safely
assume that at least the middle class was equally in
fected with the all-pervading creed. Petronius thus in
his Satyricon could take it for granted that wealthy
parvenus were also consulting astrologers even for
important business decisions.
It was always difficult for human beings to accept
unquestionably the tenets of fatalistic astrology. Nor
would ordinary minds usually perceive the inherent
difference between it and its milder sister, catarchic
astrology. Even those who, like Domitian. were per
suaded of the inescapability of astrological fate, tried
145
146
IN T R O D U C T IO N
A S T R O L O G Y IX R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO S E V E R U S A L E X A N D E R
imperial restrictions imposed temporarily or perma
nently upon the practice of astrology and other forms
of divination were in large measure especially directed
against the Stoic opposition. From the reign of Nero
to the death of Domitian both oppositional philosophers
and astrologers were, indeed, on more than one occa
sion common targets of imperial expulsion edicts.
Slowly, however, the Roman nobility bowed albeit
grudgingly to the army-supported monarchic govern
ment. The senatorial explosion which had caused the
death of Domitian was. however, both a warning to his
successors and to the senators themselves. For the
permanent latent conflict between the senatorial claim
to the right of choosing an emperor by its vote and the
army's traditional preference for a Julio-Claudian, or,
more lately, a prince of its own choice arose anew im
mediately after the accession of the senatorial candidate,
Nerva. Only his hurried adoption of a popular general
as his successor prevented another civil war. Nervas
early death ( a . d . 98) also helped greatly to ease the
tension by bringing this commander, Ulpius Trajanus,
to the throne. H e in turn was succeeded by a relative
whom he in all probability adopted before his death in
1 1 7 ;2 Aelius Hadrianus.
H adrian in turn prior to his death in 138 not only
adopted his successor, Antoninus Pius, but made him
also adopt the young man who as Marcus Aurelius
ruled after the death of Antoninus (161). The usual
term applied to this series of emperors, referring to
them as rulers by adoption rather than by biological
hereditary right, is misleading. F or from Julius Caesar
to Nero with the single exception of Caligula and
Claudius adoption had been the usual way to create an
heir designate. In addition, however, a family relation
ship of some sort usually existed. This was the case
between Julius Caesar and Octavianus Augustus and,
more remotely, between Claudius and Nero, although
Augustus and Tiberius step-father and step-sonhad
not been connected by blood-relation. Caius Caligula,
on the other hand, owed his selection by Tiberius
largely to the family relationship between them : he was
the grandson of the emperors brother and the greatgrandson of Augustus. The constitutional aspects of
Augustus principate discouraged the hereditary princi
ple so popular in the orient, but the political practice
favored at least some blood tie between the princeps
and his successor. Titus and Domitian were the first
and only non-adopted sons to succeed their father.
From the legal point of view, therefore, the adoption
of heirs designate from T rajan to Marcus Aurelius
represented not a new principle but merely the revival
of the one which had prevailed in the beginning of the
principate. It meant (after the hereditary Flavian era)
a victory for the senatorial opposition over oriental
principles governing the dynastic succession.
Eutropius errs.
147
148
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A STRO LO G Y IN T H E R E IG N S O F N ER V A AND
T R A JA N (96-117)
149
150
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A TO S E V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
fact that from the hands of Domitian death had menaced
him but recently. From the context we cannot be cer
tain whether this incident occurred in 93 prior to his
exile, or after his return to the capital:
. . . H e had fu rth erm o re been in the peril of his life as
the resu lt of his being denounced by astro lo g ers who
declared th a t he should be sovereign. I t was this last
circum stance th at m ade it easier for them to persuade him
to accept the im perial pow er.21
151
152
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
Ulpius
M- Ulpius Trajanus
(d . b e fo r e
Aelius
Ulpia-
. d. 1 0 0 )
Aelius Hadrianus
( expert astrologer ?)
-tn.Domitia Paulina
Hadrianus Aferi
(40?ca. 85) !
-M atidia
(d. 119)
Vibia Sabinam. (ca. 101)( d . 136)
-H adrian
Domitia Paulina m. L. Julius Ursus
(emperor.
Servianus
117-138)
j
(d. 138)
Cn. Pedanius
Fuscus Salinator
(cos. 1J8)
Pedanius Fuscus
(11.3-138)
153
154
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN RO M E FRO M N E R V A TO SEV E R U S A L E X A N D E R
156
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
157
158
A ST R O L O G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A TO SEV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
slow stars yield not to glow ing light, and the moon longs
to see A usonia's Chief. Now, C aesar, come thou, even by
liijht; let the stars stand still; the people, w hen thou comest,
-nail not w ant for day.19
159
160
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
161
162
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
117 Ibid. 4, 8.
H A D R IA N : A N O T H E R A ST R O L O G E R ON T H E
T H R O N E (117-138)
163
164
T H E R IS E AX D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
165
ft*
~
iJi | *. Tf
>
/.<
(. , !
N. ,
V v n k * M * r ^ a v
**>fT. w
- **
n7
IT
)
,/_ i
,
'v
J ( j -iVTvi-Gfflfwv T Vv
F ig . 15. The horoscope o f the emperor Hadrian, cast in the second century
phil. gr. Vindob., 108, ff. 301-303).
(Continued on following pages.)
a.
d.
(cod.
166
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A T O SEV E R U S A L E X A N D E R
i r -5 7? ^
* /1
i
5r'I -rJ 111
? v ?
,4
*' c
i v
-t
'y
167
168
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
169
170
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
1,7 Cassius Dio, ep. 69, 1, 1-3. This passage also errs with
regard to H adrians consulate.
*** F or a balanced view of the arguments, see W. D. Gray,
A study of the life of Hadrian, ch. iv : 195 ff. F. Gregorovius
too believed the adoption of H adrian by the dying T rajan had
really taken place: Der Kaiser H adrian: 20 f.
** E. Komemann, Der Kaiser Hadrian und der letste grosse
H istoriker von Rom : 11 ff.; esp. 21, Leipzig, Dieterichsche
l Cassius Dio, ep. 69. 11, 3.
Verlagsbuchhandlung, Theodor Weicher, 1905.
1,5 SHA , Hadrian 2, 8; compare also 9 for other prophecies
170 Cat. 6, M 6 8 , 10: modtn)9tis; Cat. 8, 2: 82: vio&eTTjthj.
of good fortune.
171 S H A , Hadrian. 19, 13. The hundred feet high colossus was
1,1 W . D. Gray, op. cit.: 206 f., contributes a valuable analysis, pulled from its abode on the Palatine to its new location by
concluding that Plotinas greatest importance in the furthering
twenty-four elephants.
>t H adrians career antedates a . d . 111. Thereafter there is clear
I7J Between a . d . 120 and 124. Modem opinion, based on not
evidence that T ra jan himself became increasingly aware of
wholly convincing evidence, tends towards assuming that Hadrian
Hadrians qualifications lor the throne.
rebuilt not only the roof, but also most of the walls.
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E F R O M N E R V A T O SEV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
circular sun-like opening in the center stylized a heavenly
semi-sphere, which may even have been of his design,
since he himself was an enthusiastic amateur architect.
But more clearly than in any architectural allegories
H adrians eclectic mysticism stood out during his last
great journey, which led him via Athens through Asia
minor to Egypt, and thence back to Rome by way of
Syria and Athens . 173
It was his last great venture. When he returned to
Italy, H adrian buried himself in his fantastic villa at
Tivoli, or some other Italian palazzo. His traveling
days were over. By premonition or plan, he had made
his last voyage the most magnificent of all. In his en
tourage we find the empress Sabina and his favorite
Antinous, a young Bithynian whose extraordinary
beauty had captivated H adrian. The empress in turn
included among her ladies-in-waiting a friend of long
standing, Julia Balbilla. The appearance of this lady
in the innermost circle of Hadrian's court revealed the
continuity of a family tradition of long standing. H ad
not Julias great-grandfather. Thrasyllus, been an inti
mate of the old emperor Augustus and of his successor,
Tiberius ? H ad not her grandfather, Balbillus, enjoyed
the personal friendship of Claudius, the respect of Nero,
and the high esteem of Vespasian, Titus, and probably
Domitian? Julias brother, C. Julius Antiochus Epi
phanes Philopappus (consul a . d . 109), had died before
H adrians accession, but Julia Balbilla herself, probably
a good many years his junior, was still sprightly enough
to bear the strain of the far flung voyages during the
years 128-132 without apparent discomfort. She also
represented, although somewhat feebly, the literary and
scholarly traditions of her family. A poetess she was
persona grata with H adrian and his wife.
Probably raised in Rome, she was of purely Greek
stock. H er father descended from the defunct hellen
istic dynasty of Commagene and had, as Balbilla proudly
recorded, still borne the honorary title of k in g 174 (as
did Julia Balbillas brother). H er maternal grand
parents were Balbillus, son of the Alexandrian T hra
syllus and a princess of Commagene, and Balbillus wife,
who may or may not have been of Greek extraction . 175
Thus with the possible exception of her maternal grand
mother, Julia Balbilla was of pure Greek descent. Yet
she could boast of a lineage which included a Roman
knight (Balbillus) and a hellenistic king (Antiochus
IV ) as her grandfathers, and of a brother who had
reached the consulate. The cosmopolitan structure of
high Roman society in the early second century could
171
172
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
\v.
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M E FR O M N ERVA TO SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
173
174
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E F R O M N E R V A TO S E V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
In contrast to the usual assumption, however, that
Servianus was at least as deeply implicated in such
schemes, it now seems that Fuscus alone was spurred
on by prophecies and omens. 200 Nor can the date,
hitherto accepted for the family tragedy, the year 136,
be maintained in the light of evidence, long available
but spumed by, or simply unknown to our historians
of antiquity. A horoscope (in all probability that of
Fuscus ) 210 shows that the crisis in H adrian's family
took place probably in the first months of 138. The
course of events was overshadowed by H adrian's search
of a successor. H e decided (about the middle of 136)
to adopt Lucius Ceionius Commodus , 211 who as Aelius
Verus thus became heir designate. For years he had
been a member of the emperors inner circle we find
him already in H adrian's entourage on his Egyptian
tour in 130and the rulers aesthetic taste was said to
have played a large part in the selection of what to all
disinterestedand of course all the more to interested
observers seemed to be merely a handsome roue. A
historian of doubtful validity, M arius Maximus, seems
to have explained the almost inexplicable choice of
Hadrian as due to his astrological activities:
T h e em peror w as acquainted w ith V eru s horoscope, and
. . . adopted a m an w hom he did n o t really deem suitable
to g overn the em pire m erely fo r the purpose of g ratify in g
his ow n desires. . . . F o r M ariu s M axim us represents
H a d ria n as so e x p e rt in astrology, as even to assert th a t
he knew all ab o u t his ow n fu tu re .212
175
176
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
1 ff.; Aclitu. 6 , 9.
Cassius Dio, ep. 69, 20, 2-3, from Xiphilinus.
177
data, on the other hand, are far fewer and more vague
than those of the Hadrian and Fuscus horoscopes:
He was eminent and of illustrious ancestry and punished
nianv [ttoAAoiis koAou>i>] and was very wealthy . . . was
accnscd unjustly. . . , - )0
These meagre items do not contradict the other evidence
concerning Servianus. but they certainly are inconclu
sive. If Servianus were, indeed, the owner of that
horoscope, he would have been about 97 or 98 years
old at the time of his execution.
As to the horoscope of Fuscus, it contained sufficient
astronomical data to permit its computation. The result
has been the establishment of April 6 , a.d . 113 as
Fuscus birthday, i. e. a date in accord with the age of
about twenty-five at which, according to Antigonus,
the luckless Fuscus was executed. To illustrate the
manner in which modem scholars tackle such a com
putation , 241 O. Neugebauers procedure in the case of
the Fuscus horoscope may be quoted. The data of the
Greek text were given as follows:
The theme of his nativity was the following: The Sun
and the Horoscopal Point were in T, the Moon in m., three
days after its evening rising, Mercury and Saturn in T ,
setting in the morning,Jupiter in X, rising in the morning.
The lot of Fortune was in ni. The Lord, he [Antigonus]
says, will thus be Mars. The Moon will be after seven
days in SI, after forty days in is .243
The one statement in this nativity which contradicts
astronomically all others made about that celestial body
is the one which insists that the moon was in n\. In the
words of Neugebauer:
The remaining data amply suffice to determine the date
of the horoscope as April 6 , a. d. 113, that is three days
after the conjunction of April 3. One finds:
OT
15
Text: T
a a
21
8
h T
U X
T6
[8]
23
)(
S -
22
s:
( X --- \
178
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
T H E R E T R E A T O F T H E C H A M P IO N S O F
A STRO LO G Y IN T H E SEC O N D C E N T U R Y
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A T O SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
sented by Panaetius the Stoics of the second century
a . d . sought to reconcile their faith in Fate with a gentler
belief in a benign Providence. Their foes, Platonists,
Epicureans, Peripatetics, and Cynics in particular,
would of course never agree with fatalist concepts of
any sort. Indeed, there could be no compromise be
tween those on the one side who believed in a rationally
organized cosmos and those on the other who either
believed in an arbitrary divine rule or denied any cosmic
order, insisting that, even if it existed, men would never
be able to discern it. One might, therefore, just as well
cease to concern oneself with problems of this kind.
The Stoicism of the second century thus faced a wide
front of reinvigorated intellectual opposition. No longer
could it retain its earlier predominance in Romes ruling
stratum.
The transformation from unbending fatalism (which
hearkened back to the early days of Stoicism) into the
gentler attitude of the second century a . d . was largely
due to the influence of a Greek slave from Phrygia:
Epictetus. Bom about a . d . 60 in Hierapolis, Epictetus
arrived as a small boy in Rome, slave to Neros freedman, Epaphroditus . 254 This worthy, it is said, bent on
breaking the youngster's unshakable calm even when
faced with torture, succeeded only in breaking his leg,
crippling him for life, 255 but did not cow his spirit.
Eventually Epictetus gained his freedom and lived in
abject poverty in Rome.25 In contrast to astrological
activities the teaching of philosophy was apparently
unprofitable in a capital whence in the Flavian era by
government action philosophers were expelled on more
than one occasion ,257 Stoics and Cynics in particular
being favorite targets of such measures. Finally the
persecution of the Stoic opposition and the expulsion of
philosophers in 93 drove the penniless Epictetus from
Rome . 258 Retreating to Nicopolis across the Adriatic
he continued his teaching, but again without financial
success. Even in later life this St. Francis of the princi
pate was attended only by a woman hired by him to
rear a child that he had saved from death by exposure . 258
Epictetus apparently returned to Rome in the reign of
H adrian (117-138) who treated him with great re
spect. 260 In spite of modem scepticism there is no
biological impossibility about the tradition which as
signed his death to the reign of Antoninus Pius . 281
An age of eighty was not uncommon for philosophers,
* Tacitus, Annals 15, 55; compare Suidas, s. v. Bruner**.
Origines, contra Celsum 7, 53. Suidas, loc. cit., says the
philosophers lameness dated back to his b irth : Simplicius,
comment, in Aristot., f. 102, ascribed it to rheumatism.
* Simplicius, loc. cit. ; Gellius. 2, 18.
=ST See F. H. Cramer, Expulsion of astrologers from ancient
Rome, Classica ct Mediaevalia 12, 1-2, 1951: 39 ff.
258 Ibid. : 41-46; compare Gellius, 15, 11.
;5 Simplicius, comment, in Arist., f. 272.
"* SH A , Hadrian, 16, 10.
Themistius, oral. cons, ad Joviam m imp. (ed. Dindorf: 5;
75-84). There (f. 63 D ; ed. D indort: 76, 2-3) the friendship
179
180
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
any desire for that w hich turns to the rig h t hand, m ore
than to the left. . . . W hy do you, as fa r as in you lies, co r
ru p t your ju dge and seduce your adviser [the d iv in er] ? 266
But no one, not even a man who has been consul twice
and is the emperors friend, is his own m aster:
W ho can compel m e but the m aster of all, C aesar ?
By your own confession, then, you have a m a s te r; a rid
let not his being, as you say, m aster ot all give you any
com fort, but know that you are a slave in a g reat fam ily. 270
TABLE 3
S tar- sym bols on
Ruler
No.1'
50
132
16
49
60
( A . D.
