Antium , 15 December 37 CE 7:39 am - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Antium, 15 December 37 CE 7:39 amSlide2

Types of Astrology

• General Astrology• Kh0rography

•

Genethlialogy

(Natal Astrology)

•

Catarchic

(Inceptive, Horary) Astrology

• Interrogatory AstrologySlide3

Politics of Astrology

• astronomical/astrological hierarchies and political hierarchies• imperial endorsement 

widespread popularity

• personal astrologers for prominent/wealthy individuals

• political danger of astrological forecasts

• Augustan bans on casting in private without witnesses, casting about death date

• later bans on casting imperial horoscopes

• expulsion of astronomers in 139 BCE, 33 BCE, 16 CE, 7x during 1

st

century

CE

…Slide4

Emperor Tiberius

(14-37 CE)

Other resolutions of the senate [in 16 CE] ordered the expulsion of astrologers and magic-mongers from Italy. One of them, Lucius

Pituanius

, was flung from the Rock; another —

Publius

Marcius

— was executed by the consuls outside the

Equiline

Gate according to ancient usage and at the sound of a trumpet.

—Tacitus,

Annals

II.32

As for all astrologers and magicians and such as practiced divination in any way whatsoever, he [Emperor Tiberius] put to death those who were foreigners and banished all the citizens that were accused of still practicing astrology at this time after the previous decree by which it had been forbidden to engage in any such business in the city; but to those that obeyed immunity was granted.

—

Dio

Cassius LVII.15Slide5

Emperor Otho

(

15

January — 16 April 69

CE)

The

astrologers —

a tribe of men most untrustworthy for the powerful and deceitful towards the ambitious, a tribe which in our state will always be both forbidden and retained

— also urged

him [

Otho

] on, declaring from their observation of the stars that there were new movements afoot, and that the year would be a glorious one for

Otho

. Among these

astrologers

…

was

one who

had been with

Otho

in Spain, had promised him that he should survive

Nero and persuaded him

that he would be called to the imperial office.

Otho

accepted his prophecies as if they were genuine warnings of

fate,

for human nature

is always

especially eager to believe the mysterious.

—Tacitus,

Histories

I.22Slide6

Firmicus

Maternus

(4

th

cent. BCE)

Never reply to anyone who asks about the condition of the State or the life of the Roman emperor. It is both morally wrong and illegal

…

An astrologer who replies when he is asked about the fate of the emperor is a disgrace and deserves all the punishment he gets, because he can neither say nor discover anything. In fact no astrologer can find anything true about the emperor. The emperor alone is not subject to the course of the stars and in his fate alone the stars have no power of determination. Since he is master of the whole world, his destiny is governed by the judgment of the god most high; since the whole of the earth’s surface is subject to the power of the emperor, he himself is also considered among those gods whom the supreme power has set up to create and serve all things.

—

Mathesis

2.30Slide7

Split Views of Astrology

•

astrology as false science and impious divination (

superstitio

)

• astrologers as charlatans, dishonest businessmen, power-mongers

• astrology as valid but dangerous divination (

divinatio

)

• astrologers as means/tools of political subversionSlide8

Astrology & SpiritualitySlide9

Aristotelian / Hellenistic Worlds

• increasing gap between mortal and divine worlds

• monotheistic trend

 proliferation of

daimones

• rise in popularity of eschatological cults

• sublunary world as imperfect

•

loss of traditional community frameworks

• inadequacy of

polis

religion

• rise of eschatological

cults

• influx of foreign (religious, magical) influences

• consolidation of power in bureaucracies and totalitarian

systems

• rise of interest in magic, self-help philosophies, astrology

•

sublunary world as

alienated, corrupt, fallenSlide10

From

Spirit come the races of man and beast, and

fiery energy from a heavenly

source belongs

to

their

generic

seeds

as long as

they are not poisoned or

clogged by

mortal bodies, their free essence

dimmed by

earthiness and deathliness of

flesh. This

makes them fear and crave, rejoice and

grieve. Imprisoned

in the darkness of the

body they

cannot clearly see heaven’s air; in

fact even

when life departs on the last

day not

all the scourges of the body

pass from

the poor souls, not all distress of

life. Inevitably

, many malformations

, growing

together in mysterious ways

, become

inveterate.

Therefore

souls

undergo the punishments

and

pay penance

for old sins: some hang full

length to

the empty winds, for some the stain of

wrong is

washed by floods or burned away by fire

.

— Vergil,

Aeneid

6Slide11

fortuna

fortune, destiny, fate (Stoic

) ~

apathia

fortuna

chance, accident (Epicurean

) ~

ataraxiaSlide12

Seneca the Stoic

(4 BCE – 65 CE)

We are all chained to Fortune. Some chains are golden and loose, some are tight and of base metal; but what difference does it make? All of us are in custody, the binders as well as the bound — unless you suppose the left end of the chain is lighter. Some are chained by office, some by wealth; some are weighed down by high birth, some by low; some are subject to another's tyranny, some to their own; some are confined to one spot by banishment, some by a priesthood. All life is bondage. Man must therefore habituate himself to his condition, complain of it as little as possible, and grasp whatever good lies in his reach.

