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chapter C8

Ast rol o g y
The Science of Signs in the Heavens

Glen M. Cooper

1. Introduction: Classical Astrology

One of the more durable intellectual disciplines from antiquity, the ancients traced the
science of astrology to origins in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Originally the concern of
rulers and the elite, astrology eventually became democratized, and anyone who could
aford some level of the service knew basic features of his natal chart. In connection with
the popularity of Stoicism in the Roman Principate, which exalted Fate (equated with the
providence of Zeus), astrology lourished. Fully integrated within the accepted natural
philosophy, astrology was a science. Several Roman emperors from Augustus on were
obsessed with their (and potential rivals’) horoscopes, and some astrologers attained
high positions at court. Astrology had its opponents, mainly among the Skeptics and the
Christians, whose opposition forced astrologers to reine the principles of their science
to create a resilient discipline that not only survived but was also further developed in
Arabic and medieval Latin astrology. his chapter is threefold: an introduction; a histor-
ical sketch of classical astrology; and inally a discussion of an ancient example of a natal
chart, its methods, and an ancient interpretation.
Astrology accounts for the efects of the luminaries (sun and moon), planets, ixed
stars, and even the lunar nodes, and so forth on our world. It presupposes a geocentric,
inite cosmology. In its original Babylonian context, astrology was the interpretation of
signs and omens sent by the gods as warnings through celestial events. he Babylonians
practiced a kind of astrology (discourse about the stars), but theirs was not the classical
horoscopic astrology, which was developed in Hellenistic Egypt. his form added the
Ascendant (horoskopos) and the Place system reckoned from it (described later). In its
Greek form, astral “efects” were considered to be causes, usually deterministic and ine-
luctable. A useful distinction was made in medieval times between divinatory (judicial)
astrology, with which the present chapter is primarily concerned, and natural astrology,

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382 Hellenistic Greek Science

which accounted for celestial inluences of all kinds, including seismic and meteorolog-
ical phenomena, though being grounded in the cosmology and physics of the classical
Greek natural philosophers, it was skeptical about speciic prognostications. As a dis-
cipline of natural philosophy, astrology mixed easily with the theory and practice of
medicine. Natural astrology was generally accepted until the modern era. By nature ec-
lectic, astrology never had one canonical form. Rather, as a living tradition, it acquired
techniques and methods from various eras and peoples, to suit speciic needs.

2. Types

here were several subdisciplines of judicial astrology in the classical world, each with a
distinct relationship to the past, present, or future.

2.1 Universal, or Mundane, Astrology

Universal, or mundane, astrology, the oldest form, has its roots in Mesopotamian ce-
lestial omens. Omen astrology concerned particular phenomena, as they occasionally
occur, from which inferences were made for the future of the kingdom as a whole. hese
were generalized to determining the efects of the heavens on nations as a whole, and the
process oten involved weather and seismic forecasting. Some omen astrology appears
in Greek literature, which supports a Babylonian origin of astrology. In fact, Ptolemy
discusses how to use eclipses to make predictions about nations and peoples (Tetrabiblos
3.4–8), which was a Babylonian concern.

2.2 Genethlialogy
he most familiar form of astrology, genethlialogy, or natal astrology, concerns the past,
and involves casting a natal chart for the moment and location of birth (or conception).
An outgrowth of genethlialogy was a kind of “continuous horoscopy,” namely, casting
a recent chart to compare with the birth chart, to provide up to the moment guidance.
Genethlialogy developed in the late Babylonian period: 410 bce is the earliest extant
natal chart. Horoscopic astrology contrasts with Babylonian omen astrology, since it
adds the Ascendant and connects the conigurations of the planets with respect to each
other, and with respect to a speciic location on the earth.

2.3 Interrogational Astrology

Interrogational (or horary) astrology, which concerns the present, attempts to an-
swer a question based on the disposition of the heavens at the moment and place of the

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questioning, and thus is most like pure divination. his technique was used to ind a
runaway slave, a lost item, and so on. Whereas Dorotheus of Sidon (1st century ce) de-
voted an entire book to this procedure, Ptolemy (2nd century ce), whose astrology was
atypical in his aim to present a strictly scientiic astrology in the Tetrabiblos, ignores it.

2.4 Catarchic Astrology

Catarchic (or electional) astrology concerns the future and involves casting a chart for
an arbitrary future moment to determine the most auspicious moment to begin an en-
terprise, such as a marriage, a business, a journey, or even the founding of a city. In efect,
catarchic astrology reverses genethlialogy: one starts with a desired outcome, inds the
time of the astral coniguration most conducive to that outcome, and then performs
the action in question at that future moment. he legend about Olympias delaying her
delivery of baby Alexander (the Great) (r. 336–323 bce) to ensure him the optimal as-
tral coniguration and reports that Seleucus I (r. 321‒281 bce) timed the founding of his
city, Seleucia, according to the stars it this pattern, as do the coronation horoscopes in
Byzantium from the reign of Emperor Zeno (r. 474–491 ce) (Pingree 1976), or the astro-
logical determination of the founding date of Baghdad (Jumādā I, 145 A.H, i.e., July 31,
762. See al-Biruni [1879], 1984, 262–263).

3. The Sources

he sources for astrology are varied: example charts are extant in the languages Akkadian,
Demotic Egyptian, Greek, and Latin, appearing both in literary texts and handbooks.
Much of the Greek material is fragmentary—that is, surviving as quotes or excerpts in the
works of later authors—and has been collected in the CCAG series (Catalogus Codicum
Astrologorum Graecorum). Due to the haphazard nature of these sources, reconstructing
the history of astrology is tricky, and only an outline is given here. Hadrian’s horoscope
(presented and discussed at the end of this chapter) well illustrates the character of these
ancient sources: it was originally included by the 2nd century ce physician-astrologer
Antigonus of Nicaea in a collection of horoscopes of historical igures (which has not
survived), but Hephaistio of hebes (4th century ce) excerpted it in his astrological trea-
tise, whence it is known to us. he handbooks, which date from the early 1st century ce
to the late 5th century ce, are the quickest way to grasp the concepts and practices of as-
trology. Bouché-Leclerc (1899/1963) surveyed all of the extant handbooks in his useful
study: only the most complete handbooks are discussed here.
he tendency, as astrology developed, was to multiply parameters, allowing for more
options in interpretation. On Hadrian’s chart, the degrees of the planets along the ecliptic
are represented, and the Decans (middle outer band on the chart) and the Terms (outer
band), as well as the Ascendant, the Places, and the Lot of Fortune. hese elements had
distinct origins in speciic cultures, but horoscopic astrology combined them.

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384 Hellenistic Greek Science

Furthermore, the astrological handbooks were concerned with “outcomes”

(apotelesmata), for example, if coniguration X at birth, then outcome Y in life, and they
generate a mass of contradictory interpretations. Among many predictions some are
bound to hit a target. In practice, the astrologer’s knowledge of the native (i.e., the person
whose chart is to be read), as well of psychology, was helpful: he could eliminate many
of the predictions that obviously did not apply. he extant interpretations of most of the
literary horoscopes are aided by the fact that these are considered ater the native’s death.

3.1 Astronomica, Marcus Manilius

he Latin Astronomica of Manilius is the earliest astrological treatise to have survived
intact. A Stoic for whom Fate is inexorable, Manilius emphasized the orderliness of the
political cosmos established by Augustus (r. 27 bce‒14 ce) and continued by Tiberius
(r. 14–37 ce), for which the physical cosmos, operating like a giant mechanism, was a
metaphor. Although Manilius presents an extended description of the Signs of the
Zodiac, ixed stars, and Places, the planets and their positions are hardly mentioned,
which renders his book useless for practical horoscopic astrology. Perhaps the ab-
sence of detailed predictive methods relects the Augustan edict of 11 ce, prohibiting
private astrological consultations or inquiries about anyone’s death. Manilius, and later
Vettius Valens, describe an alternative Place system, reckoned from the Lot of Fortune
rather than from the usual Ascendant, which Manilius calls labores, “labors” (Astron.
3.43–159; 162c).

