The Decans in Iranian Astrology

Author(s): Antonio Panaino

Source: East and West, Vol. 37, No. 1/4 (December 1987), pp. 131-137
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)
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 The Decans in Iranian Astrology

by ANTONIO PANAINO

According to the Titar Yat (paragraphs 13-20), the star Sirius (1) assumes the
form of a man of fifteen, of a golden-horned bull and of a white horse with ears and
bridle of gold before facing the demon Apaova. This tradition is also preserved in
Pahlavi literature, but in the Iranian Bundahis'n it is the subject of an interpretation
as particular as it is isolated. With regard to the three transformations of Ti'trya,
chapter VI B, 4 (p. 69, line 9) states: czyon axtar-amaran gowend ku har axtar-e 3 kirb
-
ddred 'so the astrologers say that each sign of the zodiac has three forms'. This
would therefore appear an obvious reference to the decans (pahl. dahg) explicitly
referred to in Gr. Bundahi'n, V A, 9. With regard to this point, D.N. MacKenzie
has demonstrated that the use of this term for decan is most probably a calque from
the Greek bExavo6. The Neo-Persian and Arabian forms daregdn > darijan, on the
other hand, should derive from the Sanskrit drkana-, drekkdna-, which is, however,
also borrowed from the Greek (2). The notion of the decans, a sort of set of
constellations competing with the signs of the zodiac, belongs not to the Chaldean
tradition but to the Egyptian, where the nocturnal route of the sun was studded with
a series of genies trying to prevent the star from following its path. Nevertheless,
the starwas able to continue along itsway thanks to the spells with which itwas thought
to neutralize the magical influence of these celestial creatures living on certain stars
or asterism (3).

(1) The identification of the av. Tiitrya and pahl. Tiltar with the star Sirius is practically certain.
The main and most explicit source as regards the association is found in Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride,

47, 10-11. A thorough description of the astrological and astronomical problems concerning Ti'trya is

provided by Khareghat, 'The identity of some heavenly bodies mentioned in the old Iranian writings',
in Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Madressa jubilee volume, Bombay 1914, pp. 118-22.

(2) D.N. MacKenzie, 'Zoroastrian Astrology in the Bundahiin', BSO(A)S, XXVII, 1964, p. 516,
fn. 33.

(3) A. Bouch6-Leclercq, L'astrologie greque, Paris 1899, p. 226; J.O. Neugebauer & P.A. Parker,
Egyptian Astrological Texts, The Early Decans, London 1960, vol. I, pp. 97-100.

[1] 131

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 According to the most recent study carried out by Neugebauer (4), the decans
were set a
from the strictly astronomical point of view in belt 'which lies slightly south
of the ecliptic' and therefore, contrary to the views of Bouche-Leclercq (5), not much
more extensive than the ecliptic itself. The lists of these decans could begin and end
with different constellations, but many of them did so with S3h (Orion) and Sopdet
(Sothis or rather Sirius) (6)which, as we know, are relatively distant, but not very
far, from the equator. The Egyptian constellations were thus divided into an

irregular series of decans, where the genies dwelt (7).

Ptolemy rejected this system, which he regarded as devoid of regularity and
mathematical ratio (8), but inManilius (9) there is already evidence of an explicit at
tempt to reconcile the structure of the zodiac with the mythology of the decans (fig. 1).
This made it possible to return to the 36 decans of the Egyptian year, each presided
over by a XQovoxQoa-rQ (10).
The decans thus became stars. However, itmay be assumed that they were not

immediately and unequivocally incorporated in the zodiac's series of costellations.

In fact, a passage in the Liber Hermetis Trismegisti (11), in which they are still invis
ible and incorporeal, even appears. locate them in the strip between the two tropics.
However, the Hermetic tradition soon managed to incorporate this further astrologi
cal division of the zodiac.
In the course of this process, the structure of the decans, which were restricted
took on new implications.
to the ecliptic, Since the planets move in this area of the
sky, they were seen as related to the decans. Therefore each sign of the zodiac bore
not one unequivocal influence but three, as many as the decans it encountered in each
constellation (12), each associated with a certain planet (but also with the sun and the

(4) Op. cit., loc. cit.