C o in s o f t h e
Augustus
G reek
11-12)
[C. Caesar
( a . d.
4)
Tiberius or C aius:
Ptolemy, king of
Mauretania
Claudius
P r in c ip a te *
Symbol
Alexandria
Antioch
Aries.
Alexandria
. d.
23-40
Iceni (B ritain)
( a . d.
50)
61
133
Nero
Antioch
136
Hadrian
Eucarpeia (Phrygia)
Antoninus Pius
Nicomedia (Bithynia)
Alexandria
56
129
( a . d.
55)
130
131
135
---
137
138
139
Antoninus Pius
( a . d.
Aquarius, Saturn in i t
Bust of Selene; in front a star; beneath,
crescent moon in Cancer (Crab).
Alexandria (Egypt)
140
141
141a
( a . d.
142
47
17 L. Verus
25
144-145)
Septimius Severus
Carrhae
* The samples are taken from L. Anson, Numismata Graeca, 6, 1916; 1 ff., London.
6 Numbers as in Anson, loc. cit. Those italicized refer to coins reproduced in fig. no. 1 (Anson,
6. pi. I I ) ; see above, pp. 33 ff.
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T A B LE 3 Continued
No."
55
Ruler
-
Symbol
Philippopolis (Thrace)
57
Pantalia (Thrace)
58
Philippopolis (T hrace)
52 (or Caracalla)
Silandus (Lydia)
30 Geta
Hadrianopolis (T hrace)
39
Caracalla
Carrhae
54
Diadumenianus
Marcianopolis
(Lower Moesia)
Amastris (Paphlagonia)
Elagabalus
Carrhae
48
29 Julia Mamaea
Byzantium '
24
Marcianopolis
(Low er Moesia)
Gordianus Pius
36
Magnesia (M eander)
134
Nisibis (Mesopotamia)
128
No.J
40
41
42
Valerianus
Aegeae (Cilicia)
Symbol
Date
Ruler
Orodes I
57-38/37 b . c.
Similar.
Similar.
43
Phraates IV
38/37-3/2 b . c.
44
Phraates V
3/2
45
Artabanus III
46
Gotarzes
40/41-51
B. C .-A . D
d.10/11-40
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
merely followed a pattern already preferred by T rajan,
who lacking any children had at least linked Sabina,
one of his closest younger relatives, in marriage to
H adrian .-* 1 The world should thank Providence tor
the dearth of sons in the imperial families of the second
century rather than accuse M. Aureliusthe first em
peror since Vespasian ( a . d . 69-70) (i.e . since more
than a century !) to possess a surviving sonof suc
cumbing to the natural feelings of paternal affection.
Nor could it be taken for granted that the by-passing
of Commodus would have been possible without a civil
war to follow. Yet the grim irony persists: Hadrian,
at least influenced by, although probably not relying ex
clusively on, his faith in the stars, selected for the suc
cession two of the best rulers of the principate, perhaps
of all tim e: Antoninus Pius and M. Aurelius. The latter,
however, serenely convinced of the vanity of mundane
values, succumbed to paternal affection. He hoped
probably that if Fate did not ordain the succession of
his handsome but weak son Commodus, it would elimi
nate him in due course. If, on the other hand, Destiny
willed that Commodus was to rule, what Stoic could
entertain foolish hopes to oppose the inexorable?
Although the Byzantine historian Xiphilinus ener
getically asserted that M. Aurelius was impervious to
beliefs in magic and witchcraft, 282 it seems more likely
that the imperial Stoic viewed such crafts as he did
astrology and other forms of divination, i. e. with a
quiet amor fati: no magic could take effect unless Fate
willed it. W e have the authority of Cassius Dio for a
miraculous episode in which a wizard played a lead
ing role, a wizard, who, during the war against the
Quadi in 174, was a personal companion of the em peror:
* Nos. 26, 27, 28 of imperial Byzantine coinage show the same type of reverse.
J Numbers and data from Anson, op. cit.. 6: 4-5. These Greek coins belong obviously to the first
century of the principate, some antedating it as far back as the first triumvirate. Actually Greek
coinage inscribed with crescents and stars was minted as early as the fifth century by a number
of Greek cities, for example Cnossus on Crete, Athens, Zacynthus, and possibly Croton and
Syracuse. That a city like the Macedonian Uranopolis (. Sky town ) should mint coins with
astral symbols is hardly surprising. F urther archaeological discoveries since the time when
Ansons work went to press have added to our evidence, but the sample-lists given above bear
witness to the fact that all but three zodiacal constellations, as well as the entire zodiac and
planets (except Mercury, but including the sun and the moon) were represented, Alexandria in
the reign of Antoninus Pius providing the larger portion of such Greek coins. They assuredly
attest continued interest in star lore among artists, but should by no means be interpreted as
astrological symbols until clear evidence to that effect will be discovered.
183
184
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
T H E A STROLOG ICA L L IT E R A T U R E O F T H E
LA TE R P R IN C IP A T E
185
until the very present. Among the men whose pens had
so durable an effect one finds for example astrologerpoets like Astrampsychus, Dorotheus of Sidon, and
Manetho, physicians like Antigonus of Nicaea and
Galen, professional astrologers like Anubio, Antiochus
of Athens, and Vettius Valens. or astrologer-scientists
of whom Ptolemv was the most illustrious representa
tive in the later principate. Astrampsychus, for exam
ple, was an ancient magus, antedating Alexander the
Great. - 07 But in his name (as in that of almost any
renowned sage ) astrological writings were published at
a much later date. Of these we possess 101 verses in
a strictly alphabetical arrangement. - 08 Since the date of
these verses cannot be determined with any degree of
accuracy, we can only assign him to the Graeco-Roman
era in general, but prior to the time of Manetho's
Apotelestnata, i. e. prior to a . d . 100. A t any rate,
together with Dorotheus of Sidon and Manetho, Astram
psychus represented the type of astrologer-poet which
was to enjoy considerable popularity in the second and
third centuries of our era.
Another astrologer who liked on occasion to express
himself in verse may have been Anubio.2* Substantial
fragments of his prose have also been preserved.**
About his life and profession we know nothing. Only a
terminus ante quem may be established by the fact that
Manethos astrological poem seems to have used some
of Anubios writings also. If any conclusions couJd be
drawn from his name, he would have been an Egyptian.
O n the other hand, the reputation of Egypt during die
principate as the center of astrological studies was so
great that any enterprising astrologer from the Greek
east might well have chosen an Egyptian name for a
pseudonym. Perhaps the mass of extant materials,
barely canvassed, will sooner or later render some addi
tional information about Anubio and his writings. If
Anubios penchant for versecontested though it is
did not leave many traces for posterity, this cannot
be said in the case of a renowned figure among the
astrological authors of the late principate, the astrologerpoet, Dorotheus of Sidon.
Diogenes Laertius, pr., 2 ; cf. Riess, R E 2, 1896: c. 1796 f . ;
F. Boll, R E , suppl. 1, 1903: c. 155.
2 Ed. J. Rendel H arris, The annotators of the codex Bezae;
128-160, 1901; Suidas, s.v.-, compare Pap. Mus. Brit., CX XII,
I f . ; C. Wessely, Neue griechische Zauberpapyri, Denkschriften,
Kais. A k. d. iViss. W ien, Phil.-hist. Kl., 42, 2, 1893 : 55 and 58;
also Cat. 1: 25; 2 : 6 and 72; 3 : 4; 4: 43; 5, 4: 7; 31; 33; 107f.;
8, 2: ( A t ; 73; 74; 8, 3: 72; 9, 1: 24; 11. 1: HOf.
* Hephaestion of Thebes, one of our best sources for earlier
astrological writings, cited under the name of Anubio twelve
verses (2, 2) ; see Cat. 8, 1: 147, 10-22; compare, however, the
violent opposition to the belief that these verses stemmed from
Anubios pen. ibid. 5, 3: 124, n. 1 (J. Heeg) ; see also J. Heeg,
Dorotheus von Sidon und Firmicus Maternus Math. VI, Hermes
45, 1910: 315 f.
See for example Cat. 2 : 202-212 ; 8. 2: 57, 16-27: 61, 4-8;
and references to him in Cat. 2 : 35; 47; 190, 15 and 32; 7:
108 n.; 8, 1 : 15; 162; 8, 4: 115 f .; 203, 3 and 18; 10: 93.
186
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO SEV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
whom did not hesitate to deal in detail with this ever
popular topic. 310
The text of the Apotelesmata. in so far as it was then
known, was published about a century ago . 320 Since
then, however, additional evidence about the sources of
the work has been discovered , - 21 an appraisal of the
basic doctrines of the poem has been published, and a
revision of earlier views about the text 322 has become
necessary. In particular the opinion that Manetho relied
directly on Nechepso-Petosiris, tempting though this
idea was. must now be modified . 323 Dorotheus of Sidon
and the astrologer Anubio have rightly been suggested
as the chief intermediaries between the older Hellenistic
manual and the Apotelesmata of Manetho . 324 The
urgency, proclaimed almost twenty-five years ago, for a
new analytical edition of Manetho's poem , 325 still seems
to remain unrecognized by our modem philologists.
Among the astrologers of the second century of whom
fragments in verse, as well as lengthy ones in prose
have survived , 329 Antiochus of Athens was one of the
most important ones. Copious excerpts of his writings
were preserved, especially by Rhetorius (ca. 500). To
what extent in particular a much copied set of astro
logical verses was the creation of Antiochus or Doro
theus of Sidon , 327 or of later paraphrasers, has not yet
been convincingly clarified. Perhaps the most impor
tant compilation of the Athenian was an anthology
entitled Treasures (Qipavpol)3'1* whose very title was
indicative of the character of the work. Of his life we
know very little , 320 but his influence on posterity was
not inconsiderable. I t was attested by the relatively
frequent mention of his name among astrological authors
187
188
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
190
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN RO M E FRO M N E R V A TO S E V E R U S A L E X A N D E R
191
192
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
193
(2)
194
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A ST R O L O G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO SEV E R U S A L E X A N D E R
195
phyrv (about 250). This was by no means the only the founder of the New Academy, had been the most
work of its kind . 410 W e have for example some frag formidable. The common denominator of all attacks
ments of a commentary by Pacharius . 416 Demophilus was the challenge of fatalistic astrology. Against ca
wrote scholia for the Tetrabiblos, while the name of the tarchic astrology only the objection of man's inadequate
last great neoplatonist. Proclus (410-485), has been observational knowledge was raised. The adversaries
attached to a Paraphrase 417 and commentary of the of astrology presented two diametrically opposed argu
work . 418 Needless to say that Arabic translations of ments. On the one hand. Stoic fatalism was challenged
the Tetrabiblos l)ecame an integral part of mediaeval by the Platonists who defended the axiomatic existence
Arabic astrological literature (since the ninth century of a divine power or powers capable of interfering at
when Ishaq ben Hunein seems to have published the will in the life of man. while, on the other hand, em
first version in that language). From the Arabic ap piricists and other sceptics employed purely rational
parently western Europe received the work in Latin weapons in their war on fatalism and its astrological
translations, the earliest of which barring the possi defenders. Thus peripatetic opponents would stress the
bility of a late Roman attempt of this kind was pub lack of truly observational experience for the vaunted
lished in 1138 by Plato Tiburtinus.
claims of fatalist astrologers. Sceptics Epicureans,
It was a healthy sign that even the towering reputa Cynics, Pyrrhonists alike would deny the very possi
tion of a Ptolemy could not silence contemporary bility of ever ascertaining any positive knowledge about
attacks on astrology. The impact of anti-fatalistic matters in general, and fatalistic astrology in particular.
scepticism may, indeed, have strengthened Ptolemys Their attacks against religious concepts of any kind
natural scientific caution to the extent of limiting the were based on the denial of knowledgeability which
power of Fate over man in his definition of astrologys led them also to taunt the astrologers who so firmly
scope. The total effect of the revived struggle between asserted the accuracy of their knowledge, be it
the two rationalist forces towards the end of the second derived from divine revelation or alleged scientific
century was a complete stalemate. It was finally broken observations of millennial continuity.
by the rise of anti-rationalist forces, philosophical and
The most popular defender of religious values against
religious, two of which, neo-Platonism and Christianity, atheist rationalism and sceptic nihilism was, at the turn
were to resolve the long struggle. But that story will of the second century, Plutarch of Chaeronea . 4- 1 Repre
have to be told later .419 F or it does not belong to the sentative of rationalist opposition to astrology in this
principate.
era were, for example, Favorinus of Arles, the Epicu
reans Diogenianus and Diogenes of Oeoanda, the last
great Peripatetic, Alexander of Aphrodisias. the Cynics,
7. F O E S O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E LA T E R
Oenomaus of Gadara, Lucian of Samosata, and the
P R IN C IP A T E
nihilist Sextus Empiricus. Of this group Plutarch was
No serious thinker of the second century questioned the oldest, living from approximately 40 into the reign
the influence of stars on mundane matters. The indis of Hadrian, perhaps until 120. H is popularity was
putable power of the sun over all living things, the attested by the mass of writings subsequently ascribed
moons responsibility for the tides, the repetition of to him, many of which have been questioned on various
weather patterns like the stormy periods around the grounds as to the authenticity of his authorship. Among
equinoxes, or the apparent coincidence between the Dog- those an essay On Fate expressed sentiments which
S tars ascendancy and the hottest weeks of the summer even if not stemming from the pen of Plutarch himself
these were phenomena which made it impossible to did on the whole agree with his views on the subject
deny the validity of the claim that astral influences were as presented in treatises of undoubted authenticity. The
apparently of great influence on terrestrial affairs. The author was no firm adherent of any specific philosophi
Sceptics therefore concentrated on limiting the scope of cal sect, but an eclectic. He restated the fashionable
astrological claims rather than to deny them in their view, shared in the second century by the leading
totality. This had already been the attitude of the early Stoics also, that there was a distinction between a cosmic
Hellenistic foes of astrology, among whom Cameades , 420 Providence and a mechanistic Fate. Fate was sub
ordinated to Providence. It supplied the logical link
Compare F. Boll, Studien ueber Claudius Ptolemaeus: 127.
4t* Fragm ents published in Cat. 8, 2 : 67, 18-33; 73, 18-21; 74, between cause and effect, but had nothing to do with
38-75, 5; 76, 23-36; also 1: 118 ff. and F. Cumont in n. 1; W. the establishment of the primary causes themselves.
Kroll. Astrologisches, Philologus 57 (N . F., 11), 1898: 123 ff.
As Ptolemy, for example, also expressed it in his Tetra
411 Ed. Ph. Melanchthon, Basel, 1554.
biblos, one must distinguish between possible and inevi
* Ed. Wolf, Basel, 1559.
table consequences of a given cause. There remained
* In F. H. Cram ers forthcoming Astrology in Roman law
Providence to be appealed to. For itor the gods
and politics, from Diocletian to Justinian I.
1,0 Compare above, p. 53 ff. D. Amand, Fatalisme et liberte
dans Iantiquite grecquc, Louvain, 1945. has attempted to recon
4,1 On Plutarch, compare the extensive article in R E 21, 1,
struct the antifatalist argumentation of Carneades.
1951: c. 636, no. 2,-c. 962.
4
196
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
turned unto dust after death, the soul to the moon, the
domicile of demons, the mind, however, to the sun.
Star lore of this kind smacked somewhat of Hermetic
astrological traditions ; 428 and it is hardly surprising
that, having commented On the obsolcsccnce of ora
cles,4-0 Plutarch concluded his essay on The oracles at
Delphi 420 somewhat sadly by saying:
. . . Children take more delight and satisfaction in seeing
rainbows, haloes, and comets than in seeing moon and sun;
and so these persons yearn for riddles. . . . And if they
cannot ascertain to their satisfaction the reason for the
change, they go away, after pronouncing judgment against
the God. . . ,431
Although an essay On comets, ascribed to Plutarch
in the catalogue of his writings by Lamprias. is lost,
there is small reason for believing that it dealt with
astrological topics. More probably it was a pleasant
ramble through the various views on these celestial
apparitions. His only common basis with the more
violent foes of astrology among his contemporaries was
his rejection of Fate, a decision made inevitable by his
views on religion. Obliquely in his essay On Chance
(npl rvx^ ) 432 he argued against the belief which as
cribed all happenings to Fate. He opposed this
concept by asserting that intelligence ( 4>porqa^ ) was
mans decisive difference from the animals. It provided
him with what amounted to free will, and prevented
him from drifting helplessly on the tides of fickle
F ortune:
Precisely as would be our case, if the sun did not exist,
and we, for all the other stars, should be passing our life
in a continual night . . . . so man. for all his senses, had he
not mind and reason, would not differ at all in his life from
the brutes. 433
It is hardly surprising that Plutarchs gentle antifatalism
created not much of a stir. It was left to more radical
rationalists to carry the attack against fatalist astrology
to new heights.