3.2 Pentateuch, Dorotheus of Sidon

Dorotheus of Sidon (1st century ce) wrote a Greek verse treatise on astrology in ive
books, which has only survived partly in Greek, and mostly in Arabic, via an 8th–9th
century translation made from a Persian Pahlevi version. On the basis of the horoscopes
it contains, the Pentateuch dates to the mid-1st century ce. It is the earliest comprehen-
sive treatise that includes both horary and natal astrology. Dorotheus may be taken as
representative of the typical astrological current, employing lots, house positions, and
house rulers. Dorotheus also used the Sign–Place method of aligning Signs and Places,
equating Place 1 with the Sign in which the Ascendant is found, rather than the normal
system of reckoning the Places from the actual degree of the Ascendant. he many ex-
ample nativities provided illustrate his method. One entire book is devoted to the details
of determining the length of life, which relects an obsession of his era.

3.3 Anthologies, Vettius Valens

A native of Antioch writing in Greek, Vettius Valens (120‒c.175 ce) wrote the Anthologies
in nine books, the most comprehensive extant survey of astrology, containing 123

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horoscopes of actual persons with analysis, most of which are discussed in Neugebauer
and van Hoesen. His method was to describe earlier astrological doctrines and then
to critique them based on his own experience. he Anthologies was copied more oten
anciently than any other astrological work. he tradition acquired many accretions,
interpolations, and marginalia, which indicates that the work was being used.
Valens conducted a quasi-empirical test of horoscopic astrology: he cast the charts
of six men who were victims of a near shipwreck, including possibly himself. He then
examined their charts, to see whether the stars indicated that the respective natives
would sufer a near-death experience in the same year. He took the time from birth
to a crisis as a function of planetary periods and rising times of the Signs where the
planets were situated. Whatever scientiic merit this test may have had was abrogated
when he selected the values that made the numbers come out the way he wanted!
(See Beck, 101–111.)

3.4 Apotelesmatika (i.e., Tetrabiblos), Ptolemy

he Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy (c.100—c.178 ce) was unusual for its time:  building on
Aristotelian ideas and causal explanation, this leading exponent of the exact sciences
in antiquity presented the most scientiic form of astrology. (See Evans, ch. D10, this
volume.) By eliminating the blatantly divinatory aspects but retaining features that
were compatible with Greek natural philosophy, Ptolemy physicalized astrology, and
he defended it with arguments derived from Posidonius of Rhodes (c.135–50 bce).
Ptolemy’s astrology is thus more systematic than the others, and, although it provides
neither worked examples nor procedural instructions, Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos was most
popular among late medieval and Renaissance astrologers and physicians.
For Ptolemy, astronomy and astrology are both parts of astronomia (astral science)
in the overall scheme of knowledge. What we call “astronomy” is the subject of the
Almagest, and astrology is the subject of the Tetrabiblos. he former determines the
planetary positions for any time, which the latter uses to generate predictions by consid-
ering the changes brought about in our imperfect world by the planetary conigurations.
Because the recipient matter is imperfect, knowledge of those changes is necessarily
conjectural. Ptolemy’s mathematical astronomy irst became available to practicing
astrologers in simpliied form via the Handy Tables by at least the 3rd century ce.

3.5 Mathesis, Iulius Firmicus Maternus

he Mathesis of the Sicilian astrologer, Firmicus Maternus (c.280‒c.360 ce), mostly
intact, is the lengthiest astrological treatise to have survived from the classical period.
Firmicus cautions against inquiring about the state or the emperor’s life, since the em-
peror, as master of the cosmos, is not subject to the power of the stars. Firmicus answers
many objections to astrology and insists that by showing how men are related to the
stars, he encourages piety. Much of his astrological material is translated from Greek

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386 Hellenistic Greek Science

authors, however, he seems to have been unfamiliar with the Tetrabiblos, although he
mentions Ptolemy three times.
Vettius Valens and Firmicus Maternus treat astrology like a mystery religion, with the
author initiating the reader into the mysteries of the Sacred Art. While Vettius requires a
solemn oath of those who read his work, enjoining his readers not to divulge the sacred
knowledge, Firmicus describes the lifestyle and conduct that the professional astrologer
must follow, as an initiate into its sacred mysteries, insisting that one who daily discusses
divine things must be pure, avoid greed, and shape his mind to the perfections of the
planetary gods (Mathesis 2.30).

4. Origins

Classical sources describe either Mesopotamia or Egypt as the original home of as-
trology. Pliny (7.193), Vitruvius (9.6.2) and Cicero (On Divination 1.18.36; 2.46.97, but
with doubts) favored Mesopotamia; but Herodotus (2.82) and Diodorus (1.81) favored
Egypt. It seems clear to modern scholarship, however, that, although Mesopotamia was
the source of core astrological concepts and the general astrological worldview, horo-
scopic astrology took its familiar form in Hellenistic Egypt (323–30 bce).
Classical astrology developed from Mesopotamian omen divination. he Enūma
Anu Enlil, deriving from the Kassite Period (1595–1157 bce), records nearly 7,000 as-
tral omens, concerning lunar, solar, meteorological, seismological events, as well as the
planets and stars. An epochal shit in thinking about the connection between astral and
terrestrial events occurred in the later Assyrian Empire (ca 8th–5th century bce), due
to the demand on royal astrologers for foreknowledge from the stars (Brown 2000).
his demand led to competition for better techniques at arriving at predictions, leading
to a shit from a qualitative, mythological account, such as in the Enūma Anu Enlil, to
a mathematically predictive paradigm, emphasizing precise results. his led to many
centuries of meticulous recording of observations and theoretical methods that were
useful to Ptolemy and others in constructing the mathematical ediice on which scien-
tiic astrology was founded. (See Rochberg, chap. A1b, this volume.)
In the latest Babylonian period, near the end of its independence, concern shited to-
ward individual fate, rather than that of the king and state, perhaps because, with no
royal employment, astrologers were cultivating a new market. Or, perhaps because, de-
prived of their autonomy as a nation, individuals sought empowerment through natal
astrology. he extant Babylonian nativities—32 of which survive (Rochberg 1998)—
span 410–69 bce. By determining the positions of sun, moon, planets at the date of birth,
noting the conjunctions of any of these to one of the ixed reference stars, predictions
could be made about the life of the native. his type of natal astrology, however, has no
Ascendant and no Places.
he Zodiac, a Babylonian contribution, facilitated the recording of planetary
positions, as celestial coordinates. Originally, Babylonians used the actual constellations,

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Astrology 387

which are irregularly spaced. However, as mathematical methods for predicting phe-
nomena and generating ephemerides developed, a more precise system was needed, and
the 30 degrees per Sign system, counted from a ixed star, was introduced. Precession
(discovered by Hipparchus, 2nd century bce) has shited the Vernal Equinox into the
constellation Pisces. Greek astrologers, however, continued to use a Vernal Equinox at
Aries 8 or 10 degrees, originally derived from the Babylonian scheme, until Ptolemy set
the standard practice of measuring the longitude of a planet from the Vernal Equinox,
wherever it happens to be, deined as 0 degrees of the Sign Aries.
Although some Babylonian astrology must have been transmitted to Egypt under
Persian rule (529–404 bce), Alexander’s conquests greatly increased the westward low
of ideas. Jones (1991, 1999a, 1999b) showed that some Babylonian predictive astronomy
made it to Egypt and was cultivated independently—in the service of genethlialogy.
Hipparchus (2nd century bce), who employed geometrical models to render solar and
lunar motions predictable, was one of the irst Greek astronomers to use Babylonian
planetary records, which he found suitably precise for his needs. (See Zhmud, chap. B2,
this volume, for a discussion of Greek geometrical models of the planets’ motions)
Josephus (Contra Apionem 1.128) and Vitruvius (9.6.2) report that Berossus (Bēl-
rē’ušu, Bel is his shepherd) (ca 350–280 bce) transmitted Babylonian astronomy to the
Greeks. Originally a priest, who dedicated a history of Babylon to the Seleucid king,
Antiochus I (r. 281–261 bce), Berossus inexplicably settled on the island of Kos, then
under the control of the Ptolemies, who were then Seleucid enemies, where he is said
to have founded a school of astrology. Coincidentally, the Hippocratic medical school
had already been established at Kos, which invites us to speculate about cross inluences
between Babylonian astrology and early Greek rational medicine. Because of Berossus’s
Egyptian connection, both the Babylonian methods attested in the earlier Egyptian
papyri and a Chaldean term system mentioned by Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos 1.21) may have
derived from the school of Berossus.