—

On Tranquility

10Slide13
Slide14

Fortuna

Do you want to be free despite your body? Live in it as if you were ready to move. Keep in mind that you will one day lose your quarters, and you will have greater fortitude for the necessary

departure… Train

your soul against poverty, and you may stay rich. Arm yourself to scorn pain; your health may continue safe and sound and never put your virtue to the test. Teach yourself to bear the loss of loved ones bravely, and all of them will happily survive you

.

Seneca,

On SuicideSlide15

Apuleius, The Golden Ass

(ca. 155 CE)

At

last, Lucius, after the long days of disaster and the heavy storms of fortune you have reached the haven of peace and the altar of mercy. Neither your high lineage nor your pride of place nor your learning were of any advantage to you. You gave yourself up to the slavery of pleasure in the reward of your

unprosperous

curiosity (

curiositas

inprosperae

). Nevertheless, blind Fortune, persecuting you with horrors and snares, has led you in her shortsighted malice to this beatitude of release. Let her go now and

seek

another object for her hate. For terror and calamity have no power over him whose life the majesty of our Goddess has claimed for her

service... Slide16

You are now received into the protection

of Fortune, but of Fortune who is open-eyed

and

who lightens even the other gods with

the

splendors of her light. Let your face be

joyous

therefore. Let it be such a face as

accords

with that white gown you wear.

Follow

in the train of the Goddess your

Savior

with steps of triumph. Let the scoffer

behold

and be shamed, saying in his heart:

“

Look, here is Lucius who rejoices in the

pro-

vidence

of mighty Isis. Look, he is

released

from

the bonds of misery and victorious

over

his

fate

.”

—

Metamorphoseon

11.15Slide17

CHRISTIAN ASTROLOGYSlide18

Christian Astrology

Luke 21.25

(25) And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (26) men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.Slide19

Christian Astrology

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying

, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him

.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

... Then

Herod, when he had

privately

called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

And

he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when

you

have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also

.” When

they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When

they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

—Matthew 2:1-10Slide20

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic

.

•

Stars as signs, not causes.

• Stars as signs only for higher powers.

• Magi had limited dispensation.

• Astrology as forbidden knowledge.

• Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide21

Mars

Pyroeis

(Fiery)

Arêos

astêr

(Ares’ Star)

Venus

Stilbon

(Shining)

Aphroditês

astêr

(Aphrodite’s Star)Slide22

Leo, the first

decan: its name is Pepisoth and it has the form of a

woman holding in her right hand

a thunderbolt, in her left a small

bottle. It has wings from the middle

of its body to its feet and a crown on

its head. It rules the hands. Engrave it

on the stone called heliotrope, and

set the plant

libanotis

underneath.

Fix it inside any piece of jewelry and

wear it. Abstain from boar's flesh.

—Hermes

TrismegistusSlide23

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic

.

•

Stars as signs, not causes.

• Stars as signs only for higher powers.

• Magi had limited dispensation.

• Astrology as forbidden knowledge.

• Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide24

Determinism(s)

STRONG WEAK

determinative indicativeSlide25

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic.• Stars as signs, not causes.

•

Stars as signs only for higher powers to interpret.

•

Magi had accurate astrological knowledge as a special, limited dispensation.

• Astrology as forbidden knowledge.

• Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide26

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic. • Stars as signs, not causes.

•

Stars as signs only for higher powers to interpret.

• Magi had accurate astrological knowledge as a special, limited dispensation.

•

Astrology as forbidden knowledge, a temptation that appeals to human

curiositas

.

• Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide27

Anti-Pagan Legislation

[year 357] The inquisitiveness

of

all

men for divination (

curiositas

divinandi

) shall cease forever.

[

year 358]

If any wizard...soothsayer,

diviner

...augur, or even astrologer

...

should

be apprehended in

my retinue,

he

shall not

escape

punishment or

torture

by the protection of his high

rank

. If he should be convicted of his

own

crime and by denial should oppose

those

who reveal it, he shall be delivered

to

the torture house, iron claws shall

tear

his sides, and he shall suffer

punish-

ment

worthy of his crime.

Constantius

II

350-361 CESlide28

Apuleius, The Golden Ass

(ca. 155 CE)

At

last, Lucius, after the long days of disaster and the heavy storms of fortune you have reached the haven of peace and the altar of mercy. Neither your high lineage nor your pride of place nor your learning were of any advantage to you. You gave yourself up to the slavery of pleasure in the reward of your

unprosperous

curiosity (

curiositas

inprosperae

). Nevertheless, blind Fortune, persecuting you with horrors and snares, has led you in her shortsighted malice to this beatitude of release. Let her go now and

seek

another object for her hate. For terror and calamity have no power over him whose life the majesty of our Goddess has claimed for her

service... Slide29

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic. • Stars as signs, not causes.