Towards the end of the second century another selfstyled follower of Plato revived Plutarchs arguments
about the validity of divination: Maximus, a rhetori
cian from T yre . 434 H e wrote an, essay in which he
discussed the question, stated in tlie title, tff divination
Compare A. J. Festugiere, L a revelation dH erm es Trismegiste, 1: L astrologie et les sciences occultes, esp .; 19-28; 309346; Paris, Librairie Lecoffre, 1944.
4M Plutarch, dc defectu oraculorum, 1-S2 (ff. 3 94E -409D ).
* Plutarch, dc Pythiac oracnlis, 1-30 (ff. 394 E-409 D)
in Ibid., 30 (f. 409 C -D ).
4,5 Plutarch, de fortuna. 1-6 (ff. 97 C-100 A ).
"Ib id .. 3 (f. 98 C ).
434 Compare on him E. Zeller, Philosophic der Gricchen 3, 2
(4th ed., 1903) : 219-225; W . Christ (-Schm id-Staehlin), Geschichte der gricchischcn Literatur 2 . 2 ( H db. d. klass. A l t , ed.
I. Mueller, 7) : 767-769; D. Amand. op. c i t: 101-104. esp. 101,
n. 1; E. de Faye, Origcne. S a vie, son oeuvre, sa pensee, 2 :
L ambiance philosophique, ch. x i : 154-164; P aris, Librairie
Ernest Leroux, 1927.
197
198
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
predict from those already observed the absolute
sequence of events.
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A TO S EV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
the world as he would call them . 452 A part from the
Epicurean catechism the inscription (which he
mounted on the wall of a portico at Oeoanda) contained
the text of a letter to his mother, a letter to his friends,
his will, and an essay on the blessings of old age.
Although considerable sections of this enormous inscrip
tion have vanished, his attack on divination 453 and
Fate, the darlings of the Stoics, has in large measure
survived:
If the arg u m en ts adduced on behalf of d iv ination a re
absolutely untenable, w hat could one call upon on behalf of
F a te ? . . . T h e decisive arg u m en t ag a in st it: If F ate is
believed in. all foreknow ledge is useless an d all reproaches
and all punishm ent of crim in als.454
199
200
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
201
202
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
r i j j <urTpoXo-|rV), 1.
4 Ibid., 2.
* Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, 1, 2. 6-7.
4,T Lucian. Astrology, 3-8.
Ibid., 9.
4 Ibid., 10. On the astrologumcna of Orpheus, see for
example K. Ziegler, R E 18, 2, 1942: c. 1400; J. Heeg, Die
angebliclten orphischcn tpya tal iiitipai; diss., 1907.
4M Lucian, Astrology, 11-22.
4,1 Ibid., 23.
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO S EV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
badgered relentlessly by Cyniscus. obviously a member
of the Cynic sect. His manner strongly resembled that
of an impertinent reporter of our own era:
Is w hatever D estiny and the F ate s spin for each of us
at his b irth inevitable?
It is really quite true. . . . F o r no th in g can come to
pass outside the control of the F ates. . .
. . . B ut th ere a re only three of the F ates. . . . H ow
about D estiny and F o rtu n e
) ? 496 . . . A re you gods
u n d er th eir ru le too? . . . 40T
203
204
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
205
206
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
207
208
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
8. T H E T W IL IG H T O F S C IE N T IF IC A STRO LO G Y
209
210
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A T O SEV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
W h ile he w as in Sicily, he w as indicted for consulting
seers and astro lo g ers (C ltaldacos) about the im perial d ig
nity, but because Comm odus w as now being detested, he
w as acquitted by the prefects of the g u ard to whom he hail
been handed over for trial, w hile his accuser w as c ru cified /44
211
544 Ibid.. 4. 3.
343 Cassius Dio, ep. 7 3 (7 2 ), 22. I f f .; SHA , Commodus, 17,
1-2; Herodianus. 1. lf>, 5; 17, o.
34H SHA , Severus. 4, 4.
r'47 Ibid., 4, 5-6.
348 SHA , Commodus, 16, 1; compare Herodianus, 1, 14, 1.
r'* SHA . Pertinax, 4, 5 ff.; Herodianus. 2, 1. 3; Cassius Dio,
ep. 74. 1. 1 ff.
3=0 SHA . Pertinax. 10, 8 ff.; Cassius Dio. ep. 74, S. 1 ff.; com
pare Herodianus, 2, 5, 1 tf.
212
T H E R IS E AN D T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
213
214
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A TO SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
purged those suspected of having sympathized with
the victim. Among the most illustrious men thus slain
was Papinian, perhaps the greatest jurist of his day.
His executioner was only criticized for having used an
axe instead of a sword . 583 In contrast to his father
Severus, the new ruler, although given a good educa
tion, had little interest in furthering intellectual or
artistic pursuits / ' 84 His frame of mind manifested itself
in his decision to abolish the privileges of the Peripa
tetics in Alexandria and elsewhere, because Aristotle,
according to legend, had somehow been connected with
the death of Alexander, whom Caracalla admired
fanatically . 585 Could perhaps the sceptical attitude of
the Peripatetics this was the era of Alexander of
Aphrodisiashave anything to do with Caracalla s hos
tility towards them? For the Peripatetics opposed the
blind faith in divination which Caracalla had inherited
from his father and mother.
This faith, indeed, hastened his d eath ; it actually pro
voked it. The two authorities on which the following
account is based are Cassius Dio and H erodianus:
A ntoninus [ i.e . C aracalla] w as of a very inquisitive
n atu re and loved to pry, not only into the affairs of m an
kind, but even into the m ysteries of the gods and demons.
F o r suspecting all ab o u t him to be tra ito rs, he w as so fre
quently m aking the m ost scrupulous researches into oracles,
an d sending for m agi, as well as astro lo g ers (atrrpomftovs)
and soothsayers, th a t n o t one professor of such trick ery
(ytn jra a ) escaped his notice.586
215
216
T H E R IS E A N D T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
9.
T H E D E C L IN E O F R A T IO N A L IS M AND T H E
R IS E O F ST A R W O R S H IP
217
218
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
de deo Socratis, 1-2; compare de Platonis dot/de Plat, dogm., 1. 3; see also Diogenes Laertius.
on the subject of such voyages above, p. 8 f.
Florida 2, IS, 3.
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A T O S E V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
it turned out that the diviner was not altogether wrong.
Apuleius. however, in continuing the story insisted that
the astrologer, a certain Diophanes. was a mountebank
wholly devoid of prophetic knowledge . 623
The religious inclinations of Apuleius were, indeed,
difficult to reconcile with the fatalist creed of scientific
astrology. In his summary of Plato's views on the
relation between Fate and divine Providence which
for example Lucian's Zeus had tried to claim so vali
antly in his defense against Cyniscus 624 the difficulty
of reconciling fatalism and religion was apparent:
H e [P lato ] defines th re e kinds of gods. T h e highest of
them is a single deity, beyond the cosmos (td tra m u n d a n u s)
and incorporeal. W e shall show la ter th a t he is the fath er
and arch itect of this d ivine w orld. A second kind of divinity
is th at which the stars and the o th er deities possess which
we call the d w ellers in h e a v e n " (C o elico la s). A third
gro u p consists of those . . . w hich a re inferior in pow er
to the h ig h est div in ities. . . .
B ut ev ery th in g th a t happens n atu rally and therefore
rig h tly is gov ern ed by the g u ard ian sh ip of Providence. N or
could the cause of an y evil be ascribed to God. T h erefo re
he [P lato ] believes th a t n o t every th in g can be referred to
the lot of F ate ( fa ti so rte m ). H e defined it th u s: P ro v i
dence is the div in e conscience ( s e n te n tia ), the p rotector of
th a t p ro sp erity for w hich it is its duty to w ork. F ate, how
ever, is the divine law. by w hich the inevitable plans ( cogitationes) of God an d all b eginnings a re fulfilled. H ence w hat
is done by Providence, th a t is also done by F ate. A nd w hat
is term in ated by F ate , m ust be considered as term inated by
P rovidence.625
219
incongruous with the original piquant story of the socalled Golden A ss (M etamorphoses). In a fervent
prayer addressed to the moon arising from the waters
the desperate Lucius pleaded with the astral goddess to
redeem him from his animal shape. 627 Here Apuleius
himself spoke in the guise of Lucius pleading for death
or redemption. Exhaustedlv Lucius, the ass. fell asleep.
In a dream Isis now appeared to him in translucent
brilliance and promised him salvation . 028 Returned to
human existence the grateful Lucius embraced fervently
the rites of the goddess. With a paean of her cult
Apuleius closed his work.
The quaestiones naturales of Apuleius have not sur
vived. Of his astronomical or astrological writings
if, indeed, they were his and not merely issued under
his name by someone else we know apparently only
the few details which four hundred years later John
Lydus incorporated into two of his works, the de mensibus,-!> and the de ostentis,6SO but nowhere else did
he speak so clearly his own mind as he did at the end
of the Metamorphoses. The writings of Apuleius re
vealed throughout the great change which the intel
lectuals of the second century experienced. Apuleius
himself had spoken of the nectar-like quality of Greek
philosophy which intoxicated him at Athens. But ra
tionalist fatalism in quasi-Platonic disguise had failed
to satisfy his innermost longing. Astral divinities also
were too concrete, too material for his mystic leanings.
A cult which like that of Isis combined elements of
star worship with those of transcendental union between
the deity and man seemed to him and to an increasing
number of other intellectuals the fulfilment of a great
emotional need. It was perhaps significant that such
tendencies were equally manifest in both spheres of the
empire, in the Greek east, as well as in the Latin west.
About three quarters of a century later, at the very
time when the tide of revolution began to sweep away
the foundations of the society and the culture of the
principate, Q. Caerellius in 238 received among the
presents on his birthday a little treatise On the birthday
(de die natali). Most of its text has been preserved,
as has a fragment of another work ascribed to the pen
of the same au th o r: " 31 Censorinus . 632 The essay On
the birthday brought together from many sources
materials pertinent to the treatment of this topic:
"A puleius, Metamorphoses 11. 1-21.
* Ibid. 11, 3-6.
" 'L y d u s , de mensibus 4, 116: There are, according to
Aristotle, nine types of comets, but, according to the Roman
Apuleius, ten.
*** Lydus, dc ostentis. pr. ; 3: 4; 7; 10; 44; 54 ( ed. Wachsm utli: 8, 25; 103 ( Apuleius wrote on such m a tte rs) ; 14, 21;
35, 7 (where Apuleius, as well as Varro and Nigidius Figulus,
are cited as Lydus' authorities for his chapter on comets) ; 98, 6
( the great A puleius" on lightning): 110, 8 (Apuleius on
earthquakes).
Both treatises were edited by F. Hultsch, Leipzig, 1867.
Compare on him Wissowa, R E 3. 1899, c. ltf)8. no. 7,-c.
1910; Schanz-Hosius-Krueger. op. cit.. 3 (3rd ed.) : 219 ff.
220
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
in the science of stars and constellations (qtii in stellarum signorttmque rationc verttm scrutantur) ,638 i.e.
in his own terminology astronomers, as well as astrolo
gers. Accordingly he often referred to astrologi in the
purely astronomical sense, for example in the discussion
of the length of the solar year , ''39 and in the section
devoted to the discussion of the length of a day .40
The essay of Censorinus was not the work of a scien
tist. or even an astrologer, but that of a grammarian.
T hat the author, although not blessed with earthly
riches, enjoyed a considerable professional reputation
in his own field was attested by later writers. One of
them remembered him as most learned in the gram
marian discipline, 041 while another, writing in the fifth
century of our era. specifically praised the essay On the
birthday as a masterpiece (volumen illtistre).9*2 The
greatest Latin scholar of the sixth century also paid
tribute to Censorinus ,43 while a scribe of the seventh
century left us the oldest extant manuscript of the de
die natali, on which all modern editions are based. It
was an irony of history that this little work alone sur
vived almost intact the beginning and the end are
missing while his professional writings were left to
perish. F or posterity, however, the fact that the trained
philologist chose only good authors for his sources has
proved a real boon, inasmuch as his excerpts preserved
much that otherwise would have perished.
A fragment, ascribed to Censorinus, may also be
mentioned. F or its first three chapters have been found
to be identical with the scholia Sangermanensia dealing
with the Aratea of Germanicus . 844 Moreover, this frag
ment contains our oldest extant treatment of Latin
metric.
The crowded compilation of the birthday-essay with
its discussion of pertinent topics like the calendar, its
year, months, and days, together with some medicoastrological summary of diverse views on the biological
aspects of human birth itself was of course not meant
to be more than a scholarly gift. The first three chap
ters dealt with the cosmos, the sky, and both planets
and fixed stars, respectively .45 Although neither treatise
of Censorinus made any new contribution to science or
pseudo-science, they indicated the continuing- interest
of Romes upper strata in some measure of astronomical
and astrological knowledge. Otherwise the little Latin
essay could hardly have been understood by its recipient.
N or would it have attracted later copyists. But the
hodge-podge of philosophical, scientific, and pseudo
* Ibid.. 17, 4.
Ibid., 18, 9; 19, 2; 22, 4.
',*g Ibid., 23, 3.
041 Th. Priscianus, 1, 4, 17; compare 19, 1, 6. About a . d . 500.
Sidonius Apollinaris, m ninna 14, pr.. 3.
041 Cassiodorus, dc artibus ac disciplinis liberalium litterarum
5 : de musica ( Migne, P. L., 70: c. 1208 D ).
See above, p. 26.
Ed. Hultsch : 55-60, 7.
221
222
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A TO SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
was
the
less
was
223
224
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A TO S EV E R U S A L EX A N D ER
to reign in pleasure but one year, and then to lose both
life and empire. 887 During that year, however, he
executed M atemianus, who had almost caused his
ruin . 888 H e rewarded, on the other hand, his timely
warner, Ulpius Julianus, with the praetorian prefecture.
Julianus went to Syria to take over his command, but
was soon involved in his master's ruin. W hen in 218
the tides of fortune began to run against Macrinus,
Julianus was slain by his own troops who then went
over to the rebels .080 Meanwhile, the Roman senate,
while not delighted at being ruled by a low-born Moor,
still considered Macrinus preferable to the late oppres
sive fratricide. The army, however, continued to regret
the loss of a bountiful patron in whose place a stem
civilian now ruled.
The beginning of one of the portentous revolutions
of Roman history was, as is often the case, almost
trivial:
There was a Phoenician woman, named Maesa, of Emesu s(!), a city of Phoenicia, who was a sister of Julia
[Domna], the wife of Severus and the mother of [the late]
Antoninus [Caracalla]. During the lifetime of her sister
Maesa had spent many years at the court in the reigns of
Severus and Antoninus, but after her sisters death and
the assassination of Antoninus [Caracalla] Macrinus had
ordered her to return to her native country and to live
there in quiet domesticity in full possession of her fortune.
. . . This woman had two daughters, the elder named
[Julia] Soaemis, the younger Mamaea 880 . . . by her hus
band Julius Avitus, an ex-consul. She had also two grand
sons. One was Avitus [Bassianus], the son of Soaemis and
Varius Marcellus, a man of the same race . . . who had
been enrolled in the senate, and later had died. The other
was [Alexianus] Bassianus, the son of Mamaea and Gessius
Marcianus, who was also a Syrian . . . Avitus . . . after
his governorship of Asia . . . had died from old age and
sickness. 691
Thus Maesa, a sister-in-law of Severus, her two
daughters, and two grandsons entered the arena of
history at this stage;
Educated under their mothers and grandmother [Avitus]
Bassianus was about fourteen years old, but Alexianus
[Bassianus] was not yet advanced beyond the tenth year.