4.1 Ptolemaic Egypt: Birthplace of Horoscopic Astrology

he synthesis of Mesopotamian astrological ideas and methods with Egyptian concepts
and Greek theoretical and mathematical apparatus, which resulted in horoscopic as-
trology, occurred in Alexandria during the Hellenistic period. Egyptian contributions
have been understated in the past, because, when compared with extant Mesopotamian
examples, the very little extant early Egyptian astronomical material has a pictorial
rather than mathematical character. However, many examples of Egyptian mathemat-
ical astronomy and horoscopes have now come to light, and the surviving Demotic
horoscopes, planetary tables, and theoretical treatises are tantalizing clues that more
once existed. (See Quack chap. A2b this volume; and Winkler 2009 and 2016) It seems
clear that the decans, the Ascendant, and associated Places originated in Egypt. Jones
has shown from the papyri that Hellenistic Egyptian astrologers were using compu-
tational methods derived from Babylon, which were replaced eventually by Ptolemy’s

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388 Hellenistic Greek Science

Handy Tables, although both systems coexisted for a time. Some tables were not re-
ferred to a speciic epoch, and thus may be the Perpetual Tables referred to by Ptolemy
(Almagest. 9.2).
he astrological literature in circulation by the 2nd century bce attributes the origins
of astrology to the Egyptians (pharaoh) Nechepso and (priest) Petosiris, considered
authorities on astrology, divination, and hermetic magic. hese writings contain older,
Babylonian-style omens, and they foreshadow many later issues: time of conception vs.
birth; length of life, Lot of Fortune, Lord of the Year, and critical times of the native’s life.
Additionally, astro-botany and astro-lapidology are discussed, which deal with the stars’
connections with plants and stones, respectively. Greek horoscopic astrology seems to
have been originally part of “hermetic” literature, which includes omens, genethlialogy,
iatromathematics, and botanical and medical astrology. he references to the priest
Petosiris may relect an authentic temple context for Egyptian astrology, as Jones has
shown that most of the astrological papyri belonged to temple libraries. (Jones, 1994,
40) Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 6.4) describes an Egyptian priestly procession,
one of whom is called horoskopos, and another, prophetes. It is generally assumed that
these priests were involved with astrological divination.

4.2 Astrology Comes to the Classical World

In summary, the elements derived from Babylon consisted of the equal Sign Zodiac
coordinate system, arithmetic methods for predictions based on planetary cycles, the
importance of eclipses for mundane astrology, the concept of “secret houses” of the
planets (which became the exaltations/depressions), the dodekatemories (dividing each
Sign into 12 parts), and the use of triplicities (four groups of three Signs). From Egypt
were derived the decans and the Ascendant, which marked the chief diference be-
tween Babylonian natal and Egyptian horoscopic astrology. he Ascendant (horoskopos,
watcher of the hour), the degree of the Sign rising above the horizon at a given moment,
developed from the decans, a division of each Sign into three, 10 degree segments, which
were originally markers to tell time at night. he original Egyptian practice was to infer
the character of the native, whether lucky or unlucky, from the decan rising at birth.
From the Demotic texts derived the sigla for some of the Signs (Neugebauer, 1943).

4.3 he Greek Synthesis

Astrology developed into a natural science in the Greco-Roman world, fully integrated
with the prevailing cosmology. Beginning in the early Greek period, ideas lowed from
Mesopotamia and Egypt. Some Babylonian astronomical ideas appear in Homer,
and Hesiod’s heogony bears remarkable similarities to the Babylonian creation epic,
Enūma Elish (West 1988, 18–31; Walcot 1966, chaps. 1–2). Babylonian star names were
translated into Greek by the 6th century bce, although the Greeks do not appear to have

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distinguished between ixed stars and planets until the 5th century bce. By the time
Oenopides of Chios (mid-5th century bce) introduced the Zodiac from Babylon, Greek
cosmology was ready to incorporate it. Furthermore, by 432 bce, Meton and Euctemon
employed Babylonian data and methods in reforming the Athenian calendar. Until
Plato and Aristotle, however, there were no cosmology and physics robust enough to
accommodate astrology.
Plato provided a cosmological framework in the Timaeus, based on divinely ordained
numerical and geometrical patterns. In the Epinomis (by his student, Philip of Opus),
the planets are named in their canonical order, with Greek names corresponding to
Babylonian deities. (See Tarán 1975). Both these works encouraged belief that human
souls possess a divinely endowed ainity with the celestial bodies, because we are able
to perceive the geometrical harmonies in celestial motions. he surest path to self-
improvement, therefore, is contemplation of the motions of the planets and stars.
Aristotle gave this speculative cosmology a consistent physics, enabling the discus-
sion of planetary inluences in terms of natural law (in the Physics; On Heaven; and On
Generation and Corruption). he eternally unchanging ixed stars cannot cause changes
in our world. Rather, the planets, through their irregular motions—understood by
later Aristotelians as moving closer and farther away from earth—cause these changes,
keeping the four elements of the sublunary world in motion.
In the cosmos of the Stoics, the planets move by necessity, fate is inexorable, and the
whole system is governed by a Divine Master. (See Tieleman, chap. D5, this volume.)
his system formed a parallel to the political realities of the Hellenistic world: many a
ruler was lattered by the comparison of himself to Zeus, and fate became an apt meta-
phor for the new authoritarian rule: since nothing happens by chance, the way to inner
peace (ataraxia) is to accept one’s lot. In opposition to fate (heimarmene), there grew a
fascination with chance (tyche). he Phaenomena by Aratus of Soli, which was dedicated
to king Antigonus Gonatas of Macedon (r. 277–239 bce), is a product of that Stoicizing
milieu, and it eventually became a staple of Roman education under the Principate. It
was translated into Latin at least twice, by Cicero and Germanicus, and the physician
Galen cites it when he makes an astronomical point.

4.4 Astrology in the Roman World

4.4.1 Republican Period
he Romans, an agricultural people, were originally interested in the stars primarily in
connection with farming. At irst skeptical about astrology, eventually they became avid
devotees. In earlier Latin literature, astrologers were associated either with the lower
classes, plying their trade in the marketplace or around the Circus Maximus, or grouped
with exotic eastern cults. Astrologers were expelled from Rome (139 bce)—the irst of
a series of expulsions over the next two centuries—during a period of unrest because of
fear that they would agitate the masses with their prophecies of a new regime or social