(5) Op. cit., p. 224, fn. 2

(6) Ibid.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Cf. Bouche-Leclercq, op. cit., pp. 215-16.

(9) Cf. M.Manilius, Astronomica, ed. G.P. Goold, Cambridge 1977, IV, vv. 294-303, p. 244: Sed
nihil in semet totum valet: omnia vires cum certis sociant signis sub partibus aequis et velut hospitio mundi
commercia iungunt conceduntque suas partes retinentibus astris. quam partem Graiae dixere decanica gentes.
a numero nomen positum est, quod partibus astra condita tricenis triplici sub sorte feruntur et tribuunt denas
in se coeuntibus astris inque vicem ternis habitantur sidera signis.

(10) Cf. ibid., III, vv. 510-59, pp. 1xxvii f.

(11) The Liber Hermetis Trismegisti, preserved in the codex Harleianus 3731, was published by W.
Gundel in Neue astrologische Texte des Hermes Trismegistus, Abhandl. Bay. Akademie der Wissenschaf
ten N.F., 12 Heft, 1936. Cf. again Bouche-Leclercq, op. cit., p. 223.

(12) Bouch6-Leclercq, op. cit., pp. 226-27. The division of the signs of the zodiac into decans is,
in any case, attested in the hermetic writings. Cf. A.J. Festugiere, La Revelation d'Hermes Trismegiste,
I L'Astrologique et les Sciences Occultes, pp. 112 ff.

132 [21

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moon), as may be inferred from the list of 'influences' drawn up by Firmicus
Maternus (13) (fig. 2).
According to Bouche-Leclercq (14), the (western) adapters of this system may
have begun by identifying Sothis (Sirius), previously associated with Isis, with Venus
(a female planet at the head of a female sign) and thus continuing in the succession
of septenary series (1 + 5 x 7 = 36). Sirius whould thus have been the first decan
of the costellation of Cancer.
In any case, the close relationship between the zodiac and the lists of decans is
also attested in Egypt in the Esna Al (Seti I B) zodiac, the oldest known and datable
around 200 A.D. (15),which may be compared with the list of Esna A2 (Tanis).
Hephaestion of Thebes has left us the most ancient Greek version of the names of
the decans (4th century A.D.), but Neugebauer (16) regards this as artificial and
arbitrary, probably constructed through an inexplicable superimposing of decans
taken from the lists of Seti I and Tanis. It must, however, be pointed out, as Neuge
bauer himself does (17) (table 1), that the most important list, Seti I B, begins with
spdt in Cancer and that Hephaestion must, more or less indirectly, have known of this.
At this point, we may return to Ti'tar. This yazata is always connected with
the sign of Cancer (18), and the month dedicated to it (Tir = 21st June-21st July) is

peculiar to this constellation. The Zoroastrian tradition of the Sassanid period, which
shows signs of having acquired the notion of decans, refers to it in comparatively
explicit fashion only with regard to the star Sirius (Ti'tar). It is, however, not poss
ible to establish the identity of the other decans or the criterion according to which
they were divided. It can be deduced from the Bundahis'n that Iranian astrology had
taken over the idea of the division of the zodiac into decans according to its

reworking by the Greeks and Romans, which already appears structurally established
in the Hermetic texts and in the works of Firmicus. Unfortunately, the criterion of
application of this system cannot be deduced with any certainty. It would appear that
the signs of the zodiac were subdivided into 36 decans, three per sign. The decans
identified with the three forms of Tiltrya are probably those of Cancer, but this is
still not very clear. In fact, it would rather seem that the three transformations of
Tivtrya were used a posteriori to justify this conception, which is purely astrological and
extraneous to the Iranian tradition. In any case, the author of the passage of the
Bundahi'n in question appears to show a certain prudence. In fact, he points out that

(13) Bouch6-Leclercq, op. cit., p. 228.

(14) Cf. ibid . 226-27.

pp.

(15) 0. Neugebauer & P.A. Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts, III, Decans, Planets, Constel
lations and Zodiac, London 1969, pp. 168-74.

(16)Ibid.
(17) Ibid., fn. 5.

(18) Cf. Khareghat, op. cit., pp. 118-22.