They were both priests of the sun. This deity the natives
[of Emesa] worship with singular devotion, calling him in
the Phoenician language Elagabalus.*9*
Dissatisfaction of the army with Macrinus, promises
and bribes on the part of Maesa. her fraudulent claims
to the effect that Caracalla had actually fathered both
boys these elements blended in a fantastic plot to
which M acrinus power and then his life fell victim.
Elagabalus, or as the Greeks were to call h im : Helio** Herodianus, 5, 3, 1.
Cassius Dio, ep. 79 (78), 15, 3.
Herodianus. S, 2-4; SHA , Macrinus, 10, 1-3; Cassius Dio,
ep. 79 ( 78), IS. 1-2; 31. 4 ; 32, 1-33, 2 ; 34, 1-5.
*** Herodianus, 5, 3, 2-3.
**' Cassius Dio. ep. 79 (78), 30, 2-4.
* Herodianus. 5, 3, 3-4.
225
226
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R L D
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M E F R O M N E R V A TO S E V E R U S A L E X A N D E R
Apparently the moon goddess was transferred from
Carthage to the Palatine shrine of the god Elagabalus,
not to the other temple which the emperor had built in
the suburbs of Rome , 7" 8 a structure which was to sur
vive his reign for a long time to come. 709 Perhaps the
fact that Caelestis (U rania ) was worshipped by many
as the queen of the stars ( AiTTpadpxv) 710 influenced
227
228
T H E R IS E AND T R IU M P H O F A ST R O L O G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FR O M N E R V A T O SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
over the city, and then his m other's body w as cast aside
som ew here or other, w hile his was throw n into the riv e r.71*
Thus died the first Syrian, the first sun priest ever
to ascend the Roman throne. And as for Elaga
balus [the god] himself, he was banished from Rome
altogether. 7:0
The catastrophe which had overtaken the religious
revolutionary was followed by the reign of Severus
Alexander (222-235), or rather that of his mother,
Mamaea. Old Maesa died soon after the successful
proclamation of her last surviving grandson , 721 who,
being barely fourteen years old at the time, was of
course in no position to rule the empire himself. But
even the most careful respect paid to earlier traditions
of the principate the address dominus (m aster) was,
for example, tabooed once m ore 722 the fact of an
orientals rule could not be camouflaged. Although the
young emperor received the traditional Graeco- Roman
education of his time, his proficiency in Latin was never
great. Indeed he did not greatly value the power to
speak in Latin. 725 But his mother held him in such
unreasonable subjection that he did whatever she was
pleased to command. 724 Among her least objection
able recommendations was her insistence that the young
emperor should revive the patronage of men of letters
which the rulers of the principate with few exceptions
had always practiced.
Moreover, he often resorted to the Athenaeum [i. e. the
university of Rome] to hear both Greek and Latin rheto
ricians and poets, and he would listen to the orators of the
Forum. . . . And he used to preside at contests. 725
In keeping with this cautious policy of Mamaea the
young ruler was indoctrinated to play down his Syrian
origins:
He did not like to be called a Syrian and asserted that
his ancestors were Romans, and he had his family tree
depicted, showing that he was descended from the .Metelli. 7-*1
Fig. 22. Elagabalus (218-222) and Severus Alexander (222235). From J. S. Hay, The amazing emperor, facing p. 142,
London, Macmillan, 1911.
229
230
T H E R IS E A ND T R IU M P H O F A STR O LO G Y IN T H E L A T IN W O R LD
A STR O LO G Y IN R O M E FRO M N E R V A T O SE V E R U S A L EX A N D ER
H is mother shared his fate. The epitaph which the
sober historian Herodianus wrote for him was in a
higher sense that of the entire principate:
H e had reigned . . . w ithout blood. . . . F o r he was
u tterly a b h o rren t of m u rd er, cruelty, and all illegal acts,
and alw ays inclined to hum anity, and doing kind acts.738
231
P A R T II
A STR O LO G Y IN ROM AN LAW U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
PREFA CE
The preceding section has been devoted to the rise
and triumph of astrology in the Roman world. Its influ
ence on Roman intellectuals in republican days, as well
as its hold on the Roman rulers of the principate have
been discussed at some length. Only tangentially, how
ever, was the treatment touched upon which astrologers
and their craft received at the hands of Roman law.
The law rarely anticipates developments. It usually
takes only cognizance of long existing trends which it
freezes into the perpetuity, or at least longevity com
mon to legal institutions. The growing influence of
astrology upon Roman society was, therefore, reflected
in Roman Law only slowly and relatively late. Three
phases of this development can be traced, the one be
longing to the republican era and the early principate,
the second peculiar to the principate only. The third
to be dealt with elsewhere 1 ended with the total ban
of all divination, including of course astrology.
At first expulsion decrees were used against astrolo
gers. From 139 b . c . to (at the very latest) a . d . 175-76
measures of this kind were resorted to by republican
and imperial authorities. They were meant as tempo
rary measures to cope with momentary problems. Once
these had been met, expulsion decrees were no longer
enforced. The area affected by such legal lightning was
always Rome and Italy also. Beginning in a . d . 1 1 a
second type of legal restriction of astrological activities
began with an edict of Augustus, outlawing consulta
tions a deux and curbing the scope of topics on which
astrologers were free to speak and clients allowed to
consult them. From the very first these Augustan
restrictions were empire wide.
The Augustan edict of a . d . 11 became the permanent
basis of Roman Law on the subject. Its interpretation
in Roman courts reflected the general faith in astrology.
Political predictions of astrologers were likely to be
taken at face value by the government as well as by
politically ambitious clients of astrologers. Hence in
quiries about one's own political future or about the
well being (de salute) of the ruler and his house since
the middle of the first century constituted prima-facie
evidence of treason. On a lesser level, inquiries about
anyone's death alicni interitus, as a fourth century
writer called it which had been forbidden by the
234
ASTR O LO G Y IN R O M A N L A W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E X P U L S IO N O F A S TR O LO G ER S FR O M R O M E A ND ITA L Y
TA BLE 4
Date
B.
Author
Area of ban
Groups affected
c.
i)
H)
Form
139
33
p r a e t.
e d ic t
p r a e to r
p e r e g r in u s
aediles
ordinance
a e d ile
Agrippa
astrologers
u n rest
Rome, Italy
a str o lo g e r s ,
sorcerers
u n rest
Rome
A . D.
iii)
Sept 16
se n a tu s
T ib e r iu s
consultum
iv)
16
v)
52
vi)
66?
vii)
68?
viii)
ix)
x)
xi)
x ii)
xiii)
xiv)
69
69?
70
71
89?
93
175?
Claudius
imp. edict
N ero?
ii
ii
..
M
Vitellius
?
Vespasian
Domitian
ti
M. Aurelius
astrologers, sor
cerers, all other
diviners
astrologers
public teachers
of philosophy
astrologers,
sorcerers
astrologers
sorcerers
astrologers
philosophers
astrologers,
philosophers
astrologers,
seers?
2.
Libos plot
inadequacy
of previous
SC
Scribonianus
plot
Pisos plot
rebellion of
Vindex, Galba
unrest
unrest
unrest
political
opposition
rebellion
unrest
rebellion
of Avidius
Cassius ?
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
(Rome?) Italy
Rome (Italy ?)
(R om e?) Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome (Italy ?)
Rome (Italy ?)
Rome (Italy ?)
Rome, Italy
Rome ? Italy ?
R E P U B L IC A N F O R M S : E X P U L S IO N BY P R A E
T O R IA N E D IC T A N D C ITY O R D IN A N C E
(i)
T H E PR A E T O R IA N ED IC T OF
139
B. C.
235
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M AN LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
236
(ii)
THE
C ITY O R D IN A N C E OF
33
B .C .
IM P E R IA L M E T H O D S (A .D . 16-52):
E X P U L S IO N BY S E N A T U S C O N S U L T A
31 Compare above, p. 83.
23 Cf. Suetonius, Augustus, 94, 12.
51 On the mounting tension at the time, see Cassius Dio, 50,
1, 1.
25 [bid. 49, 43, 3. On Agrippa's aedileship compare F. A.
W right, Agrippa, ch. i i : 78 ff.; 100 f., I.ondon, 1937.
Cassius Dio, 49, 43, 4.
237
th e
sen a tu s
co n su lta
of
d.
16
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LAW U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
233
240
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LAW U N T IL T H E EN D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
TABLE 5
Area
1st SC 40
2nd SC 40
(vetoed)
3rd SC
Rome, Italy
Penalties
deportation,
confiscation
of property
same
death
same
death for
non-Romans,
exile for Romans.
Confiscation of
property for both
groups.
Groups
Exemptions
astrologers
and all other
diviners,in
cluding sorcerers
same
same, but in
cluding Roman
citizen-practitioners too
T H E SENATUS CONSULTUM
OF A .D .
52
IM P E R IA L M E T H O D S (A. D. 66?-176?) :
E X P U L S IO N BY IM P E R IA L E D IC T S
241
TW O N E R O N IC E X P U L S IO N E D IC T S ?
242
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
A bout N ero.
A t the end of his reig n his ire w as aroused ag a in st the
sorcerers and astrologers. H e issued an edict an d o rdered
in it publicly th a t they should leave all of Italy on a fixed
day. T hey, how ever, posted a counter ord er, an n o u n cin g
th a t on th a t day he w ould d ep art from life. O n this day,
too. he did die. So accurately had they know n w h at was
g oing to happen.33
TABLE 6
Time
f Anonvmus
''lE R O
i
V IT E L L IU S
Lassius
Dio
Suetonius
Form
Groups affected
Reason given
Between
imper. edict
astrologers,
( accurate)
66-68
sorcerers
prophecy of
date of eml.
perors death
69
69
Mid-sum
mer 69
Sometime
before
Oct. 1, 69
Summer
69
imper. edict
imper. edict
imper. edict
astrologers,
sorcerers
astrologers
imper. edict
astrologers,
pasquillwriters
same as
Anonvmus
(inaccurate!)
prophecy of
date of em
peror's death
astrologers
T H E V IT E L L IA N E X P U L S IO N EDICTS
243
244
E X P U L S IO N O F A STR O LO G ER S FR O M R O M E AN D ITA L Y
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
v e s p a s i a n s
e x p u l s io n
e d ic t s
245
246
AN
E X P U L S IO N
ED IC T
OF
M ARCUS
A U R E L IU S ?
247
248
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M AN L A W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
VI. E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y A N D O T H E R D IV IN A T IO N
D U R IN G T H E P R IN C IP A T E
1. T H E A U G U ST A N E D IC T O F A .D . I I 1
E M P IR E W ID E LEGAL R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STROLO G Y
cariousness of his position. Having himself received
the encouragement of astrological predictions of a bril
liant future . 4 he was aware of their heady taste. Of the
great families of republican Rome a number considered
the Julian gens as an upstart and themselves entertained
hopes of claiming the throne. Energetic noblemen,
therefore, might easily be persuaded by astrological ad
visers that the coup which they planned was destined
to succeed.
Not only astrology, but other forms of divination also
could exercise such an inflammatory influence, especially
the ubiquitous oracular literature. After the short-lived
ban of diviners from Rome (33 B . C . ) , however, more
than twenty years elapsed before official action was taken
again in this field. On March 6 , 12 b . c . Augustus
claimed the last of the great offices of state which he had
hitherto refrained from assuming and became pontifex
maximus .5 A t once he ordered the confiscation of all
oracular literature. More than two thousand books and
scrolls of this kind were gathered in. W ith the sole
exception of the Sibylline books all were condemned and
in a solemn autodaje committed to the flames.
No ban, however, seems to have been proclaimed at
the time on the publication of oracular, astrological, or
any other divinatory writings. This was in keeping
with the relatively liberal attitude of Augustus, grudg
ingly even admitted by Tacitus , 7 concerning freedom of
literary expression. Not until the last decade of his
long reign did the aging ruler begin to reconsider his
policy. The immediate cause of this change appears to
have been the famine period beginning in a . d . 5.8 The
first official step in the new direction was the reinter
pretation of the ancient lex maiestatis (which in earlier
times had only been applied to those who had harmed
the state by acts, not merely by words)." This legal
policy went into effect sometime between a . d . 7 and 11,
probably around the year 8 . 10 For the new crime of
literary treason a new penalty was provided: the
burning of the culprits subversive writings . 11 In more
249
250
A STROLO GY IN RO M AN LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F ASTRO LO GY
Caesars death, their numbers and importance grew
steadily . - 3 By the end of the first century a . d . the
peaceful Stoic Epictetus described these eyes and ears
of the imperial government in terms which have an
ominously modern ring:
W hen someone ap p ears to us to discourse fran k ly on his
own affairs, we. too, a re some w ay induced to discover
ou r secrets to him. . . . I t is thus th at the inconsiderate are
caught by the secret ag en ts in Rome. A secret police agent
sits by you and begins to speak ill of the em peror. Then
you, as if you had received a pledge of his fidelity by his
first beg in n in g of this abuse, say likew ise w h at you th in k ;
and so you a re led aw ay in chains to execution.2*
T H E E V O L U T IO N O F T H E A U G U ST A N E D IC T
IN LEG A L P R A C T IC E (A. D. 11-49)
251
TABLE 7
D ate
Defendant
Indictment
Verdict
Penalty
A . D.
1)
16
M. Scribonius
Libo Drusus
maiestas
2)
20
Aemilia Lepida
maiestas,
falsum. etc.
3)
26
Claudia Pulchra
maiestas,
adultery,
unchastitv
guilty?
guilty
guilty
4) a)
32
Mamercus-Aemilius Scaurus
b)
34
maiestas.
adultery
guilty
5)
49
guilty
quashed
quashed ?
Lollia Paulina
guilty
The legal principle in strict conformity with the courtpractice of the reigns of Claudius and his successors was ex
plicitly restated as late as 394; C. Th. 16. 10. 12. 1.
252
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STRO LO G Y
253
254
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STRO LO G Y
act as spokesman. H e presented the charges, begin
ning with the above mentioned violations of the Augus
tan edict. 48 The importance of this particular section
of the indictment has recently been questioned , 49 but
there can be no doubt that Tiberius and his legal ad
visers. all of whom were probably confirmed believers
in astrology, attached great importance to it , 50 even
though they were not yet ready to impose the penalties
of exile or death for violations of the Augustan edict of
a . d . 11 alone.
Additional proof of perduellio was still
required before the full rigor of the lex Julia of 46 b . c .
would be invoked. One of the most damning bits of
evidence introduced at Libos trial was his notebook
which in his own writing contained fearful or code
entries (atroces vel occultas) behind the names of the
Caesars and certain senators . 51
The obvious interpretation of this find was that these
persons had been the topic of forbidden divinatory or
magical consultations. Libo protested feebly that the
damning notebook was not his own, but his statement
fell on sceptical ears. F or had not a certain necro
mancer by the name of Junius been among the first
informers against Libo who had asked the man to em
ploy his magical prowess on his behalf ! 52 In such inti
mate matters as forbidden astrological consultations the
testimony of a defendants slaves would often be a vital
source of evidence. Traditionally slaves in cases of this
kind were not permitted to give evidence against their
masters. They, therefore, could not be questioned by
the prosecution. Although Tacitus asserted that Tiberius
was the first to use the legal device of enforcing the
sale of slaves to the state with the purpose of then
obtaining their testimony against a defendant, 53 the be
ginnings of this legal technique apparently went back
also to the crucial last decade of Augustus reign . 54
The change thus would coincide with the general altera
tion of Augustan policies from a more liberal towards
more restrictive tendencies.