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390 Hellenistic Greek Science

order. he xenophobic Cato (De agricultura 1.5.4, 160 bce) warned farm overseers
against consulting astrologers. his fear was well-founded, for, when an overseer of
slaves became leader of the Second Sicilian Slave Revolt (104–100 bce), he announced
that the gods had revealed to him, through astrology, that their revolt would succeed
and that he would become king of Sicily. he revolt, however, was crushed.
Beginning in the 3rd century bce, aristocratic Romans cultivated Greek thought and
literature, which was accelerated via Greek embassies to Rome in the 2nd century bce.
Although these Greeks came for political reasons, they lectured on the side to large
audiences. Interest in Greek thought grew to such a point that many Greek teachers
migrated to Rome to satisfy the demand. he most famous of these embassies occurred
in 156 bce, and comprised the Stoic, Diogenes of Babylon; the Academic, Carneades;
and the Peripatetic, Critolaus. he Romans thereby learned both of the existence of a
kind of astrology that was supported by natural philosophy and about the philosophical
debate about fate vs. free will. he Stoic philosophers advanced their views about fate
and the efectiveness of astrology, while the Academics, whose greatest representative
was Carneades (214/3–129/8 bce), advanced pointed questions and arguments, such as
the “twins argument,” to show the vacuity of the astrologers’ claims. Twins born at the
same moment and place usually have diferent destinies. (More of these arguments are
discussed later.)
Among the most inluential of the Stoic proponents of astrology was Posidonius
(ca 135–51 bce who visited Rome as an ambassador. Cicero (106–43 bce) attended his
lectures while at Rhodes (87 bce). Posidonius was the primary persuasive factor in
winning Roman favor for astrology. Cicero, however, later turned against his teacher’s
views, presenting arguments derived from the Skeptics in his devastating On Divination
(discussed later).
he irst Roman astrologer about whom we know anything was a friend of Cicero’s,
Publius Nigidius Figulus (ca b99–45 bce). He advanced the doctrine, similar to Plato’s,
that the souls of mankind ascend to the stars ater death. Looking retrospectively,
Figulus was understood as having foretold Octavian’s rise to power, solely on the basis
of the planetary coniguration and the Ascendant for the day of his birth, derived from
his father’s report about the exact moment of birth (Cassius Dio 45.1.3–5). In spite of the
skeptical arguments advanced by Lucretius and Cicero, by the death of Julius Caesar (44
bce), much of the Roman aristocracy had accepted astrology.

4.4.2 Astrology and the Emperors

4.4.2.1 Imperial Uses of Astrology
Would-be rulers of the Roman state in the 1st century bce—Pompey, Crassus,
and Caesar—began to employ astrological predictions about themselves and their
regimes—however, in spite of promises of peaceful and prosperous lives, they all died
violently—as Cicero and other critics of astrology gleefully observed. Curiously, the rise
in popularity of astrology corresponds with the decline in the oracles, which Plutarch
attempted to explain (De defectu oraculorum). Perhaps that elitist institution gave way

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to more personal, egalitarian astrology. (For Plutarch in his 2nd century context, see
Keyser chap. D11, this volume).
Octavian (63 bce—14 ce) was politically more successful with the new interest in as-
trology. Comets normally portended evil, so his encouraging the belief that the comet
of 44 bce was the soul of the divine Julius ascending to the stars was an innovative twist.
he stories about Octavian’s predicted greatness convinced later would-be emperors
that they needed such support from the stars. Octavian published his natal chart and
employed astrological symbolism on his coins:  Capricorn, probably his Ascendant,
became his emblem. his heralded the new era:  the sun (i.e., Sol Invictus) rises in
Capricorn ater the winter solstice. Manilius supported such views in his Astronomica.
In later life, as Augustus, he became anxious about astrology, and, in 11 ce, when he was
ill, he issued his anti-astrology edict, referred to earlier.

4.4.2.2 hrasyllus’ Family: Astrology as a Means to Political Power

Tiberius (r. 14–37 ce), himself an astrologer, employed a court astrologer, Tiberius
Claudius hrasyllus of Alexandria (d. 36 ce), a famous Alexandrian scholar and poly-
math. hrasyllus achieved great renown and power through this position, and, through
his son, Balbillus, by a princess of Commagene, founded a “dynasty” of astrologers
(Cramer [1954], 1996). Tiberius, who attended his lectures while on self-imposed exile
on Rhodes, ca 6 bce, struck up a friendship with hrasyllus and made him a Roman cit-
izen (Tiberius Claudius hrasyllus) ater their return to Rome in 2 ce. In his inal years,
Tiberius, with hrasyllus’ assistance, reportedly used astrology to scan the horoscopes
of men of inluence to determine who had imperial destinies and to eliminate them.
Vettius Valens later cited hrasyllus as an astrological authority. Involved in court
intrigues, hrasyllus was probably the brains behind the counter coup against L. Aelius
Sejanus (d. 31 ce) (Cramer [1954], 1996, 103–105). hrasyllus’ Pinax (table), which
contains a description of the natures of the Signs, planets, the nativity of the world, and
the cardinal points, and shows how to work problems, survives in summary form in
Porphyry and Hephaistio (CCAG 8.3, 99–101).
hrasyllus’ son, Tiberius Claudius Balbillus (d. ca 81 ce), achieved renown and power
though serving as imperial astrologer to Claudius (r. 41–54 ce), Nero (r. 54–68 ce), and
Vespasian (r. 69–79 ce), as well as chief military engineer for Claudius on his British
campaign (43 ce). Nero made him Prefect of Egypt (54–59 ce). Excerpts of his trea-
tise Astrologumena survive, which contain a detailed discussion of his famous method
for determining length of life (CCAG 8.3, pages 103–104). Nero’s reign was reportedly
ushered in via catarchic astrology, as his mother consulted with astrologers—one of
whom one must have been Balbillus—regarding the optimal moment to oicially
commence it.
Servius Galba (r. 68–69 ce), Nero’s successor, as a young man was said to have an im-
perial destiny, based on his chart. Although Tiberius and hrasyllus scrutinized Galba’s
chart, they spared him, allegedly because his chart indicated that he wouldn’t attain the
throne until old age (!)—he was in fact 72 years old at his accession.

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Domitian (r. 81–96 ce) was so obsessed with astrology that he was said to have
predicted the hour that he was to be assassinated. As he waited for the fateful hour to
arrive, the palace conspirators deceived him about the time, and so, thinking that he had
survived fate, let his guard down, and they slew him (96 ce). His successor was Nerva (r.
96–98 ce), who possessed a favorable horoscope.
Hadrian (r. 117–138 ce), whose horoscope will be considered later, was declared to
have an imperial nativity—what that meant will become clear below. Hadrian’s horo-
scope was analyzed postmortem and functions as a “proof ” that his imperial destiny
was foretold him. Hadrian was also said to have selected his successors astrologically,
which involved three adoptions: Antoninus Pius (r. 138‒161 ce) by Hadrian, and both
Lucius Verus (r. 161‒169 ce) and Marcus Aurelius (r. 161‒180 ce) by Antoninus Pius.
Eventually, nearly every emperor from Augustus to Hadrian was said to have had astro-
logical conirmation of their imperial aspirations. Ater Hadrian, the Stoic emperors,
especially Marcus Aurelius, followed a tempered Stoicism, where the power of absolute
fate—and hence astrology also—was loosened, reconciling belief in fate with belief in a
benevolent divine providence.
Septimius Severus (r. 193–211 ce) was obsessed with astrology and inquired about his
future, for which he had been indicted for treason under Commodus (r. 180–192 ce) (cf.
Augustus’s 11 ce law), but his case was dismissed since Commodus was so unpopular. In
the pattern of Augustus, Septimius published his own horoscope: to strengthen his claim,
following the strife ater the end of the Antonine dynasty. He depicted his chart in public
places but always obscuring the location of the Ascendant to prevent anyone from cal-
culating his death date. Septimius reportedly knew via astrology that he would die on
his campaign to Britain, that his son Geta (r. 209–211 ce) would not long outlive him.
Moreover, he chose for a wife a woman whose chart indicated that she would marry a ruler.
Following this period of imperial obsession, Roman interest in astrology waned, be-
ginning in the 3rd century ce, due to a general religious mysticism and rational skepti-
cism, both of which opposed astrology. (See Bernard, chap. E2, this volume, for the place
of astrology among the mathematical sciences in the later Roman world.)