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 1 - The of the decans, after Goold's
Fig. representation
edition, of Manilius, cit., pp. lxxxvi-lxxxvii.

Tableau des DIcans

en siries
planitaires
Aebdomadaires.

.09 drE9

ZZ bxPLANETAIRES
DECANS Q b ~v~ d CI
o d.-rQara
th b IC dJ
d'apres Firnucus.Paul d Aliandrie U ) 9 0

9
WOJ

++ 7 O
C (
Cf
lit .15
40m
9 *0 C
X bWd5
2 -
Fig. After Bouche-Leclercq, op. cit..

134 [41

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 Table 1 -The three lists according to the reconstruction of Neugebauer & Lasker, op. cit.,
pp. 170-71.

Seti I B Tanis
Hephaestion

spdt awotr knm(t)

Cancer it(w) ULT hry (hpd) knn(t)
knm(t) XVILS hi dt

bry hpd knm(t) xaPxvouIL' dit

Leo ht t 77l phwy 41t
phiwy dit 0OV77 tMOt)

tm(;t) TWJ4 WS1t(1)

Virgo wist(;) bk;t(i) ovErEflKw-T bk;t(1)

.aoo aooo
ipsd Ipsd

ShhS sbhs
covxwe aovx(ve
Libra tpy- 1nt tpy- uht
7T-qOu ?rTqxovT
h?nt hr(f) XovTapc hry-ib wll

hnt hr(t) arwXve s(I)pt(I) Anwy

Scorpio tms (nz)hnt aerie skm(w)
spt(y) hnwy LEILE sI sfm(w)

hry-ib wi; p movw knm(w)

simw afu/e tpy-" smd
Sagittarius
KOI11E p. sbi w(ty
knm(w)

smd alzar smd

tpy-"
smd srt
Capricorn apw
srt sI srt
wpw

si srt irtav tpy-" ;hw(y)

Aquarius hry hpd srt aev ihw(y)

tpy-" ;hw(y) 17rqfovov tpy-"biw(y)

Mhw(Y) fLoU biw(y)

Pisces tpy-' biw(y) XoVrpf hnt(w) hr(w)
b;w(y) w-rtfov hnt(w) hr(w)

Imtw(w)zr(w) XovTape Ad
Aries nt(w)J.rw sI Ad
orap
SI kd ULKET /1W

hIW xwov Crt

Taurus 'rt Espm rmn hzry

rmn hry sr
pog!Lpo/cppe

tsCrk 00ooAke rmnhry

Gernini w'r ovape wcr(t)

tpy-' epdt #,An, phwv Ary

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 it is the astrologists who claim that each sign has three forms, and therefore in no
way defines this concept as a sort of revealed truth. We may therefore be dealing
with material of unquestionable interest with regard to the astrological systems in use
among Zoroastrians in Sassanid Iran or in the years subsequent to the Arab invasion.
The decision to connect the transformations of Tivtrya with the decans therefore
appears a probable pretext to justify this astrological system borrowed from theGreek
world (but in turn the result of a complex reworking of the Egyptian and Chaldean
systems). The fact that the star Sirius is involved is fairly understandable, since it
was the most highly honoured star throughout the ancient East (19). Moreover, we
must not overlook the fact that Sirius most probably constituted the first decan and
that therefore, once this astrological conception was accepted, itwas impossible not
to see the coincidence between the three transformations of the star which rose in
the sign of Cancer and the latter's three decans.
This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that the same passage from
Bundahisvn states that Tivtrya was under the ascendancy of Cancer (cf. paragraph 1).
There remains, however, one last element to evaluate. Before mentioning the three
forms of each sign, the scribe says that in the course of its three transformations,
Sirius brings rain for ten days and ten nights in each of its astral bodies. This is a
somewhat unusual statement. In fact, according to the myth contained in Tiftar Yalt,
rain can only be produced after the victory of the yazata over his adversary Apaosa.
Therefore, even leaving aside all the astronomical and climatic reasons making any
automatic relationship between the thirty days of Sirius's transformations and
rain (20) absurd and unacceptable, the myth itself confirms the incongruity of the
interpretation proposed by the Bundahisn. It is therefore possible that this passage
is the comparatively recent fruit of a new interpretation of the figure of Ti'trya, in
which traditional elements, now known only by hearsay and certainly not fully
mastered, are reworked and reconsidered in line with new and different concepts.
Thus we begin to see a little more clearly the sphere in which this 'astrological'
redefinition of the forms assumed by Tistrya in terms of the decans was able to
establish itself (21).The sphere can even be delimited with a certain accuracy. In fact,

(19) A. Panaino, 'Sirio stella-freccia dell'Oriente antico', in Atti della 4a Giornata di Studi Camito
Semitici e Indeuropei, Milano 1987, pp. 139-55.

