The Ancient Zodiac in a Cross-Cultural Perspective
Poster
The project Zodiac - Ancient Astral Science in Transformation (ERC) at the Institute for the History of Knowledge of the Ancient World, Freie Universität Berlin, is hosting a workshop on 2-4 October 2024:
The Ancient Zodiac in a Cross-Cultural Perspective
Hittorfstraße 18, room 010/011
14195 Berlin
Convenor: Mathieu Ossendrijver
Since places may be limited, we ask anyone interested in attending to RSVP before 25 September by writing to zodiac@geschkult.fu-berlin.de and providing your full name, country of residence, and affilation (if any), and indicate whether you want to attend in person or remotely.
Poster download
Program download
The introduction of the zodiac triggered a transformation of the astral sciences, scholarship, religion, and social practices which took shape in communities across the ancient world between ca. 450 BCE and ca. 300 CE. The zodiac became a central concept for interpreting, predicting, computing, and representing celestial phenomena. Divinatory, religious, medical, and social practices were affected by new forms of astrology that catered to private individuals, such as horoscopy and astral medicine. These originally Babylonian innovations were transformed through interactions between linguistically, culturally, religiously, and economically diverse communities. However, there is no satisfactory account of how and why the zodiac and the practices, theories, and concepts based upon it were transformed and able to take root in such different conditions.
The workshop aims to shed new light on the cross-cultural transmission of zodiac-based astral science and related practices by bringing together experts from diverse disciplines and inviting a fresh look at the evidence - texts, images, artefacts - from a cross-cultural perspective.
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Wednesday 2 October |
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18:00 - 21:00 |
Reception venue: ZODIAC/Inst. for History of Knowledge in the Ancient World, Arnimallee 10 |
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Thursday 3 October venue: Freie Universität Berlin, Hittorfstrasse 18, Room 010/011 |
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09:15 - 09:45 |
Mathieu Ossendrijver (Freie Universität Berlin – ZODIAC) Introduction |
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09:45 - 10:30 |
John Steele (Brown University) Greek Use of Babylonian Observations |
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10:30 - 11:00 |
Coffee break |
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11:00 - 11:45 |
Jeffrey Kotyk (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) Understandings of the Zodiac Signs in Historical East Asian Horoscopy |
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11:45 - 12:30 |
Helen R. Jacobus (The University of Manchester) The role of the zodiac in ancient and late antique Judaism |
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12:30 - 14:00 |
Lunch break |
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14:00 - 14:45 |
Michael Zellmann-Rohrer (Macquarie University) Zōdiēl and his colleagues: Angels, demons, and zodiac signs in early Syriac magic |
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14:45 - 15:30 |
Martin Gansten (Lunds universitet) The Indian Reception of Hupsomata Degrees in Antiquity |
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15:30 - 16:00 |
Coffee break |
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16:00 - 16:45 |
Ahmad Al-Jallad (The Ohio State University) Zodiacal Months: Once again on the calendar of the nomads of Ancient North Arabia |
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16:45 - 17:30 |
Marvin Schreiber (Freie Universität Berlin – ZODIAC) Babylonian astrology-related practices in the Hellenistic world |
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17:30 - 19:00 |
Reception venue: ZODIAC/Inst. for History of Knowledge in the Ancient World, Hittorfstrasse 18 |
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Friday 4 October venue: Freie Universität Berlin, Hittorfstrasse 18, Room 010/011 |
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09:15 - 10:00 |
Andreas Winkler (University of Toronto) Egyptian astrology in Greek and Demotic |
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10:00 - 10:45 |
Bill Mak (University of Science and Technology of China) Zodiac-based Astral Science in the Yavanajātaka – Transformation and Development in India and Other Parts of Asia |
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10:45 - 11:15 |
Coffee break |
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11:15 - 12:00 |
Francesca Schironi (Universitiy of Michigan) The Ars Eudoxi |
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12:00 - 12:45 |
Levente László Earthly and heavenly domains of the zodiac in Hellenistic astrology |
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12:45 - 14:15 |
Lunch break |
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14:15 - 15:00 |
Fabio Spadini (Université de Lausanne) Zodiac: A Travelling Image. The Support of the Zodiacal Image as a Means of Transmission |
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15:00 - 15:45 |
Victor Gysembergh (CNRS, Centre Léon Robin) Eudoxus of Cnidus and the zodiac |
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15:45 - 16:15 |
Coffee break |
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16:15 - 17:00 |
Mathieu Ossendrijver (Freie Universität Berlin – ZODIAC) Babylonian planetary tables and their counterparts from Oxyrhynchus: a comparison |
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17:00 - 17:15 |
Conclusion |
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17:30 |
Reception venue: ZODIAC/Inst. for History of Knowledge in the Ancient World, Arnimallee 10 |
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19:00 |
Conference dinner |