AQ: Please
note we have
numbered the
5. Astrology and Medicine
heading. Please
check if they are
ine.
he close association of medicine and astrology was long and successful. Physicians
were expected to give prognoses, and astrology, embedded within the same natural phil-
osophical milieu as medicine, provided additional predictive factors. Both disciplines
were conjectural sciences, but their practitioners sought as closely as possible to em-
ulate a mathematical ideal. Casting a chart for the moment the patient fell sick (“hour
of decumbiture”) was a special application of genethlialogical astrology that helped the
physician know when to intervene and with what type of treatment. (Galen, De diebus
Decretoriis, Kühn 9.910.16–912.16; Cooper 2011a, 338‒341.)
here are references to the stars in Hippocrates; however, the emphasis was on
meteorological and environmental factors, as in the Airs, Waters, Places. One of the

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founders of medical Methodism, hessalus of Tralles (ca 20–70 ce), who was the ob-
ject of Galen’s vituperation (herapeutic Method 1, Kühn 10.7–9; 51–52, and 2, Kühn
168–170, inter alia), wrote on astro-pharmacy, in which he included a brief autobiog-
raphy in the prefatory letter to an unnamed 1st-century Roman emperor. He had tried
to apply the methods of healing he learned from a text found in a library, purportedly
by Nechepso, but the attempt was a complete failure. He then approached the gods to
inquire why he failed, and he received a theophany of Asclepius, who informed him
that Nechepso had correctly understood that plants and stones have ainities with the
stars, but that he had neglected the part about the times and places that these things
were to be gathered.
Galen (d. ca 216 ce) showed how Aristotelian physics and Hippocratic medicine
could be combined in a powerful system that was both rational and empirical, which
became a great support for medical astrology (See Johnston, chap. D9, this volume).
Due to the inluence of his Critical Days, Galen must be considered a founder of med-
ical astrology or iatromathematics. Such was his reputation that the explicitly astrolog-
ical pseudo-Galenic Prognostica de decubitu was attributed to him. Recent scholarship,
however, has shown that Galen’s interest in judicial astrology was insincere, a mere rhe-
torical appendage to his natural astrological approach to the problem of medical crises
(Cooper 2011b). Consistent with his natural astrology, moreover, Galen urges the physi-
cian not to follow the heavenly indicators alone, but to watch the signs in the patient, and
to take all evidence into consideration before deciding on a speciic course of treatment.
It has also been argued that astrological ideas were useful to Galen for his “harmonic”
understanding of the patient, nature, and cosmos triad (Cooper, 2011b, 136–138. See also
Hagel, chap. C11, this volume, for a discussion of harmonic theory). Galen’s emphasis
on close observation and his sophisticated reasoning were ideals for physicians who
followed; some of whom, such as Pietro d’Abano (ca 1257–1316) and Girolamo Cardano
(1501–1576) sought to replace Galen’s lawed astrology with a more scientiic version,
which for Cardano was Ptolemy’s.
A practice that seems to have combined elements of Babylonian medicine and
Egyptian symbolism, namely, melothesia (a forerunner, perhaps, of the medieval
“Zodiac Man”), is reminiscent of the Egyptian goddess Nut stretched across the sky.
he major parts of the patient’s body were correlated to the Signs, by stretching it out
along the Zodiac, beginning with the head at Aries, and ending with the feet at Pisces.
No diagrams have survived from antiquity, but this igure appears in texts, for example,
Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 3.12 (See also Bouché-Leclerc [1899], 1963 319–325). In medical
astrology, the chart taken for a speciic moment is used to determine the particular
inluences on the patient’s body parts.

6. Opponents of Astrology

From the start, astrology had its critics, only some of whom can be discussed here. he
critical tradition acquired an arsenal of skeptical questions. Here follows a compilation

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394 Hellenistic Greek Science

of some of the strongest of these anti-astrology arguments, compiled from Carneades,

Cicero, and Favorinus of Arles (early 2nd century ce).

a. People born at the same time, especially twins, have diferent fates. (Figulus,
mentioned earlier, produced a graphic refutation of the twins argument: striking a
spinning potter’s wheel twice in quick succession, he indicated that within even a
small interval the spinning heavens change signiicantly.)
b. It is impossible to establish the precise moment of birth or conception, either
through fallibility of instruments or sight, and even a small diference in time
produces a diferent stellar coniguration.
c. he astral coniguration at conception is necessarily diferent from the one at
birth. Which of the two afects the child, or must both be reconciled?
d. Astrology is a recent invention, and its supposed ancient origins are a fabrication of
the astrologers. Human history has been far too short to have provided the necessary
observations of astral powers upon which a science of astrology could be based.
e. Astral inluences, which are pervasive, ought to apply to all living things, not just
humans.
f. People who die at the same time have diferent fates indicated from their birth charts.
g. People are more diverse in races and custom than astrology would indicate. Local
traditions and conditions make men diferent, apart from the stars.
h. Other factors than the stars inluence at child’s disposition, such as climate,
weather, and especially parents’ seed.
i. Medicine can alter some physical characteristics supposedly caused by the stars
from birth.
j. Because one or two astral inluences on earth can be established, such as the seasons
and the tides, it does not follow that there are others. Yet the whole ediice of as-
trology is built on the assumption that multiple such correlated inluences exist.
k. he number of celestial bodies is not known for certain, so how can one predict
securely?
l. he notion that all our actions, down to the minutest, are ineluctably fated is ridic-
ulous and intolerable. (he visceral argument.)
m. he planets are all at diferent distances from earth, so how can they have the same
inluence on earth?

7. Skepticism

7.1 Lucretius and Cicero

Two inluential critics of the 1st century bce, representing two schools of criticism, were
Lucretius (ca 99‒ca 155 bce) and Cicero (106–43 bce). Lucretius’ De rerum natura is an

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Astrology 395

assault on the Stoics’ ordered, rational universe. Instead, there are only atoms in motion
and the void, and no cosmic sympathy, which is the Stoic condition for the possibility
of divination and astrology. Cicero, on the other hand, relied on arguments from the
Middle Academy in his On Divination, where he presented the irst philosophical dis-
tinction between astronomy and astrology in the ancient world, in order to refute the
latter (see, inter alia, On Divination 2.42).
Cicero’s critique of astrology conveyed to the later Latin tradition, for example,
Augustine, several standard arguments against astrology. A further argument reveals
a fundamental misunderstanding, however, shared with Sextus Empiricus:  they in-
sist astrologers hold that the destinies of everyone born at the same time are the same.
However, scientiic astrology always took the birth location into account. Cicero’s
objections were signiicant enough, it seems, to provoke Ptolemy to answer them in his
Tetrabiblos. (See Evans, chap. D10, this volume.)

7.2 Sextus Empiricus

Sextus Empiricus (ca 100–200 ce) was a physician Skeptic, whose ainities aligned
with the Empiricist and Methodist medical schools. Sextus’ extensive writings are
the most important Skeptic writings to survive and provide a detailed picture of the
Skeptics’ mode of thought. His attack on astrology appears in book 5 of his Adversus
mathematicos. Sextus has been criticized for his attacking weaker or incorrect versions
of the science he refutes. For example, in his account of astrology, he depicts astrologers
as constructing a chart by direct observation of the heavens at the moment of birth.
his scenario is far from the actual method, which was to calculate the natal chart back
in time.
Sextus attempts to show, through a trilemma, that astrology is either impossible
or useless or both. Events can occur by necessity, by chance, or by human agency. If
by necessity, then astrology is useless, because events are unavoidable; if by chance
or human agency, then astrology is impossible, since the former occurs randomly,
and the latter has no necessary cause, and so neither can be known in advance. An
astrologer would counter that Sextus’ trichotomy is misleading, since there may be
a predisposing, not necessitating, connection between the stars and events, and even
if some events are unavoidable, astrology can help men prepare for them. His other
arguments are mainly epistemological, typical of Skepticism, dealing with the un-
certainty of critical measurements or human ignorance. For example, the birth time
cannot be known precisely: Is it the time when the child irst appears or when it has
fully emerged? Moreover, the Ascendant, on which the whole natal chart depends,
cannot be known precisely, due to the weather or atmospheric refraction, or that
the starting and ending points of the constellations cannot precisely be determined
(some even overlap). he last again reveals Sextus’ ignorance or misrepresenta-
tion, since the equally-spaced Zodiac Signs had been employed by astrologers for
centuries.