The testimony of his former slaves seems to have
established the guilt of Libo on all counts beyond any
reasonable doubt. Despairing of his cause Libo killed
255
256
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
Pulchra, a beauteous Claudian. It has been sug
gested that this trial marked the beginning of the great
family feucl between the Claudian and the Julian
branches of the imperial house , 78 the former represented
by Tiberius and his grandson, Tiberius Gemellus, the
latter by Claudia Pulchra's intimate friend, A ugustus
granddaughter and Germanicus widow, the older Agrip
pina and her children. The man who launched the
accusation against Pulchra in 26, Domitius Afer, earned
the deep-seated dislike of Agrippina's youngest son,
Caius, for this action and almost lost his life thirteen
years later when Caius, invested with the imperial
purple, had him tried on a maiestas charge . 77
The indictment of Claudia Pulchra consisted of sev
eral counts: immorality (impudicitia), adultery, and
maiestas, committed by an attempt to poison the em
peror and to employ magic arts ( devotiones) against
him . 78 Normally the lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis would be invoked on the last charge, but since the
person of Tiberius had been the target of Claudia Pulchras alleged crime, the proper action was the one of
maiestas. The defendant may actually have engaged
in those forbidden devotions chiefly for divinatory pur
poses, or she may have consulted diviners about the
probable success of her efforts at magic against Tibe
rius .78 No violation of the edict of a . d . 11 was offi
cially charged, however, and the extant record of her
trial does not even reveal whether she was convicted on
the maiestas indictment, or whether, as in the case of
Aemilia Lepida, these secret practices were considered
insufficient to substantiate per se a charge of maiestas.
She and her latest paramour were found guilty of adul
tery and punished .80 Thus vanished from the Roman
scene the -widow of that luckless Quintilius Varus, who
in a . d . 9 , sharing the fate of his doomed legions, had
perished by his own hand in the murky forests of
Germany, when all was lost.
CASE
257
258
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
260
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STROLO GY
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
261
of her caste Lollia went through with the then traditional tant cases involved only transgressions of high ranking
rite: She did away with herself. A ghoulish aftermath offenders. The astrologers and diviners who had sup
plied the forbidden political information were of course
was, perhaps falsely, reported by Cassius Dio. When
her dead rivals head was sent to Agrippina, the empress equally guilty, but as persons of lesser station they were
was not assured of its identity until knowing of certain rarely deemed worthy of mention in the surviving his
peculiarities of Lollias teeth, she had opened the heads torical accounts. The few cases concerning culpable
mouth and. finding what she was looking for, was satis diviners themselves will be dealt with later . 134 Mean
while. the continuity of imperial policy in these matters
fied at last . 131
The memory of Lollia Paulina remained alive, how throughout the principate can be traced through nine
ever. The day came in 59 when Agrippinas son, the state trials belonging to the reigns of Claudius. Nero, Do
mitian, Hadrian, Commodus, and Septimius Severus . 135
emperor Nero, signed her death warrant. To blacken
Extending over more than one hundred and fifty years
her memory he then remembered her former victim :
Lollia Paulinas ashes were returned to Rome and this list (table 8 ) shows clearly that the law of topical
and technical restrictions of astrology and other forms
enshrined in a tomb worthy of her rank . 132 H er trial
T A B LE 8
Date
(6)
52
(7)
53
(8)
54
(9)
66
(10)
66
(11)
89?
(12)
90?
138
(13)
189?
(14)
205
Defendant
Furius
Camillus
Scribonianus
and his mother
T. Statilius
Taurus
Domitia
Lepida
Barea Soranus
and daughter
Servilia
P. Anteius and
Ostorius Scapula
Mettius
Pompusianus
Pedanius
Fuscus
Septimius
Severus
Popilius Pedo
Apronianus
Verdict
guilty
Penalty
probaby exile
maiestas ?
impiety,
repetundarum
maiestas
guilty ?
guilty
guilty?
guilty
maiestas
guilty
death
maiestas
guilty
death
maiestas
maiestas ?
maiestas
guilty
guilty?
guilty
exile
death
death
maiestas
not guilty
none
guilty
death
Indictment
maiestas
maiestas
V IO L A T IO N S O F T H E A U G U STA N ED IC T
D U R IN G T H E L A T E R P R IN C IP A T E
(A .D . 52-205)
262
ASTRO LO G Y IN RO M AN L A W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
trial and ruin to Claudius campaign against foreign
cults in general seems, however, wholly unwarranted in
the absence of any corrolxjrating evidence besides the
existence of that mysterious subterranean sanctuary on
Statilian property. Ironically enough Statilia Messa
lina, in all probability the daughter of the luckless owner
of the too-beautiful gardens, subsequently married
Agrippina's son and m urderer in 6 6 , after Nero had
rid Statilia of an inconvenient husband by the simple
device of slaying him in 65.152
case
263
264
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LAW U N T IL T H E EN D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F ASTRO LO G Y
raise m oney for the perform ance of m agic rites, she at first
flung h erself to the g ro u n d and w ept long in silence. A fter
aw hile, clasping the a ltar steps and altar, she exclaim ed,
I have invoked no im pious deities, no enchantm ents, nor
au g h t else in my unhappy prayers, b u t only th at thou,
C aesar, and you. senators, m ight p reserve u nharm ed this
best of fathers. My jew els, my apparel, and the signs of
my ran k I gave up, as I w ould have given up my life blood
had they dem anded it. T h ey m ust have seen this, those men
unknow n to me before, both as to the nam e they b ear and
the a rts they p ractise. N o m ention w as m ade by me of the
em peror, except as one of the divinities. B ut niv m ost
unhappv father know s nothing, and if it is a crim e. I alone
am g u ilty . 178
265
10
266
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M AN LA W U N T IL T H E EN D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
again being given, the intrepid man stabbed himself to
death after having severed his veins . 200
The entire affair revealed how deeply influenced
Romes ranking men were by astrological advice in the
gravest matters of state. Anteius and Scapula had been
encouraged in plotting Neros overthrow. Conversely,
Nero, himself wholly convinced of the accuracy of astro
logical predictions , - 01 knowingly challenged fate by exe
cuting those two caught in such forbidden consultations.
F or a believer in fatalistic astrology this was illogical,
since no one, after all, could escape his fate, but then
what believer in fatalistic astrology has ever thought
logically, especially when facing mortal danger! Two
years later Nero was dead, and Galba, whom the stars
had long promised the throne . - 02 succeeded him.
case
11
267
12
268
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
great reign. Yet who can doubt that the Roman empire
fared better with Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius
as H adrians successors than it would have fared with
the light-headed, gladiator-loving F u scu s!
case
13
269
270
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M AN LAW U N T IL T H E EN D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
IS, 1 ff.
Cassius Dio, ep. 77 (76), 8, 3 ff.
341 Ibid., 8, 6-7; 9, 1-2.
' Tacitus, Annals 3, 51; Cassius Dio, 57, 20, 4.
* Compare Paulus, Sententiae 5, 21, 3.
A ST R O L O G ER S IM C O U RT FO R V IO L A T IO N S
O F T H E A U G U STA N ED IC T
271
T A B LE 9
Date
(I)
A . D.
16
(II)
40-41
(III)
(IV )
Defendant
L. Pituanius |
P. Marcius j
Apollonius
Indictment
maiestas
Verdict
guilty
death
..
(but pardoned)
P rior
to 6 6
66 ?
69
(V )
96
(V I)
(V II)
96
371
Pammenes
Ptolemy
Seleucus
Larginus
Proculus
Asclation
Heliodorus
exile
exile?, death?
exile
death
..
states
evidence
..
none
ii
2 72
s Ibid.. 14 f.
On the probable identity of Ptolemy and Seleucus, see
Stein, R E , 2. Reihe, 2, 1923: c. 1248, nos. 29 and 30.
Juvenal, 6, vv. 557-559.
Tacitus. Histories 1, 22; Suetonius, Otho, 4, 1.
370 Tacitus, loc. cit. ; Suetonius, Otho, 6, 1; Plutarch, Galba,
23, 4.
171 Suetonius, Vitellius, 14, 4; Cassius Dio, 64 (65), 1, 4;
Zonaras. 11, 16.
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STRO LO G Y
uncertain, but it does seem likely that some official action
was taken against him at the time. This would account
for a second exile implied by Juvenal.
As Apollonius before him. Ptolemy-Seleucus was
flagrantly guilty of habitual violations of the edict of
a . d . 11.
Yet. like Pammenes, banishment, not death
did he draw as his sentence (if. indeed, he was indi
vidually dealt with at all in 69). W ith the fall of Vitellius
and the accession of Vespasian, however, a new era of
prosperity dawned for him. He joined Balbillus, son
of the renowned astrologer Thrasyllus, as one of Ves
pasians favorite court astrologers . 272 Thus, instead of
being punished for his perennial transgressions of the
edict of 1 1 , Ptolemy Seleucus was not only pardoned,
but even permitted to continue his political prophecies
in a quasi-official capacity.
CASE
273
J"4
A STR O LO G Y IN ROM AN LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
Suetonius (Domitian, 16, 1) :
Then early in the morning [of the day of his assassina
tion] he examined an haruspex who had been sent him from
[a province of] Germany and who. when asked about the
meaning of a bolt of lightning, had predicted a change of
rulers. He sentenced him to death.
There is no disagreement between these accounts on
the date of the trial (September 18, 96), the charge
( maiestas, committed by forbidden divination), and the
place where the offense had been committed (one of the
two German provinces, although which one of them is
nowhere stated). On the details, however, Suetonius
differs sharply from Dios excerptors, including the
Anonymus, whose assertion that Larginus Proculus was
an astrologer and sorcerer contrasts with that of Sue
tonius who refers to him as an haruspex. Moreover,
the method used was described as brontoscopy by Sue
tonius, while Dio and the Anonymus suggested astrology
(or magic) as the techniques employed. Suetonius had
the defendant merely prophesy a change of rulers, Dio
and the Anonymus the exact time of the assassination.
Allowing for Dios ineradicable predilection for accu
rate astrological forecasts, one is tempted to assume
in this instance a similar falsification of historical facts
on his part as in the earlier case of the astrological death
prophecies about Vitellius in 69.-9l
Nevertheless there is one point which might tend to
corroborate Dios version: the reward of 400,000 ses
terces bestowed on Proculus by Domitians successor
Nerva. T hat Proculus was guilty of maiestas through
violation of the edict of a . d . 1 1 was admitted by the
defendant himself. A legal precedent for his subsequent
pardon by Domitians successor had been established in
a . d . 41 by Claudius when he spared Apollonius (who
had committed the same crime at the end of Caligulas
reign ) . 262 But to reward a guilty diviner, to reward
him so handsomely, indeed, as Nerva did in the case of
Proculus, this was a novel feature. No explanation for
Nerva's action is given by Dio's excerptors. Could it
be that Proculus had in far away Germany obtained an
inkling of what was brewing in Rome ? Had he, perhaps
under torture, refused to name Nerva as the man whom
he believed to be fated to succeed Domitian ? That
Domitian was deeply suspicious of Nerva is well attested.
Actually he spared the old senators life only when in
formed of the pitiful state of his health, convinced that
in any case he would outlive Nerva . 298 W hat secret
connection (if any) existed between Proculus and Nerva
will probably never be fully known, but without some
personal obligation to Larginus Proculus, Nervas im
pressive donation would be inexplicable.
275
CASE V II
276
LEGAL R E S T R IC T IO N S O F D IV IN A T IO N
D U RIN G T H E P R IN C IP A T E
magic was probably also dealt with in the TwelveTables , 300 but no clause referring to this topic has sur
vived. The Latin renenum (equivalent of the Greek
<fntpfMiKov) originally had a neutral meaning denoting
both healing drug or deadly poison ." 01 Mala vcnena.
i. e. poisons, administered with or without magical in
cantations. were of course always tabooed . 302
Among the numerous definitions of sorcerers (yo;r)
in the literature of the principate the one given by Philo
stratus was typical:
S o rcerers claim to alter the course of destiny by h aving
recourse eith er to the to rtu re of lost sp irits 303 o r to b arb aric
sacrifices, o r to certain incantations and an o in tin g s.304
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STROLO G Y
Diviners by magic inevitably would also know about
the magic art. From the terse sentence of Paulus it
would follow that they too were liable to death in the
arena or on the cross for their theoretical knowledge
alone. But that this was not the case follows logically
from the repeated issue of expulsion decrees against
them. Practicing sorcerers, however, were burned, a
method of execution faithfully adhered to in witchcraft
cases through the middle ages and well into the so-called
modem era. In fairness to the judicial spirit of the
Romans one must assume that if the defendant succeeded
in convincing his judges that he knew of and practiced
only white magic or magic by divination, he would be
acquitted, or at least would escape with a lighter penalty.
Obviously a charge of forbidden knowledge would
usually be substantiated in court by the assertion that
books on magic had been found in the defendant's
possession. The accused then could naturally but
unconvincingly deny ever having read them. To
forestall such pleas, the principate ru led :
N o one is perm itted to have books on the a r t of magic
in his possession. A nd w ith w hom such a re found will be
deported to an island after his goods have been confiscated
a n d these [w ritin g s] bu rn ed in public. P erso n s of humble
ran k w ill be executed. ( N o t only the p ractice b u t also the
know ledge of this a r t is fo rb id d e n ).307
277
278
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LAW U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
P au lu s: 314
1.
I t has been decreed to expel from the city (civita te)
prophets who pretend to be inspired by a god, lest public
morale (m o res) by hum an credulity be seduced into hoping
'or some p articular thing, or th a t the m inds of the people,
or certain, m ight be excited thereby. A nd thus first
>tTenders are flogged w ith rods and expelled from the city,
but persevering ones a re throw n into public ja il, or d e
ported. o r at least banished.
3. W hoever consults astrologers, soothsayers ( h a rio lo s),
haruspices, and seers about the health (salute) of the em
peror or about high m atters of state is subject to capital
punishment. O ne would do better to abstain not only from
[the practice of] divination, but also from any w ritings on
it, because, if slaves have sought advice about the health
salute) of th e ir m asters, they a re punished w ith the
-upreme penalty, i. e. the cross. Those, how ever, who w ere
consulted, if they supplied an answ er, a re either sent to a
mine o r to an island.
U lp ia n : 3,5
1. F u rth erm o re is forbidden the clever and obstinately
persuasive fraud of the astrologers. N or has this been fo r
bidden to them by law for the first tim e in our own days,
but it is a ban of old standing. . . .
2. T h e question, how ever, has been posed, w hether m ens
knowledge of any th ing is punishable or [only] the practice
o r professional use. A nd indeed it has been asserted in the
w ritin g s of the ancients th a t the professional use, b u t n o t
the know ledge was forbidden. It cannot be denied th a t later
this w as changed and th a t it did become custom ary [for
astrologers] to practice also and to offer th e ir services in
public. T his, how ever, came to pass by the boldness and
daring of those, who openly sought and those who gave
[astrological] advice, ra th er than because it w as [legally]
permitted.
3. V ery often, indeed, and by alm ost all em perors h as it
been decreed th at no one should involve him self in any w ay
ii anything of this kind, and in various ways w ere those
punished who practiced it, in proportion to the kind of
inquiry. F o r those who have sought advice about the health
(salute) of the em peror suffer either capital punishm ent
or some other heavy penalty, but a lighter one, if [they
inquired] about th e ir own [health] o r that of m em bers of
their fam ily. A m ong these [diviners] the seers a re also
included. They too m ust be punished, because a t tim es they
practiced their illicit arts ag a in st the public peace and the
realm of the Roman people.
4. T h ere is. indeed, a decree of the D ivus [A ntoninus]
Pius [138-161] addressed to Pacatus, legate of the province
of Lyon. Since there a re m any w ords to this rescript, I
have here given this brief sum m ary of its content.
5. T h e D ivus M arcus [161-180] also relegated to the
-land of Svrus a seer, who d u rin g the rebellion of [A vidius]
-assius [175] had uttered prophecies and said m any things
as if inspired by the gods. A nd, really, men of this kind
rrast not be tolerated w ithout punishm ent, who under the
pretext of divine com mands announce o r proclaim these or
assert they know n them.
Allowing for the twice repeated process of condensaii n in this text (which the Christian compiler of the
llatio presented of Ulpians summary of a rescript
* Paulus, Sententiae S, 21, 1 and 3.
"l5 Ulpian. de officio proconsulis, 7, in leg. Mos. et Rom.
iatio, 15, 2, 1-6.