(20) A. Panaino, 'Tistrya e la stagione delle ACME, XXXIX 1, January-April 1986, pp.
piogge',
125-33.

(21)Henning ('An Astronomical Chapter of the Bundahivn', JRAS, 1942, pp. 229-30) dates the div
ision of the ecliptic into lunar houses around 500 A.D. and maintains that Greek influences substantially
increased under the reign of Shapur I (241-272). This date appear probable in the specific case of the
decans. In fact, if the idea of this category was already known toManilius (who wrote under Augustus
and Tiberius), it appears definitively accepted between the 3rd and 4th centuries. It cannot, however,
be ruled out that in this specific case Iranian acquisition may have been still later. It must, in fact, have
been taken from a school not strictly subordinate to the conceptions of Ptolemy, who rejected the use

136 [61

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the HalQavarXXoPra rols bexavoIs of Teucer of Babylon were translated into
Pahlavi, as Nallino himself has demonstrated with irrefutable arguments (22). This
work a description of the asterisms
contained rising together on the horizon of a
specific country together with each decan (23).
In Sphaera (24)Franz Boll not only collected
the fragments of this work, but al
so published the Introductorium magnum of Albumasar. This text gives three systems
(madhhab) for dividing the HaQavarEXXovra: those of the Greeks (al-Yinan), the
Persians (al-Furs) and the Indians. Albusamar repeatedly declares that the procedure
followed by the Persians was that of Tinkaluis, i.e. Teucer (25). It is therefore
reasonable to suppose that the system of decans arrived in Iran thanks to the work
of Teucer and established itself among the Persians in this form. It also seems worth
while to point out that among the Greek fragments of Teucer is one of the utmost
importance for this study and which Bidez and Cumont (26)have already brought to
the attention of scholars. In this fragment, Sirius is described"as the royal star of
the 36 decans: Kvpos tuTrQoPJ 6eaTt Baut'XEtop rWp Xs' WQWP (27).
The importance attributed to Sirius by Teucer may be of Egyptian origin, since
itwas in precisely this civilization that Sothis played a role of exceptional relevance
in both religion and astronomical observation. Once this notion arrived in Iran, it
was most probably re-interpreted in line with Iranian culture and tradition. The
concept in no way offended the majesty of Tiftar, but was rather a source of renewed
vitality. Above all, the representation of Sirius as the royal star of the decans not
only ran no risk of wounding the sensibilities of the Zoroastrian priesthood, but
offered unquestionable elements to draw together the new astrological system, either
already diffused or about to be so, and the Zorostrian culture, in turn open to such
influences.

of decans. On the Decans in India cf. D. Pingree, 'The Indian Iconography of the decans and Hora-s',

Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XXVI, 1963, pp. 223-54.

(22) C.A. Nallino, 'Tracce di opere greche giunte agli Arabi per trafila pahlevica', in A volume of
Oriental Studies presented to Professor E.G. Browne, Cambridge 1922, pp. 345-63, republished in Raccolta
di scritti editi e inediti, ed. M. Nallino, Roma 1948, vol. VI, pp. 285-303.

(23) Ibid., p. 299.

(24) Fr. Boll, Sphaera. Neue griechische Texte und Untersuchungen vir Gesch. der Sternbilder, Leipzig
1903, pp. 490-539.

(25) For the interpretation of the Arabian name of Teucer, cf. Nallino, op. cit., pp. 301-2.

(26) J. Bidez & F. Cumont, Les Mages hellnises, Paris 1973, vol. I, p. 124, fn. 4.

(27) Boll, op. cit., p. 209.

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