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396 Hellenistic Greek Science

7.3 Tacitus
he historian Tacitus (56‒117 ce) questioned the existence of fate in the lives of historical
subjects. In an aside, ater discussing Tiberius and hrasyllus, Tacitus wonders whether
human lives are governed by fate or chance. Tacitus briely outlines the two most impor-
tant rival positions on the issue of stars and fate in human lives, namely, the Epicureans,
on the one hand, who denied any concern of the heavens for us at all, moreover, they
were opposed to all forms of divination; and the Stoics, on the other hand, who construe
everything as bound by threads of fate. He notes that many insist that the heavens are
oblivious to earthly afairs, which is why sometimes the good sufer, the evil prosper, and
those in dire straits are sometimes happy, while those blessed with abundance are some-
times miserable. Tacitus seems to concur with the majority view that human lives are
determined (Annals 6.22).

7.4 Astrology and Christianity

At least a dozen imperial decrees expelled astrologers from Rome and Italy, between the
deaths of Caesar (44 ce) and Marcus Aurelius (180 ce). hey were usually in response
to events associated with political unrest. Systematic anti-divination legislation began
ater 312 ce, when Constantine converted to Christianity: government actions against
astrology and Christian opposition to it tended to coincide. Astrology was grouped with
paganism and classed with divination, and it was thus subject to persecution and legal
restrictions. By 358 ce, astrology was classed with both magic and divination, which
were among the ive major capital ofenses. In 409 ce, the two emperors Honorius (r.
395–423) and heodosius II (r. 408–450) required astrologers to burn their books in the
presence of bishops or face exile.
Christianity was, in general, opposed to (judicial) astrology, both because it clashed
with Christian doctrines of freedom and moral responsibility, and because of its asso-
ciation with polytheism and the pagan establishment, but especially over the issue of
foreknowledge: for Christians, only God can have such knowledge. However, Christians
were ambivalent toward astrology, since, according to the Gospel of Matthew (2:1–12), a
star led the Magi, astrologers from the East, to the infant Jesus.
Christian attitudes toward astrology were complicated by the fact that astrology
was favored by the Gnostic heresy (2nd–3rd century ce), which taught that the soul
ascended through the stars to its liberation from evil matter. Tertullian’s position was
an odd compromise:  God permitted astrology to operate until the time of Christ’s
ministry, ater which he freed mankind from the power of the demons (On Idolatry 9;
Hegedus 2007, 308–309). Tatian’s view was that pagans are trapped in astral fate, from
which Christians are liberated at baptism (Oratio ad Graecos 8; Hegedus 2007, 125–127).
One bishop, Zeno of Verona (d. 380 ce), taught newly baptized converts that they were
born again under a new set of constellations that destined them to heaven (Tractatus de

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Astrology 397

XII signis ad neophitos: Löfstedt 1971, 105–106). Origen (Against Celsus 5.6–13; Hegedus
2007, 329–333) and Eusebius, however, however, envisioned a kind of “nonfatalist” as-
trology, the basis for the natural astrology that dominated intellectuals for the next age
(Preparatio Evangelica bk. 6; Hegedus 2007, 129).
he most eloquent Christian opponent of astrology was Augustine (354–430 ce),
who knew the subject well from his earlier involvement with Manicheism, discussing
astrology in the City of God (bk. 5). He indicates that many Christians still adhere to this
ancient and evil practice, which he wants to see obliterated. he danger, as Augustine
understands it, is that people confuse the power of God with those powers traditionally
associated with astrology, which are actually the work of demons.
In spite of these eforts, Christianity failed to eradicate astrology, which continued
to be used well into the Byzantine period and beyond. Astrology, because of its useful-
ness for medicine, eventually became entrenched within the curriculum of the medieval
universities, where it lourished in a form that had been further developed by Arabic
authors, such as Abu Ma’shar (787–886), who elevated astrology to a “master science,”
which subsumes, and serves as an end for, all lower disciplines.

8. An Ancient Example: The Horoscope

of Hadrian

For a practice and worldview that was so pervasive, it is curious that very few sources
discuss how an actual consultation took place. Furthermore, very few horoscopic
diagrams survive, outside of literary works. However, Evans (2004) has convincingly
reconstructed part of how it was done, based on later testimony and surviving fragments
of Zodiac boards. he astrologer would calculate planetary positions, noting this infor-
mation on a scrap of papyrus or an ostrakon. When meeting with his client, he placed
colored stone counters representing the planets on one of these boards, in their appro-
priate houses. Apparently, a Sign-Place system of reckoning the astrological Places was
used: the Sign in which the Ascendant lies corresponds to Place 1, Place 10 corresponds
to the Sign with the Midheaven. hese tablets have dual concentric outer circles that
provided a convenient method for the comparison of charts, such as when determining
compatibility with a potential spouse.
Before Ptolemy’s Handy Tables became available sometime in the 3rd century ce, to
obtain planetary positions astrologers used the Perpetual Tables (aiōnioi kanones, cf.
Almagest 9.2), which appear to have been based on Babylonian planetary period rela-
tions and simple geometrical models. Preparation of such charts was the fundamental
activity of the astrologer, hence they were called mathematici (calculators). Ptolemy’s
Handy Tables were a signiicant improvement on these tables, which he criticized as
being based on faulty geometrical models.

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398 Hellenistic Greek Science

8.1 he Chart
To illustrate the practice of Greco-Roman astrology, an example natal chart—that of
Emperor Hadrian (76–138 ce), as drawn up and discussed by Antigonus of Nicaea (125–
175 ce), a physician and astrologer—is described and interpreted (igure 8.1.). his chart
has survived in the Apotelesmatica of Hephaistion of hebes (380–450 ce), a collection
of horoscopes of famous people (2.18.22–52; Pingree 1973, 1.157.28–162.30). Antigonus’
postmortem analysis aimed to explain Hadrian’s life retrospectively. Accordingly, it
focuses on known biographical details, including the manner of his death. he present
discussion will make use of Firmicus Maternus for additional commentary, since his
was the latest (nearly) complete handbook.
he example chart attempts to represent as many features as possible, for purposes of
illustration, although no surviving chart is as complete. Its planetary positions, which
difer somewhat from modern calculations (Neugebauer and van Hoesen [1959], 1987,
90–91), were doubtless generated from tables such as the Perpetual Tables. he present
discussion is based on Antigonus’ values. he chart is presented in the modern cir-
cular form, which renders relationships visually much easier to grasp. While circular
charts are attested, the ancient authors—Antigonus included—seem to have preferred
square charts, which are divided into smaller squares and triangles to represent the
twelve Places.
When one tries to interpret an ancient chart using a handbook such as Firmicus’
Mathesis or Vettius’ Anthologies, it soon becomes clear that no handbook, or all of
them together, will suffice to instruct how it was done. There is nothing as clear
as: Sign X indicates unambiguously outcome Y. Rather, the handbooks provide a
mass of mutually inconsistent outcomes. The problem is too much and contradictory
information. This accords with recent scholarship; namely, in the ancient world, one
needed to learn astrology (and medicine) from a teacher within a living tradition;
the handbooks functioned both as aides-mémoires for the practitioner and to show
the knowledge and skill of the teacher to attract students and clients—and, further-
more, that one would use some nonrational preference to select predictions (Barton
1994b, chap. 3).

8.2 Diversity of Methods of Interpretation

here was no universally agreed upon method of astrological interpretation in Greco-
Roman antiquity. he existence of a diversity of methods supports Ptolemy’s view that
astrology is merely conjectural (Tetrabiblos 1.1–2) because where certainty is involved
we should expect more agreement. his inherent fuzziness gave the Skeptics ammuni-
tion in their attack on astrology. he tendency was for the parameters on the chart to
increase in number and complexity, giving astrologers more material to work with: the
more predictions, the more likely that some will hit a mark. Furthermore, the accumu-
lation of the experience of generations of astrologers, lent astrology the appearance of

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Astrology 399

Figure C8.1 Natal chart of Hadrian, as cast by Antogonus of Nicaea.