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
of stars and constellations on the destiny of human
beings. The writings of astrologers even dealt freely
with methods for the prediction of anyone's life span,
although the edict of 1 1 had prohibited the practice of
making such prophecies about anyones prospective
death date. Thrasyllus had gone so far as to announce
openly his own death date , 1- 1 his son Balbillus wrote
authoritatively on the subject, 322 Ptolemy Seleucus freely
revealed to his patron Otho the time of the death of
Galba, and possibly O thos own as well. 323 Apollonius,
Larginus Proculus. and Asclation faced death for such
practices, but Ptolemy , 324 Vettius Valens , 325 and other
astrologers of the second century felt no hesitation about
writing on all forbidden topics. A Mithras priest proudly
called himself studiosus astrologiae, while the emperor
Severus Alexander (222-235) paid state salaries to pro
fessors of astrologia at the Athenaeum, the imperial uni
versity of Rome .326 Priest and emperor thus openly
evinced their interest in public knowledge of astrological
theory. In general the theoretical discussion of accurate
methods for predicting a m ans life span from his horo
scope continued to be treated in many astrological
manuals for centuries after the principate. W ritings on
the subject seem to have circulated freely among the
reading public long after all practice of astrology was
outlawed.
The last detailed non-official discussion of the restric
tions imposed by the edict of a . d . 1 1 upon political in
quiries came from the still pagan pen of Firmicus
Matemus, more than a century after Paulus and Ulpian
had summarized the old laws interpretation under the
principate. Towards the end of Constantine I s reign
(d. 337) Firmicus in his astrological treatise Mathesis,
the last m ajor astrological work of pagan Latinity,
warned the practicing astrologer:
279
be they public
w ith anyone in
front of every
[astrology].340
Valerius Maximus, 1, 3, 3.
117 Tacitus, Annals 2, 32; Suetonius, Tiberius, 36; esp. Cassius
Dio. 67, IS. 8-9.
31 No total empire wide ban of astrology or other forms of
divination is known prior to the reign of Diocletian. Ulpians
Christian excerptor, who wrote probably at the end of the
fourth century, in his natural enmity towards astrology may
have colored Ulpians original text in such a manner that
it now reads as if all astrology had been forbidden throughout
the principate also.
sl* The bracketed passages stem from Paulus, Sententiae, loc.
cit.
1,0 Sutonius, Tiberius, 36.
280
A STR O LO G Y IN RO M A N LA W U N T IL T H E EN D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
Such incense was sweet perfume for even a proChristian emperor's nostrils. Let those inclined to dis
miss Firmicus' rantings as empty rambling of hoary
rhetoric compare these passages with some of the ad
dresses tendered in our presumably more enlightened
era to heads of totalitarian states. A ring of ominous
similarity must be audible for those at least who have
ears to hear. Aware of the possibility that his argu
ments might still fail to persuade a prospective client
of the follv of trying to obtain information about the
emperor, Firmicus realized the dilemma in which such
inquiry placed the astrologer. Should he save his own
skin by denouncing a stubborn client to the authorities
who held death in store for such criminals ? No.
said Firmicus. For a true astrologer was a man both
priestly and hum ane:
E M P IR E W ID E LEG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
bidden questions, the astrologer nevertheless would run
a very grave risk if and when the authorities should
subsequently discover that he had been approached on
forbidden topical matters. The astrologer's position
was put on a par with that of a Catholic priest learning
of a crime through the confessions of the wrongdoer,
or of a physician discovering in his professional capacity
a violation of existing laws. Actually the Augustan
edict became obsolete within half a century after Firm i
cus wrote his treatise. From then on any professional
divinatory activity, not only those banned by Augustus,
was strictly forbidden. Although secret consultations
of astrologers about political matters continued at least
281
C O N C LU SIO N
W e have reached the end of the first stage of our
labors. Before our eyes the panorama of four centuries
has unfolded, four hundred years of Roman history seen
from one specific angle only. Not the dust of battle,
the heat of political debate or of civil conflict, nor the
evolution and decline of Latin literature has been our
concern. The task set was simply th is: To what extent
and in what way did astrology, born in Babylon, fully de
veloped in the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean world,
especially in Egypt to what extent then, and in what
way did this pseudo-scientific offshoot of astronomy in
fluence the course of Roman history until the end of
the principate ? Both the catarchic and fatalistic branch
of astrology were important, but fatalistic astrology had
the more profound impact. For it required a W eltan
schauung of so stern, so uncompromising a character
that only the bravest or the most easy going coward
would accept it. It presupposed on the part of its de
votees an absolute surrender of any belief in free will.
No decision whatever remained in human hands. In
stead the constellation prevailing at the moment of con
ception or birth once and for all predetermined the
future of the conceived, or at least the new-born child.
The truly frightening consequences of applying such a
creed to the realm of ethics and morality were fully
recognized. They aroused the passionate opposition of
the leaders of the New Academy. Together with Epi
cureans, Cynics, and Peripatetics the Academicians ham
mered away at the belief in an inexorable Fate. The
Stoics alone remained to champion fatalism and fatal
istic astrology, and in the second century b . c . even they
wavered for a time. But no matter how many times
modifications of astrological claims became necessary,
the astrologers never declared themselves defeated and
succeeded in surmounting all objections to their craft.
From Epicurus to Carneades. from Carneades to Alex
ander of Aphrodisias and Sextus Empiricus the foes of
fatalism launched attack after attack, only to see their
opponents with exasperating resiliency retreat to other
A STROLO GY IN ROM AN LA W U N T IL T H E E N D O F T H E P R IN C IP A T E
iienomena like the equinoctial storms occurred at defi
ne periods when certain constellations were rising on
he horizon. Why should there not be a connection
between such constellations and the weather? W as it
not a fact that whenever Sirius, the Dog-star, was most
visible the summer heat reached a peak, the dog-days
ilaving arrived ?
It was therefore no strange blindness of the scientific
nind which rallied scientists to the cause of astrology,
mt. on the contrary, their awareness of the very real,
or at least their very probable link between astral causal-'
itv and mundane effects. From Hipparchus to Ptolemy,
and. for that matter, from Ptolemy to Kepler and even
'o Newton, fatalist (or at least catarchic) astrology
round its staunchest advocates among the great scientists.
If they led the way. what believer in reason could be
expected to hold out ? But that was not all. The falli
bility of astrologers was in many cases painfully obvious.
Instead of probing the matter, however, to see whether
human frailty, or the axiomatic foundations of astrology
were at fault, most people were inclined to assign all
blame to mortal fallibility. Time and again astrologers
were compared with physicians, and who would question
medical science, even if a physician made a wrong diag
nosis, or failed to cure all diseases! The fundamental
weakness of fatalist astrology was well perceived by its
foes: the body of scientific facts, concerning the spe
cific influence of each star and constellation. These
facts were mere hypotheses. They did not rest on
prolonged observations, or often on any observations
whatever. W hat was accepted as proven fact by fatal
istic astrologers and their champions were but axioms
whose validity was unquestioninglv accepted by the
faithful. In addition the margin of human error re
mained so large that believers in astrology could never
be forced to admit this unsoundness of the supposedly
rational basis of the entire discipline.
The long standing feud between the friends and foes
">f astrology ended in a stalemate, as could have been
xpected. By about a . d . 200 both sides were faced
with the growing power of a common foe, religious
mysticism. All rationalists had come to agree more or
ess that, irrespective of whether one believed in Fate
r not, the traditional worship of innumerable deities
vas meaningless. If Fate ruled, then all prayers and
sacrifices were senseless. If, on the other hand, one
admitted the existence of deities, the growing compre
hension of the immensity, or even infinity of cosmic
space made it more than dubious that such exalted
beings would bother with taking an active interest in
:iuman beings and their petty doings. Sextus Empiri'u s might flatter himself to have demolished fatalistic
istrology, but he had also helped to undermine all faith
n the knowledgeabilitv of anything whatever. N or was
the argument any more valid that human responsibility
for one's actions was morally necessary, if one were
ot to blame the stars rather than oneself for crimes
E M P IR E W ID E L EG A L R E S T R IC T IO N S O F A STR O LO G Y
ism to the extent of rejecting himself the claims of horo
scopal, i. e. fatalistic astrology, created a deep impression
in Roman circles. Soon afterwards, however, the tide
began to turn. Posidonius rehabilitated and rejuvenated
the Stoic faith in Fate and with it the belief in astrology.
W ith Stoicism becoming the favorite creed of Roman
intellectuals and political leaders, astrology now began
to acquire a devoted following among the leaders of
Roman society. The masses, on the other hand, never
treated it as anything but one more method of divina
tion, without bothering about the theories on which
astrology rested.
The earliest definite evidence of astrologys rise to
influence and power survives from the days of Marius
and Sulla. Soon afterwards the first practicing Roman
astrologers began to appear. The illustrious leader of
this small band of pioneers was the senator P. Nigidius
Figulus. From then on the battle between friends and
foes of astrology, which hitherto had been a prerogative
of Greek intellectuals, came to be fought in Rome also.
Lucretius and Cicero for example combatted the astro
logical tenets, championed by Nigidius Figulus and M.
Terentius Varro. But the Roman rationalists fought a
losing battle. W ith the accession of Octavianus Au
gustus an era began in which astrology gained a firm
hold on the rulers of the empire. Soon scholarly Greek
astrologers like Thrasyllus of Alexandria began to exer
cize an unprecedented influence at the imperial court
and in Roman society. N ot until the death of Hadrian
( a . d . 138) was this hold relaxed, although not yet
broken. A rebirth of scepticism both in the east and
west during the second century a . d . contributed once
more to a mellowing of Stoic fatalism. This change
was well reflected in the teachings of Epictetus and the
writings of M. Aurelius.
On the imperial throne in turn the reigns of Anto
ninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were with the possi
ble exception of T rajan 's the first period in which
again a more moderate attitude towards divination in
general and astrology in particular prevailed. But soon
afterwards, for the last time, an upsurge of fanatical
faith in astrology reached the imperial throne with the
accession of Septimius Severus in 193. Throughout his
reign and that of his son no trace of the scepticism which
the second century had come to espouse was manifest.
Divination of all kinds, indeed, had rarely found more
passionate, not to say frantic, adherents on the throne
283
IN D E X
INDEX
Abonuteichus, 201
Abraham, 14
Abulpharagius, 180
Acadcmic ( neo-), 58, 148
Acadcmv 1new ). 20, 28, 30, 53, 55. 68. 69,
70. 71. 72, 93, 12<>. 148, 178, 194, 195,
200, 217, 281
Academy (old), 58, 148
Achilles. 207
Achinapolus, astrologer, 14, 19, 84
Acilius Attianus, a guardian of Hadrian.
163. 170. 172, 176
Acilius, C., 46. 53
Acoreus. priestly astrologer, 122
Acratus, 264
Acropolis, 153
Actium, 117
Aelia Paetina, 112. 116, 126, 260
Aelian family, 162
Aelius. See Hadrian, emperor, and Aelius
Strabo
Aelius, H adrians great-grandfather, 152
Aelius, Hadrians grandfather, 152, 162
Aelius Hadrianus, expert astrologer, H a
drian's great-uncle. 152, 162, 164, 168
Aelius Hadrianus Afer, Hadrian's father,
152. 162, 163, 190
Aelius Sextus, 48
Aelius Tubero. Q., 49, 57, 60, 61, 77, 139,
140
Aelius Verus. See L. Ceionius Commodus
Aemilia Lepida, 103, 145, 255, 257, 259,
260, 262
Aemilia Pudentilla. 218
Aemilius. See M. and Mamercus Aemi
lius Scaurus
Aemilius Laetus, 211, 212
Aemilius Paulus, L., victor of Pydna, 48,
49, 50, 60
Aemilius Paulus, L., husband of Au
gustus' granddaughter Julia. 91. 92
Aeneas, 73, 87
Aeschrion, 189
Aethon, 157
Agathodaimon, 205
Aglaonice, 196
Agricola. Cn. Julius. Tacitus father-inlaw, 161
Agrippa I, king of Judaea. 136
Agrippa II. king of Judaea, 136
Agrippa. i f f M. Vipsanius Agrippa
Agrippa Postumus, grandson of Augustus,
86. 90
Agrippina the Elder. 86, 91, 104, 105, 106,
112. 116, 257, 262
Agrippina the Younger, 91. 95, 108, 110.
111. 112. 115. 116, 117, 126. 127, 129,
130. 134. 145, 168. 260, 261. 262. 263.
264
Aka (? ) of Commagene. 13, 94, 95. 136
Akhnaton. See Amenophis IV
Alba. Mount. 71
Albinus. Sec A. Postumius Albinus
Albinus, pretender. 212, 213
Alcestis, 172
284
285
Caesar = Augustus, 96; = Claudius, 114;
= Mero, 265; = Domitian, 155, 157,
158; = Aelius Verus, 178; = emperor
180
Caesar. See C. Julius Caesar
Caesennius Paetus, 137
Caius. See Caligula, emperor
Calabria, 263
Caligula, C., son of Germanicus and the
older Agrippina, emperor, 81. 82. 91
104,
105. 100, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111
112, 113, 115. 116. 125, 127, 130, 132^
133, 135, 136. 145, 146, 168, 231 257
260. 263, 265, 271. 272, 275, 280
Callinicus, son of Antiochus IV of Com
magene, 136, 137
Callisthenes, 18
Calpurnia, Julius Caesar's last wife, 74
Calpumius, L., 235
Cancer, constellation, 25, 27, 88, 120 124
205
Canidia, witch, 79
Cannae 48, 72
Capito. See Fonteius
Capitol of Rome, 54, 79
Cappadocia (n ), 102, 180, 222
Capri, 99, 105, 106, 107, 109
Capricorn, constellation, 27, 67, 83, 87, 88,
97, 120, 124, 165
Caracalla. Antoninus Bassianus, emperor,
147,
148, 168, 210, 214, 215, 216, 221,
224, 225, 227, 231, 283
Cardinal Points (S ectors), 20, 169, 205,
206
Carneades of Cyrene, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56,
57, 58, 71, 72. 73, 93, 125, 178, 195,
198, 206. 217, 236, 281
Carrhae, 216
Carthage. 57, 217, 227
C arthaginian(s), 226, 252
Cassander, astronomer, 57, 72
Cassiodorus, 67, 232
Cassius. See Dio Cassius
Cassius Asclepiodotus. 265
Cassius Longinus, C., 97, 236, 241
Castor, 157
Catasterism (catasterized), 78. 79, 82, 87,
88. 98, 117, 118, 151. 158, 172
Catilina (Catiline), 63, 71, 254
Catilius Severus, 176
Cato, M. Porcius, the Elder, 28, 46, 47,
48, 54, 56, 85
Cato. M. Porcius, the Younger, 58, 77,
146
Catti, 134
Celts, 245
Censorinus, 66, 148. 217, 219. 220
Ccntiloquium, falsely ascribed to Claudius
Ptolemaeus, 192
Chaeremon. Egyptian scholar in the
'twenties B. c., 82
Chaeremon. ambassador from Alexandria
to Claudius in a . d . 41, 113, 117
Chaeremon, possibly identical with pre
ceding Ch., tutor of Xero, 82. 116, 118,
123, 124, 145, 248, 273
Chaeronea, 195
C haldaean(s), 4, 5, 8. 9, 10. 11. 13. 14.
15. 18, 20, 25. 27. 28. 48, 54, 57. 62. 68.
69. 72. 74. 75, 84, 88, 89. 90. 101. 120.
121. 126, 132, 139. 142. 146. 160, 183.
286
205, 211, 213, 217, 218, 220, 221, 235,
238,
239, 243, 244, 254, 269, 272
Chaldaika, 14
Charvbdis, 120
Chilo, 46
Chiron, Centaur. 43
Christ, 79, 118, 222. 223
Chrvsippus, 51, 54, 71, 72, 74, 178, 194,
199. 200
Cicero, M. Tullius. 9. U. 18, 26. 46, 47.
48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55. 56, 57, 58, 61, 62,
(i3, 64. 66. 67. 68, 69, 70. 71. 72, 73, 74,
75. 77, 78,-80, 83. 84. 89. 90, 92, 117,
126, 140, 146. 198, 204, 207, 217, 220,
221. 236, 276, 283
Cicero, Q. Tullius, brother of Marcus, 54,
63. 70, 73
Cidenas (K idinnu), 90
C ilicia(n), 63
Cincius Alimentus, L., 46
Cinna. L. Cornelius, 61
Claudia, daughter of the astrologer Ti.
Claudius Thrasyllus, 95
Claudia, first defendant in maiestas case,
259
Claudia Capitolina, granddaughter of Ti.