Drawing by author.

being empirical. Nevertheless, astrology forms a complete semiotic system, involving

relationships and meanings that are known and stable, in contrast with the esoteric and
elite oracles, which were then in decline. he rise in popularity of astrology thus may be
understood to be a democratization of prophecy.

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400 Hellenistic Greek Science

he natal chart is a two-dimensional diagram of the state of the heavens at a par-

ticular moment and place on the earth. Here, Hadrian’s birth at Italica (near Seville),
Spain, 37° 30′ N. latitude, 6° 5′ W. longitude, about 6 a.m. on January 24 of 76 ce is indi-
cated. he most striking feature of the astrological worldview (to us) is its geocentricity.
he planets move around and inluence the native at the center of the cosmos. he
Signs are coordinates for showing the longitudes of the planets, which move within
a narrow band along the ecliptic. he traditional orientation is like a clockface, with
the cardinal points (kentra), namely, Ascendant (horoskopos) placed at nine o’clock
(ASC), the Midheaven (medium coeli MC) at (approximately) noon, the Descendant
(DSC) at three o’clock, and the Lower Midheaven (imum coeli IMC) directly opposite
the Midheaven.
Several circles are involved in this scheme. he chart, a lat projection of solid reality,
distorts the actual relationship of these circles and is thus a schematic map of the heavens,
rather than a precise projection. he Celestial Equator is inclined with respect to the
horizon, according to the local latitude, and the ecliptic, or path of the sun, is inclined
with respect to the equator by about 23.5°. In the chart, the horizon is represented by the
line with ASC (Ascendant) and DSC (Descendant) on either end. he meridian, directly
overhead, is represented by the line perpendicular to it, and the MC (Midheaven).
he ecliptic circle is divided into 12 Signs, which comprise the Zodiac. Because the
ecliptic circle is inclined both with respect to the local horizon and with the equator,
it has a somewhat irregular apparent motion. he Ascendant, the degree of a partic-
ular Sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth (here Aquarius 1°), is the
point from which the Places (topoi) are determined. Ptolemy developed trigonometric
methods to calculate the Ascendant precisely (Almagest 2.8), but in practice it was oten
estimated using crude arithmetic methods.
he Midheaven (MC) and its opposite (IMC), however, present a problem. Because
of the inclination of the ecliptic circle, the angle between the Ascendant and the
Midheaven measured along the ecliptic circle oscillates throughout the day, depending
on latitude, and the actual Midheaven (MC*) must be determined from the Table of
Ascensions (Almagest 2.8) or by using planispheric astrolabes, which were developed in
Late Antiquity, on the basis of Ptolemy’s method of stereographic projection.
On Hadrian’s chart, the precise MC* is Scorpio 21° 23′, which is less than 90° from the
Ascendant. he efect of the oscillating Midheaven was usually ignored in practice—
many astrologers used a simpler rule, namely, taking the Midheaven to be 90° or three
Signs from the Ascendant. he oscillation of the Midheaven actually rendered the
Place boundaries (cusps) variable throughout the day, a feature for which a univer-
sally agreed upon method has never been devised. One early method of determining
intermediary cusps was to trisect the arcs between the Ascendant and the MC*, and be-
tween the MC* and the Descendant. Firmicus (2.15; 3.6) observes that the Midheaven
may sometimes be found in the 11th Place. Oddly, however, he leaves the equal house
system in place.
On this basic framework astrologers laid out the 12 Places (dodekatopos), counted
from the Ascendant counterclockwise, which divided the sky into regions that govern

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Astrology 401

aspects of the native’s life, such as wealth, marriage, journeys, and so forth (See igure 8.1,
lower right; “FM” stands for Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis.) hese Places provide an ad-
ditional interpretative framework for the planetary positions. here were variations,
however: Ptolemy began the Places from 5 degrees before the Ascendant, and another
method, attributed to the Egyptians, made the Ascendant the midpoint of the irst Place.
he simplest method, the Sign-Place system, equated Signs and Places, that is, the Sign
in which the Ascendant is found is coextensive with Place 1. An earlier method used
eight Places (oktotopos) instead of 12. A variant Place system, counted from the Lot of
Fortune rather than from the Ascendant, is attested in Manilius (3.43–159) and Vettius
Valens (2.41). he circle of the Places is the most arbitrary of all the elements of the chart,
and astrologers have tried to support it by analogies from the human world, such as the
drama of a typical human life.

8.3 he Planets and their Valences

he planets, and sometimes the lunar nodes (head and tail of the dragon)—not indi-
cated on Hadrian’s chart—are marked on the chart by their sigla and according to the
degree of the Sign in which they fall, measured counterclockwise from the beginning
of the Sign. Consistent with his eforts to render astrology on as sound a scientiic basis
as possible, Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos 1.5) assigned each planet a dominant quality, which
it tends to produce in a patient’s body, that is, warming, drying, and so on, consistent
with Aristotelian physics. (See Evans, chap. D10, this volume.) Venus (warming and
moistening) and Jupiter (heating and moistening) are the beneics; Mars (heating and
drying) and Saturn (cooling and drying) are the maleics; and Mercury (sometimes
drying and sometimes moistening), sun, and moon are neutral, which means they com-
bine their power with whatever planet they are near.
According to Firmicus (5.1.29–31), the MC in Scorpio means that Hadrian will be
brave and his life will be illed with harsh experiences. He will travel much. His early life
will be troubled from wife and children, but then he’ll receive fortune from others’ no-
tice. he IMC in Taurus means that Hadrian will achieve greatness and be friends with
many powerful men, and because of his integrity he will have others’ income and impor-
tant projects entrusted to him.

8.4 he Lots
he lots (klēroi / sortes) provided a simple way to generate new interpretive material for the
astrologer to work with. he lots are calculated by measuring the angular arc between two
planets on the chart, and transferring this arc to another entity on the chart, and locating
the lot at the end of the resulting arc. here were diverse methods for doing this; on
Hadrian’s chart, Firmicus’ method has been followed (4.17). Multiple lots are mentioned in
the handbooks: Fortune, Daimon, Eros, Necessity, and Basis, among others.

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402 Hellenistic Greek Science

To calculate the Lot of Fortune (klēros tuchēs) for Hadrian’s chart, take the angular
distance from the sun to the moon (253°), and count of this arc counterclockwise from
the Ascendant. he result is Capricorn 24°. he lots are used like the planets: if they are
aspected by favorable planets, this is beneicial. Although Antigonus did not mention
the Lot of Fortune in Hadrian’s chart, its presence amidst the morning planetary cluster
would have been a favorable indicator.

8.5 Aspects
Once the Places are oriented from the Ascendant, and the planets are placed in their
locations, the aspects were determined, namely, the coniguration of the planets with re-
spect to each other and to the major features of the chart. Aspects are determined from
the Signs the planets are in. Most signiicant were conjunction and opposition. In the
former, the planets’ powers are combined in one Sign. In the latter, the Signs are 180°
apart, and the planetary powers compete or conlict with each other. Ptolemy grouped
the Signs into triplicities (120° apart), and quadruplicities (90° apart), and planets located
in any of these were considered to be in a trine or a quartile in relation to each other. An
example triplicity: Aries, Sagittarius, and Leo; a quadruplicity, Leo, Taurus, Aquarius, and
Scorpio. Ptolemy pairs each triplicity with one of the four elements. he trine, or triangle,
and its lesser version, the sextile (60° apart), were considered the most harmonious and
favorable aspects. he quartile, or square, was considered to be unfavorable, partaking
of the same bad qualities of opposition, but to a lesser degree. In Hadrian’s chart, the
conjunctions are all of beneics, so this indicates good fortune. Aspects can afect the
basic character of a planet. In the chart, Jupiter, normally a beneic, is in opposition with
several beneics. his lessens their power somewhat, though not nearly as much as oppo-
sition with a maleic. On the chart, the aspects are indexed in a table in the lower let.

8.6 Sign Rulership: Houses (oikoi)

Each Sign has a special ainity for a speciic planet, as indicated in the chart. When
a planet is found within its own Sign, its power is enhanced. he sun and moon each
govern one Sign, and the other ive planets govern two Signs, one of each gender. On
Hadrian’s chart, this is indicated in the third concentric band from the outside by the
planet’s siglum next to the Sign’s siglum.

8.7 he Terms (horia)

he planets’ ainities are distributed somewhat irregularly among the degrees of each
Sign by yet another method, based originally on rising times. hese terms are depicted in
the outermost band of the chart, ive to a Sign. he efect of the terms: when a planet is in

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Astrology 403

a foreign Sign, if it is in its own term, it has the same power it would have if it were in its
own Sign. On Hadrian’s chart, although Mars is in Pisces, a Sign ruled by Jupiter, it is in its
own term. hus, it retains some of its maleic power. his is not mentioned by Antigonus.

8.8 he Decans
Originally a coordinate system invented by the Egyptians to mark the annual course of
the year in terms of the constellations rising just before sunrise, the astrological decans
are 10° segments of the Signs, each governed by one of the Signs, and are indicated on
the chart in the outermost band. (See Quack, chap. A2b, this volume.) When a planet is
in a decan governed by the Sign of which it is ruler, it exerts the same inluence as if it
were in its own Sign. Firmicus notes (2.4.4) that some astrologers divide each decan fur-
ther into three parts, giving nine muniices for each Sign, each governed by a planet, and
functioning similarly to the decans with regard to planetary inluence.

8.9 Planetary Exaltation and Dejection

his system was originally Babylonian. he greatest good fortunes are indicated when
a planet is near its own exaltation (hupsōma), and the opposite when near its dejection
(tapeinōma). When most of the planets are at the exact degree of their exaltation, this
indicates the greatest prosperity. Antigonus does not discuss them.

8.10 Analysis by Antigonus of Nicaea

Antigonus’s analysis (Cramer [1954], 1996, 164–168; Neugebauer and van Hoesen [1959],
1987, 90–91) demonstrates why Hadrian became emperor and illustrates how an astrol-
oger, familiar with the native’s life, sits through the multiplicity of possible predictions
from every feature, eliminating those that in retrospect do not apply. he sun and the
moon together with Jupiter in Place 1, along with the fact that Jupiter, though hidden by
the sun’s light, was going to reappear in seven days, all indicate that Hadrian was des-
tined for the purple.
Furthermore, the sun and moon, which are here taken to be metaphors for the native,
have a complex series of attendants, as in a heavenly imperial procession. he moon is
followed by her attendants (doryphoria, spear carriers), the sun, Venus, and Mars. he
sun, as universal ruler, rises next, and he was preceded by his attendants, Mercury and
Saturn. he moon was also approaching a bright, ixed regal star at Aquarius 20° (which
was Formalhaut, in the Southern Fish, conjectures Beck 2007, 126). Firmicus lists four
such stars, one each in Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius, and Taurus, and observes (6.2.3) that the
moon must be full and rising with the Ascendant for this star to indicate the imperial
dignity. Hadrian’s moon, however, is a waning crescent, but that is ignored by Antigonus.

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404 Hellenistic Greek Science

Antigonus explains the imperial metaphor: Hadrian received the proskynesis (pros-

tration: reverence due an imperial person) because Jupiter was here the sun’s attendant,
and because both luminaries were attended by ive other planets, clustered in one part of
the chart, and this efect is intensiied by being in Place 1 (i.e., on the Ascendant).
Antigonus attributes Hadrian’s robust size and gracious personality to the luminaries
being both in the Ascendant and in Aquarius, an anthropomorphic Sign. His wisdom
and education derived from the appearance of Mercury in the morning before the sun,
accompanied by Jupiter. he morning rising of these planets indicates that these quali-
ties were engendered in the native from his youth. his relects an analogy with the be-
ginning both of a human life and of the chart. Next, Antigonus examines the lord of the
Midheaven (Mars governs Scorpio), which, being in one of its own terms (in Pisces) is
well situated, making the native famous and powerful.
All was not roses, however. Hadrian had many adversaries and plotters against him.
hese were caused by the sun and moon being completely enclosed by the maleics Mars
and Saturn. he fact that Hadrian overcame them all was due to Mercury (a beneic)
being in conjunction with Saturn in Saturn’s own house, and being in Place 12 (enemies).
his last feature, along with Saturn and Mercury being attendants for the sun, made
Hadrian wise but treacherous. He was honored and worshipped as a god because Jupiter
was an attendant to the sun.
he moon being brought to its new moon phase, with Venus in Place 2 in conjunc-
tion with Mars, indicates Hadrian will be wed to one woman. he reason he had only
one sister was due to the moon’s being in conjunction with Jupiter along with the sun.
If the moon had been conjoined with more planets, especially beneics, Hadrian would
have had more siblings. (he maleic planets deprive one of siblings.) Furthermore, the
Sign in which this occurs can afect the outcome: a bicorporeal Sign, such as Gemini,
Sagittarius, or Aquarius, for example, will increase the number. A sister is indicated by
the masculine gender of Aquarius, because when the sun and moon conjoin in a mas-
culine Sign, this reduces the number of male siblings. He was adopted (by his relative,
Trajan) because Jupiter and the moon were together in proximity to the Ascendant.
Hadrian’s childlessness was caused by the sun being in the Ascendant. Saturn and
Mercury being in Place 12 (Enemies) was the cause of his trouble with family members.
Antigonus says that Mercury is in stasis (rebellion) with Saturn, so they are in conlict in
Place 12.
Hadrian’s dropsy was caused by the luminaries being surrounded by the two maleics
and being in a watery Sign, Aquarius, and the Descendant being surrounded by Places
that were under the nefarious inluence of the maleics Saturn and Mars, in a terrestrial
Sign. Being enclosed by maleic planets and watery Signs suggests sufocation.
Antigonus insists that the natal chart alone is insuicient, but one must examine the
charts for the third, seventh, and 40th days ater birth. (his is called “progressing the
chart” and is a method of generating fresh material for interpretation). Doing so, on the
40th day, Mars will be in Aries and the moon in Cancer, with the result that the moon,
the planet most closely connected with health, is now attacked by Saturn in opposition,
and Mars attacks it from a square aspect, which furnish clues as to Hadrian’s ill health.

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Astrology 405

Antigonus next describes how to calculate Hadrian’s lifespan. Saturn in his own house
allots 56 years. Venus is in favorable aspect, so she lends an additional eight years, giving
Hadrian a life expectancy of 64 years. However, ater 61 years 10 months, the Ascendant
and the moon came into quartile with Saturn, indicating a serious health crisis. he
favor of Venus, however, preserved his life, though not for much longer, as he died at
about 62 years six months. his matches the known facts. At age 60, Hadrian became
alicted with a lethal disease, and eventually died of asthma and dropsy. For a retrospec-
tive reading, Antigonus has done well. Such examples were collected in an empirical
efort to correlate speciic features in these charts with deinite future outcomes.
he following comments from Firmicus Maternus serve to illustrate the nature of
predictions drawn from handbooks and as further commentary on Hadrian’s chart.
Saturn in Place 12 indicates an uprising of slaves or serious illnesses (3.2.26), but is
mitigated by being in aspect with the beneic, Venus (sextile). Jupiter on the Ascendant
makes the native famous and powerful, the ruler of a great state, in addition to being
cheerful, benevolent, and rich (3.3.1). Mercury in Place 12 makes Hadrian intelligent,
and if it is a morning rising, it makes him an important administrator of the public wel-
fare (3.7.24–5). he waning moon moving toward Venus indicates a position of power,
honor, and authority (4.6.2). Saturn in Capricorn indicates a challenging life, illed with
reverses attaining the height of fortune, only to lose it (5.3.42). Jupiter and Saturn in con-
junction, with Jupiter moving away from the sun in a morning rising, indicates high po-
sition and great honor (6.23.3). And lastly, in a section entitled “Royal Charts,” Firmicus
states that the sun and moon in a masculine Sign, with beneics in attendance, as in
Hadrian’s chart, produces powerful kings ruling great states (7.22.1).

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