Claudius Thrasyllus, daughter of his
son. the astrologer Ti. Claudius Bal
billus. 82, 95, 115, 136, 139, 142, 152
Claudia Pulchra, 105, 145, 256-257, 259,
260
' audius, brother of Germanicus and em
peror, 45, 81, 82, 95. I ll , 112, 113, 114,
115, 117, 118, 123, 125. 126, 129, 130,
132, 135, 145, 146, 151, 168, 234, 237,
240, 241, 251, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263,
264, 272, 275
Claudius Maximus, 218
Claudius Ptolemaeus. See Ptolemaeus
(Ptolemy, Claudius)
Cleander, 208, 210, 269
Cleanthes, 51, 54, 62
Cleon, slave leader. 59
Cleopatra, 58, 67, 81, 236, 237
Climacteric (days, years), 91, 92, 191
Climata, 90
Clio, 154
Clodius Albinus, 147
Clotho, 203
Clouds of Aristophanes, 48
Clutorius Priscus, 253
Cocceius, M., grandfather of the emperor
Nerva, 149
Cocceius. See M. Cocceius Nerva, em
peror
Columella, 76. 123, 125, 126
C om et(s), 78. 79, 99, 117, 118, 127, 128,
135. 136, 137, 139, 148, 152, 153, 171,
201
Commodus, L. Ceionius Verus, father of
L. Verus (co-ruler with M. Aurelius),
172, 175, 176. 178, 268
Commodus, L. Ceionius Verus Antoninus.
See L. Verus
Commodus. L. Aelius Aurelius, emperor,
147, 182, 183. 204, 208, 209, 210, 211,
224. 227, 261, 269
Conon, 13. 121
Constantine I, emperor, 4, 174, 184, 279,
280
Constantinople, 247
Constantius II, emperor, 4, 238
IN D E X
IN D E X
Copernicus, 84
Corbulo, Cn. Domitius, 136, 137
Cordoba, 121
Corinth, 218, 222
Cornelia, half-sister of Augustus, 91
Cornelius, accuser of Mamercus Scaurus,
259
Cornelius Hispalus, Cn., 235
Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, P., 50, 53,
54, 57, 58, 60, 61
Cornelius, Scipio Africanus, P., 46, 49, 50
Cornutus, mentor of Persius, 122
Corsica(n), 142, 267
Cos, 13, 14, 26
Cosmocrator, 169
Cossutianus. 266
Crab, constellation, 76
Crantor, 60
Crassus, M. Licinius, triumvir, 62, 72, 207,
236
Crates of Mallos, 52, 53, 56
Cremutius Cordus, 117
Cretan, 203
Crete, 120
Critodemus, astrologer, 14, 15, 17, 18, 138,
185, 191
Critolaus of Phaselis, 52, 53
Croesus, 200
Crown, constellation, 76
Cuttius Rufus. Q., 159
Cybele (of Pessinus), 44, 46, 226
Cyclades, 160
Cyllarus (in constellation Leda), 157
Cynics, 143, 146
Cyniscus, 203, 219
Cyprus, 13
Cyrene, 13, 218
Dacia, 143
Dacians, 246
Dalmatia, 265
Damis, 221, 223
Damnatio memoriae, 255
Damophilus, 59
Darius III, king of Persia, 10
Decani, 20, 146. 189
Decimus Junius. 160
Delphic oracle. 160
Delphic oracles of Plutarch, 196
Demetrius, son of Demetrius Poliorcetes,
13
Demetrius Poliorcetes, 13
Democritus of Abdera, 8, 73, 83, 93, 200
Demonax, 200, 201
Demophilus. 195
Demotic, 16
Denderah, 13
Derkyllides, 93
Diadumenianus. son of Opellus Macrinus
(em peror), 147
Dicius Mundus, 102, 103
Didius Julianus, emperor, 147, 212, 224
Dido, 171
Dio Cassius, historian, 63, 75, 78, 79, 83.
92, 101, 106. 107, 109, 112, 117, 131, 134.
148, 154, 170, 174, 176, 178, 183, 207.
211, 212. 213, 214, 215, 216, 225, 226,
234, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242. 244,
245, 246. 249. 250, 254, 260, 264, 267,
268, 269, 270, 271. 272, 273, 274, 275
Dio Chrysostomus, 216
287
Herodotus, 8, 171
Hesiod, 3
Hierapolis. 178
Hierocles, 93
Hindu, 222
Hipparchus, 18, 19, 26, 27, 57. 72, 92, 140
204, 282
Hippocrates, 183. 188, 189
Hispania Tarraconensis. 132, 154, 157
Hispal(l)us. Sec Cn. Cornelius HispaHDus
Homer, 52, 171, 197
Horace, 58, 79, 87, 89
Horasis, 14, 17
Horops, 87
Horos of Babylon. 87, 88
Horoscopal Point (also Horoscopus), 20,
25, 97, 129, 165, 169, 177, 205, 206, 211,
213
Horoscopal Sector, 169, 177
Habinnas, 125
Horse, constellation, 76
Hades, 80, 81
Horus, 140
H adrian (u s), P. Aelius. emperor, 2, 16,
Hyginus, C. Julius, 84. 85
82, 83. 123, 136, 146. 147, 148, 149,
Hypogaeum, 20, 127, 205. See also imum
152, 153, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165,
cadi or Anti-Mesuranema
168,
169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176, Hypsoma, 169
177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 190, 192,
195, 197. 198, 209, 212, 213, 214, 216,
Iarchas, 223
229, 230, 247, 248, 261. 267, 268, 269, 283 Iatromathematical, 194
Hadrianus, rhetorician, 173
Iatromathematicians. 194
Halicarnassus, 57
Iatromathematics, 188
Hammon, 160
Ibis, 89
Hannibal, 46, 48; and slave, 142
Illyricum, 230
Harpocration, 45
India, 218, 222. 224
H ecato(n) of Rhodes, 60
Iotape, wife of Antiochus IV of Com
Hegetor. 196
magene, 136
Helenus, 87
Iotape, daughter of Antiochus IV of
Heiice, 183
Commagene. 136
Helicon, 96
Ishaq- benHunein, 195
Heliodorus, contemporary of Epictetus,
IshtarShumerish, 5
Isidorus of Seville, 67, 85
Heliodorus, astrologer, 275
Isis. 44, 48, 102. 103, 208, 216, 217, 219,
Heliogabalus. See Elagabalus, emperor
221, 235. 282
Heliopolis, 60
Italica, 162
Helios, 4, 68, 170, 173. See also sun
Helle, 158
Jambulus. 60
Hellespont (u s), 111
Jehovah. 44, 235
Helvidius, son of Helvidius Priscus. 143
Jerome, 27, 85. 234, 245, 246
Helvidius Priscus, 143, 146, 246, 266
Jerusalem. 131
Hemerology, 4
Jesus, 4, 79, 118. 222. Sec also Christ
Hephaestiol n) of Thebes, astrologer, 1, Josephus. Flavius, historian, 14
15. 93, 165, 177, 186, 187, 190. 191, 268 Judaea, 135, 136
Heptazonos. 95,212. See also Septizonium Jugurtha, king of Numidia, 252
Heracles (H ercules), 4, 120, 158
Julia, daughter of Augustus, 90, 91, 92,
Heraclides of Pontus, 9
116
Herculanum, 56, 183
Julia, her daughter from M. Vipsanius
Hercules. See Heracles
Agrippa, 86, 91
Hercules = constellation Leo, 157
Julia, daughter of Livilla and Drusus, son
Herennius Picens, 92
of Tiberius, 105, 258
Herennius Rufinus, 218
Julia Balbilla, great-granddaughter of Ti.
Herennius Senecio. 143, 246
Claudius Thrasyllus, astrologer, and
Hermes (also Trismegistus), god, 14, 17,
granddaughter of Ti. Claudius Balbil
45. 89, 93, 114, 188, 189, 194
lus, astrologer. 82. 95, 136, 139, 152,
Hermes, 4, 25, 68. See also Mercury,
161,
171, 172, 173. 201
planet
Julia Domna, second wife of the emperor
Hermetic, 80
Septimius Severus, 210, 214, 216, 221,
Hermoclides. 123
222, 224, 225. 269
Hermogenes, 127, 128
Julian calendar, 28. 63, 76
Hermon, 26
Juliani. See father and son Juljanus, theHermoupolis, 17
urgians
174
288
Julia Soaemis. J f f Soaemis, Julia
Julian(us) the Apostate, emperor, 95, 186,
200
IN D EX
Lex Julia (of 46 b . c .), 252, 254
Lex maiestatis (in general), 249
Lex Mamilia, 252
Lex Varia, 252
Liber, 47
Libo Drusus, M. Scribonius. 101, 102, 103,
237, 238, 240. 241, 254, 255, 260, 268,
270
Libra, constellation, 25, 87, 97, 122, 124
Libya, 120, 245
Libyan(s), 202
Licinius Sura, 159
Liguria. 266
Lindus ( Lindos), 52, 56, 57
Livia. last wife of Augustus, 86, 87, 91,
106, 168
Livilla, wife of Tiberius son Drusus, 103,
104, 105, 112, 253, 258
Livius (L ivy), T., historian, 96, 142, 235,
267
Livius Andronicus, 46
Locusta, 277
Lollia Paulina, second wife of Caligula,
111.
116, 145, 240, 259, 260, 261, 264
Lord (domintts) of a House, 25. See
domintts
Lord of Action, 194
Lords of horoscopes, 186
Lucian, 148, 195, 200, 202, 204, 219
Lucifer ( V enus), planet, 89
Lucilius, writer of satires, 57
Lucius, hero of Apuleius Golden Ass,
219, 221
Lucretius, 58, 63. 69, 73, 74, 80, 84, 96,
97, 140, 146. 236. 283
Lugdunum ( Lyon), 209, 278
Lukillios, poet, 123, 124, 125. 128, 146
Lusitania, 272
Lycurgus, 96
Lydus, John. 67, 68, 76, 184, 190, 219, 273
Lyon. Sec Lugdunum
Lyre, constellation, 76, 77
Macedonians, 137
Macrinus, Opellus, emperor, 147, 148, 215,
216. 224, 225
Macro. C. Naevius Sertorius. 95, 105, 106,
107, 259
Macrobius, 66
Madaura, 217
Maecenas, 87
Maesa. grandmother of Elagabalus and
Severus Alexander, 224, 225, 227, 229
Mago. a slave, 142
Maja. 89
Mamaea, mother of Severus Alexander,
emperor. 225, 227. 229, 230
Manetho. Egyptian historian, 185
Manetho, astrologer, 17, 186, 187, 191
Manilius, author of the Astronomica, 4,
26. 84. 87. 95, 96, 97. 98, 99. 100, 117,
145.
178. 186. 199, 221, 248
Marathon, 207
Marcella, niece of Augustus, 86
Marcellinus. See Baebius Marcellinus
Marcellus, M. Claudius, conqueror of
Syracuse. 48
Marcia. Commodus concubine, 212
Marcia, daughter of Cremutius Cordus,
117
Marcianus. jurist. 277
Marcianus. Sec Gessius Marcianus
IN D E X
Marcius, P., 102. 270, 271
Marcomanni, 226, 246
Marius, C., 61, 283
Mars, god, 23
Mars, planet. 4, 16, 27, 68, 88, 89. 123,
127, 165, 177, 194, 270
Marsian augurs. 48
Martial(is), M. Valerius, poet, 150, 154,
157,
158
Martianus Capella. 67
Masgabas, 99
Maternianus. 215, 216, 225
Mathesis of Firmicus M aternus, 27, 279
Matidia, niece of Trajan, 152
Matidia, her daughter, 152
Mauretania, 224
Maximinus Thrax, emperor, 282
Maximus, L., 143
Maximus of Tyre, 148, 196, 197
Maximus, Valerius. See Valerius M axi
mus
Medium coeli. See Mesuranema
Megalensian Games. 98
Memmius Regulus, P., 260
Memnon. 157, 172, 173, 201
Mercury, god, 115, 194. See also Hermes
Mercurv, planet. 16, 25, 27, 68, 88, 165,
169, 170. 177, 194, 202. See also Hermes
Messalina, Valeria, third wife of Claudius,
112,
116. 127, 128, 260
Messina. 59, 127
Mesuranema, 20, 127, 169, 177, 205
Metellus, M., 53
Meteors, 192
Mettius Pompusianus, 138, 141, 142, 145,
151, 267
Milan, 247, 248
Milky Way, constellation, 27
Minerva. 155
Minos. 203
Misenum. 129
Mithradates (M ithridates), 69, 118
Mithras, 44, 208, 216, 248, 262, 279
Mnester, actor, 128
Moeragenes, 223
Moesia(n) inferior, 164, 168, 169
Molo. Apollonius. 61, 69, 70
M onumentum Ancyranum (res gestae
dhi A u g u sti), 91
Moon cult, 226
Moon, goddess. 226
Moon, satellite. 7, 27, 54, 67, 71, 74, 78.
79. 84, 88. 89. 127. 135, 143, 158, 162,
165. 169. 177, 181, 192, 193, 195, 196,
205, 216, 217. 221, 222, 22ft 281
Mosaic laws, 238
Mother, Great. See Cybele (of Pessinus)
Mucianus. 135
Munna. 158
Murgentium, 59
Musaios (M usaeus), 153
Museion of Alexandria, 116, 173, 192
Museion of Athens. 153
Musonius Rufus, C , knight and Stoic,
128. 241. 245
Myndus. 15, 19. 121
Myriogenesis, 21
Nabuachiriba. 5
X'aburianos, 90
Nabu-shumishku. 5
Naevius. 46
Naples, 124
Narni, 149
Nearchus, 10
Nechepso, mythical roval astrologer. 14.
17, 18, 19. 25, 67, 80^ 93. 123, 139, 165,
184, 186, 187, 188, 191, 280
Nectanebos. 10
Nemea, 158
Nemean lion, 157
Nero, son of Germanicus and the older
Agrippina, 104, 106, 112, 127
Nero, I.. Domitius, son of Domitius
Ahenobarbus and the younger A grip
pina. adopted bv the emperor Claudius,
2, 13, 15, 45, 81. 82, 91, 95, 105, 108,
112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121,
122. 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129,
130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137,
138, 143, 145, 146, 151, 152. 154, 157,
159, 160, 161, 162, 168, 170, 171. 179.
207, 223, 227, 229, 231, 234, 241, 242.
245. 246, 260, 261, 263, 264, 265, 266,
270, 272
Nerva, Cocceius, emperor, 81, 146. 147,
149, 150, 151, 152. 153, 154, 160. 168.
170,
182. 222, 247, 254, 269, 274, 275
Nicomedia, 225, 247
Nicopolis, 179
Nigidius Figulus, P., 25, 62, 63. 64, 65, 66,
68. 69. 70. 78, 80, 83, 86, 139, 140, 145,
168, 221, 222, 236, 283
Nonius, 6
Octavia. daughter of Claudius and N eros
first wife and Messalina, 112. 115, 126,
129, 130, 263
Octavianus. See Augustus, emperor
Octavius, consul 87/86 b . c., 61, 62, 236
Octavius, father of Augustus, 63
Octavius (O ctavianus). See Augustus
Oenomaus (Oinomaus) of Gadara, 148,
195, 200
Oeoanda ( O ioanda), 148, 195, 198, 199
Olympias, 10
Olympic Games, 223
Olympus, Mount. 45. 226
Olympus, prophet. 123
Omar-ben-Farchan. Arabic astrologer. 186
Orfitus. 149
Orion, constellation, 76, 77
Orion's Belt, part of the constellation. 76
Oropus. 53
Orpheus. 14, 140. 202
Orphic. 80
Osthanes. 8
Ostorius Sabinus, 264
Ostorius Scapula. M.. 130. 131. 242. 264.
265. 266. 267, 269. 272
Ostorius Scapula. P.. father of M. Os
torius Scapula. 266
Otho. M. Salvius. emperor. 81. 82. 129,
130. 132. 133, 134, 135. 136. 137, 145, 158.
160, 161. 168. 242. 244. 267. 272. 279
Ovid(ius) Naso, P.. poet. 26. 78. 84. 88, 89,
258
Pacatus, legate. 278
Paccia Marciana. first wife of L. Septi
mius Seserus. emperor. 209
Pacharius. 195
Paetus. See Thrasea Paetus
Palatine hill. 226
Palatine library, 84
Palchus, astrologer, 1, 127, 128, 145, 186.
187. 190. 191
Palestine. 130. 136
Palingenes(e)is, 25. 50. 54, 62, 64. 68. 73,
87, 140
Palladium. 226
Pammenes, astrologer, 82. 130, 145, 242,
265, 266. 272. 273, 274
Pamphilus. 189
Panaetius of Lindus. 52. 55. 56, 57, 58, 59,
60, 61, 62. 72. 73, 89, 92, 125. 178. 179,
194, 282
Pandataria. 105
Pannoiiia(n)(s), 100, 174. 211. 230, 269
Pantheon, 83. 87
Papinianus, Aemilius. jurist. 214, 215
Paranatellonta. 20, 21, 27, 146
Parapegma. 76
Parnassus. 188
Parthenius. 144
Parthian(s). 16, 83. 230
Parthian kingdom, 102
Paulina. 5ft- Lollia Paulina
Paulina, 102. 103, 217
Paulina, H adrians sister. Sec Domitia
Paulina
Paui(us), apostle. 71, 222, 272
Paul(us) of Alexandria, astrologer, 187
Paulus, Julius, jurist. 214, 222, 229, 276,
277, 278. 279
Pausanias. sophist, 173
Pedanius Fuscus, son of H adrians
nephew Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, 152,
174. 175, 176, 177, 178, 190, 213, 268,
269
Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, nephew of
the emperor Hadrian. 152. 176, 267
Peloponnesus, 70
Pelusium. 192
Perduellio. 252. 255, 271
Peregrinus Proteus. 201
Perennis. 208. 209. 269
Pergamenic school, 52
Pergamon (Pergam um ), 14, 52. 60. 114,
189
Pericles, 8
Perseus, king of Macedon. 49
Persia. 222
Persians. 10. 67. 207
Persius. poet. 122
Pertinax, emperor. 147, 211. 224
Pescennius Niger, 147, 212. 213
Petosiris. mvthicai astrologer. 14. 17. 18,
19.
25. 67. 80. 93. 123. 139. 160. 161,
165. 184. 187. 188. 191, 280
Petronius. arbiter elei/autiae, 124. 125,
128.
145
Phaedrus. 70
Phaeiwmena of Eudoxus, versified by
Aratus of Soli. 26, 27, 69, 74, 76, 85,
95. 100
Phamenoth. See Amenophis III
Pharsalus. 74
Phnsi'ii'is of Ptoleinv. 192
Philagrius. 173
Philip, king of Macedon. 10
Philip of Opus (or Medma). 9
Philippi. 81. 117. 236
Philoini. 6 9 . 71
Philom) of Alexandria. 108. 109. 110. 125.
126, 140. 271
289
Philopappus. Sec Antiochus, C. Julius . . .
Philopappus
Philostratus, biographer of Apollonius of
Tvana. 148. 149, 150, 210, 221, 222 223
224. 242. 245. 276
Phnaes, 190
Phoenicia, 225
Phoenicians, 89
Phoenissae of Euripides, 259
Phoenix. 106
Phosphorus, planet, 157
Phrygia, 179
Piiiax of Thrasyllus, 15, 93
Pisces, 25, 76, 88, 124, 165. See also Fish,
constellation
Piso, Cn. Calpurnius, antagonist of Ger
manicus, 100
Piso. C., Calpurnius Licinianus, heir
designate of the emperor Galba, 132,
133,
158, 159
Piso. C. Calpurnius. conspirator against
Nero, 118, 128. 157, 264, 266
Pitenios, Titos, 26
Pituanius, L 102, 238, 239, 270. 271
Platoui). 3. 5. 8. 9, 13, 26, 27, 28. 62. 93,
96, 162. 189, 196, 204, 207. 217, 218, 219
Platonism (and neo-), 68. 71, 93, 125. 195
217, 218
Platorius Nepos, Aulus, 174
Plato Tiburtinus, 195
Plautia Urgulanilla, second wife of the
emperor Claudius, 112
Plautianus. 224, 270
Plautus, 45, 46, 48, 148
Pleiads, constellation, 76
Plinius ( Plinv) Secundus, C. (the Elder),
14. 15. 66, 67, 75. 76. 77, 78. 85, 139,
140.
141. 145, 146, 154, 158. 188, 208
Plinius (P liny), C. Secundus (the
Y ounger), 148, 149, 152, 154, 155, 157,
158.
159. 162, 245, 246, 267
Plotina, wife of the emperor Trajan, 152,
153, 170, 176, 178. 198
Plotinus, 68. 93
Plutarch. 11, 46, 52. 54, 65. 75. 77, 132,
148.
152, 173, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188,
190, 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196, 197,
198. 200. 202. 204. 205, 206, 207
Polybius, 50. 57, 234
Pompei, 183
Pompeian. 237
Pompeia Plotina. Sec Plotina. wife of the
emperor Trajan
Pompeius Capito, Q.. 153
Pompeius (Pompev). Cn.. 13. 62, 72, 78,
96. 122. 207. 236. 248, 255. 262
Pompeius Macer, 84
Pompeius. Sextus, son of Cn. Pompeius.
96
Pomponius Atticus. Titus, 70, 73, 158
Pomponius Flaccus. L., 238
Pomponius Mela. 10
Pontia. 105
Pontianus. 218
Popilius I.aenas, M., 235
Popilius Pedo Apronianus. 213, 214. 269,
270
Poppaea Sabina. 128
Poppaea Sabina, Neros second wife, 128,
129,
130, 133, 145
Porcius Cato, M the Elder and the
Younger. Sec Cato
IN D E X
IN D EX
Sallustius, 64, 67
Salmesehniaka (Salmeschoiniaka, Salmcsachanaka), 16, 17, 19
Salonius Patruinus, C., brother-in-law of
Trajan, 152
Salvius. Sec M. Salvius Otho
Salvius, i.e. king Trypho, slave leader,
59
Samosata. capital of Commagene, 13, 137,
148, 152, 195, 201
Sardinia, 46, 102, 269
Saturn, god, 25
Saturn, planet, 4, 16, 25. 27, 46, 68, 79, 88,
89, 122. 123, 124, 127, 160, 162, 165, 169,
177,
189, 270
Saturninus, knight, husband of Paulina,
102, 103
Saturninus, disciple of Sextus Empiricus,
203-204
Saul(us), 71
Scapula. See M. and P. Ostorius Scapula
Scaurus, Mamercus Aemilius, 256, 257,
258, 259
Scaurus, M. Aemilius, 257
Scholia Sangermannensia, 220
Scipio. See P. Cornelius Scipio and P.
Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus
Scorpio, constellation, 76. 87, 124, 165, 177
Scribonia, first wife of Augustus, 86
Scribonianus, F. Camillus, 240, 241
Scribonius. See M. Scribonius Libo
Drusus
Scribonius, astrologer, 168
Scylax of Halicarnassus, astronomer, 57,
72
Scylla. 120
Scythia, 245
Scythica, 209
Sejanus, 103. 104. 105, 108, 109. 112, 118,
128. 257, 258, 259
Seleuse(i)a, 11, 146
Seleucids, 13
Seleucus Nicanor, king, 14, 69
Seleucus, Ptolemv, astrologer, 82, 120.
130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 138. 141, 148,
160. 161, 162, 244, 267. 269, 272, 273,
279
Seleucus of Seleucia, scientist, 90
Sempronius. See Gracchi
Seneca, Annaeus, rhetor, 84, 88, 154
Seneca, L. Annaeus, son of Seneca rhetor.
15. 51. 67. 95. 115, 116, 117, 118, 119,
120, 121. 126, 127, 128, 130, 140, 141,
154, 157, 178, 180, 197, 241, 254, 264,
266
Septimius Severus, emperor, 10. 147. 148.
168, 199, 204, 208, 209, 210. 211, 212,
213. 214, 215, 216. 221, 224, 225, 261,
269, 270, 283
Septizonium, 219. See also heptazonos
Serapa. astrologer, 124
Serapeum of Alexandria, 114
Serapio (S arapio), astrologer, 188
Serapio (S arapio), astrologer, perhaps
identical with preceding astrologer. 215,
216
Senphus, 160
Serpent. Northern, constellation, 141
Serpent. Southern, constellation. 141
Servianus, L. Julius Ursus. brother-in-law
of Hadrian, 152, 163, 174. 175, 177, 178,
267, 268
90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,
100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,
108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 116, 117, 118,
125, 126, 128, 131, 132, 134, 135, 145,
149, 151, 155, 161. 162, 168, 169, 171,
209. 213, 235, 237, 238. 239, 240, 249,
Tacitus P. or C. Cornelius, 49, 92, 100,
250,
251. 253, 254. 255, 256. 257, 258.
101, 106, 107. 116, 127, 128. 129, 131,
259,
270, 278, 279
132. 134, 137, 148, 154. 155, 160, 161,
162,
174, 233, 234, 238, 239, 240, 241, Tiberius Gemellus, grandson of the em
peror
Tiberius,
103, 104, 105, 106, 107,
243, 244, 249, 254, 255, 256, 260, 262,
108. 110. I ll , 115, 253, 257
263, 264, 267, 270, 271
Tibullus. 58
Tages. 67
Tigellinus, 131, 241, 265, 266
Tanaquil, 160
Timaeus. astrologer, 17, 139, 140, 145,
Tanit (U rania, Caelestis), 224, 226, 227
248.
273
Tantalus, 203
Timaeus of Plato. 27, 62, 189
Tarchon, 67
Titan, 172
Tarentum, 46, 149, 218
Titus, emperor. 81, 82, 137, 139, 140, 141,
Tarquitius Priscus, 67, 262
142,
145, 146, 151, 152, 157, 161, 168,
Tarraco(nensis). See Hispania Tarraco
171, 200. 245, 247, 267
nensis
Titvus,
124
Tarsus, 137, 222
Tivoli, 171
Tarutius Firmanus. L., gentleman-astroloToth, 17, 45. See also Hermes
ger, 11, 65, 66, 72, 78, 139, 145
T rajan, emperor, 81, 82, 146. 147, 148,
Tatian, 14
149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155. 157,
Taurobolium, 226
159. 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 168, 176,
Taurus, constellation, 74, 124
178, 180. 182, 183, 184, 198, 247, 267,
Terentia, Ciceros wife, 63
283
Terentius. See V arro
Tralles. 123. 146
Terentius Gentianus, 174
Triangle(s), 169
Tertullian. 234, 247
Trier, 247
Tetrabiblos ( Quadripartitus) of Ptolemy,
184. 188, 189, 190, 192, 195, 204, 206, 230 Trimalchio. C. Pompeius, 124, 125, 128
Trojan, 73
Teucrus of Babylon, astrologer, 26, 145,
Trojan Game, 236
161,
162
Troy, 207
Thales, 3
Thebes (E g y p t), 1, 15, 93, 165, 177, 186, Trypho, Salvius, 59
Tubero. See Q. Aelius Tubero
187, 191
Tullius, M. and Quintus. See M. and Q.
Thtm a mundi. 25, 95
Tullius Cicero
Themistodes, 96
Tuscus, 258
Theodorus of Cyrene, 218
Tyana,
151. 221, 222
Theodosian Code, 232
Tyre, 148, 196, 197, 229
Theodosius I. 261, 277
Tzetzes. 145
Theogenes (Theagenes), 83, 209
Theon, 207
Ulpia, aunt of the emperor Trajan, 152
Theophilus. 191
Ulpia Marciana, sister of Trajan, 152
Theophrastus, 28
Ulpian ( house), 152, 162
Thersites, 207
Ulpianus. Domitius, jurist, 148, 214 229,
Thesauroi of Antiochus of Athens, 187
234. 235, 238, 239. 247, 270, 278, 279
Thessalus, phvsician, 18, 45. 123, 145, 146,
Ulpius. .S'ec Trajan, emperor
189
Ulpius,
grandfather of Trajan, 152
Thessaly, 85, 196
Ulpius Julianus. 215, 225
Thomas, St., of Aquinas. 160
Ulpius, M., father of Trajan. 152
Thrasea Paetus. 146. 241, 246, 264, 265
Urania (Caelestis). See Tanit
Thrasybulus. astrologer. 230
Urania. Muse, 71
Thrasylla. Ennia, granddaughter of Ti.
Ursus, 120
Claudius Thrasvllus. the astrologer, 82,
95. 99. 103. 104,' 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, Ursus. Sec L. Julius Ursus Servianus
110. 111. 112, 118, 127
Valens, emperor, 275
Thrasvllus. Ti. Claudius of Alexandria, 2,
13. 14. 82, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, Valeria. See Messalina
100. 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, Valerius Maximus. 96, 151, 155, 233
108, 110, 111. 112, 113, 114, 115, 118, Valerius Maximus, M.. priest of Mithras,
248
125. 128. 130. 131, 132, 135, 136. 137,
139. 140, 142. 143. 144, 145. 146. 149, Valerius Messala Corvinus. 262
153. 160, 161, 162, 168, 171, 173, 186, Varius Marcellus, father of the emperor
Elagabalus, 225
239. 244, 248, 249, 259, 267, 273, 379,
Varro. M. Terentius, 11, 64, 65, 66, 67.
283
68. 69, 70. 71. 78, 83, 84, 139. 222, 283
Thvatira, 138
Varro. P. Terentius Atacinus, 26
Tiber, 45
Tiberius, emperor, 2. 14, 49, 81, 82, 86, Varus. Quintilius, 19, 97, 117, 257
210, 225, 226, 228, 229, 243, 265, 269,
275
Syrus. friend of Claudius Ptolemaeus, 192
Syrus, island, 247, 278
291
Vascoties, 230
Vatinius. 64
Velleius Patercules, 155, 254
Venus, goddess, 25, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80, 83,
96
Venus Genetrix, 118
Venus, planet, 4, 5, 16, 25, 27, 68, 88, 89,
96, 160, 165, 169, 177, 194. See also
Aphrodite
Verania. widow of Galbas heir-designate
Piso, 158, 159
Vergil. 58, 64, 79, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 117,
170,
171
Verginius Rufus. 149
Verus, L., Ceionius Aelius Commodus,
co-ruler with M. Aurelius. 176
Vespasian(us), T. Flavius, emperor, 2, 81,
82, 95, 130, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139,
140,
141, 142, 143, 145, 149, 151, 153,
157, 161, 163, 168, 170, 171, 183, 200,
212, 230, 234, 241, 243, 244, 245, 246,
267, 273
Vesta, 226
Vestinus, Julius, 127
Vesuvius, Mount, 56, 139
Vettius Valens, astrologer, 14, 15, 18, 26,
92, 145, 148, 184. 185, 187, 190, 191, 206,
212, 221. 248, 279
Vibia (Vibidia?, Junia?), mother of F.
Camillus Scribonianus, 240, 262, 273
Vibia Sabina, daughter of Trajan's niece
Matidia, 152
Vibius, C., 101
Vibius, L., husband of T rajan s niece
Matidia, 152
Vibius Serenus, 254
Victor, Aurelius, 174
Vinicius, 128
Vintager, constellation, 76
Vipsania, Agrippa's daughter by earlier
marriage. 90
Vipsanius Agrippa, M., 83, 85, 86, 87, 90,
99, 116, 117, 236, 237, 276
Virgo, constellation, 13, 25, 97, 120, 124,
205, 207
Vitellius. A., emperor, 81, 82, 130, 133,
134, 135, 137, 143, 168. 223, 241, 242,
243, 244, 245, 270, 272, 273, 275
Vitruvius Pollio. architect, 14, 83, 84, 85
Vologeses. Parthian king, 135, 137
Votienus Montanus, 258
Vulcatius, soothsayer, 79
Xanthus, 157
Xenophon, 57
Xerxes. I l l
Xiphilinus, 176, 178, 183, 242, 243, 245.
250
Zaratas (Zoroaster), 5, 140
Zeno(n), 13. 26, 28. 50, 51, 58, 70. 199
Zeus catechized of Lucian. 201. 202
Zeus, god, 25, 124, 202, 203, 209, 219
Zeus, planet. 4, 25, 68
Zodiac. 8, 19, 20, 25, 27, 84, 87, 124, 200,
205, 281
Zodiacal. 5, 11, 13, 16, 20, 2d, 27, 87, 95,
189, 205, 206, 207, 220
Zonaras, 134, 240, 242
Zoroaster. See Zaratas