•

Stars as signs only for higher powers to interpret.

• Magi had accurate astrological knowledge as a special, limited dispensation.

• Astrology as forbidden knowledge, a temptation that appeals to human

curiositas

.

•

Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide30

You are now received into the protection

of Fortune, but of Fortune who is open-eyed

and

who lightens even the other gods with

the

splendors of her light. Let your face be

joyous

therefore. Let it be such a face as

accords

with that white gown you wear.

Follow

in the train of the Goddess your

Savior

with steps of triumph. Let the scoffer

behold

and be shamed, saying in his heart:

“

Look, here is Lucius who rejoices in the

pro-

vidence

of mighty Isis. Look, he is

released

from

the bonds of misery and victorious

over

his

fate

.”

—

Metamorphoseon

11.15Slide31

DECLINE OF SCIENCESlide32

Christian Astrology

• Stars as demonic. • Stars as signs, not causes.

•

Stars as signs only for higher powers to interpret.

• Magi had accurate astrological knowledge as a special, limited dispensation.

•

Astrology as forbidden knowledge, a temptation that appeals to human

curiositas

.

• Baptism frees initiate from astral influence.Slide33

30 BCE

end of Roman Republic; beginning of Imperial

Rome

30 BCE – 14 CE

rule

of Emperor Augustus

313

official adoption of Christianity

324

relocation

of capital to Constantinople

476

“fall” of

Western Roman Empire

642

Islamic conquest of Alexandria

1453

fall of Byzantine (= Eastern Roman) EmpireSlide34

• decline in scientific research

• rise in commentarial tradition• shift from investigation to transmission

• organization of educational system around canon

• codification/exclusion of fields of scientific study

trivium

logic

grammar

rhetoric

quadrivium

arithmetic

geometry

music

astronomySlide35

• decreased funding for

research (vs. funding for Church)• disconnect between academic and practical pursuits

• failure of science to institutionalize

•

“anxiety

of

influence”

• skeptical tradition

• despair over observational, instrumental, cognitive

limits

• assumption of finitude of knowledge

• contemplative ideal

• institutionalized hostility to

“knowledge”

from empowered ChurchSlide36

Tertullian

(160-200 CE)What has Athens to do with Jerusalem, the Academy with the Church, the heretic with the Christian? Our instruction comes from the Porch of Solomon who himself taught that the Lord is to be sought in the simplicity of one's heart... We have no need of curiosity [

curiositas

] after Jesus Christ, nor of research after the gospel. When we believe, we desire to believe nothing more. For we believe this first, that there is nothing else that we should believe.

—

Against

Heretics

7Slide37

Tertullian

(160-200 CE)

Crucifixus

est

Dei

Filius

, non

pudet

,

quia

pudendum

est

;

et

mortuus

est

Dei

Filius

,

prorsus

credibile

est

, quia

ineptum

est

;

et

sepultus

resurrexit

,

certum

est

, quia impossibile.—De

Carne Christi

V.4

God’s Son

was crucified: there is no shame, because it is shameful.

God’s Son

died: it is wholly credible, because it

makes no sense.

And, buried, He rose again: it is certain, because impossible

.

Credo

quia

absurdum est.

I believe because it is irrational.Slide38

Athanasius

(ca. 350 CE)

"Look now: here are some folk suffering from demons. Either cleanse these men by your logic-chopping or by any other skill or magic you wish, or otherwise, if you can't, lay down your quarrel with us and witness the power of Christ's cross." And with those words he called on Christ, sealed the sufferers with the sign of the cross twice and a third time, and immediately the men stood forth all healed.

—

Life

of St. AnthonySlide39

Augustine of Hippo

(354-430 CE)Slide40

Augustine of Hippo

(354-430 CE)[Are the heavens spherical or flat like a disc?

Or

does it matter?

]

Many

scholars engage in lengthy discussion on these

issues,

but the sacred writers with their deeper wisdom have omitted them. Such subjects are of no profit for those who seek beatitude, and, what is worse, they take up very precious time that ought to be given to what is spiritually beneficial

.

Our happiness does not depend

upon our knowing the causes of the great physical processes in the world, which are hidden in the secret maze of

nature.

But we ought to know the causes of good and evil in things, at least as far as men may do so in this life, filled as it is with errors and distress, in order to avoid these errors and distresses.

—

Enchiridion

5Slide41

Augustine of Hippo

(354-430 CE)In those things which do not concern our attainment of the Kingdom of God, it does not matter whether they are believed in or not, or whether they are true or are supposed to be true or false. To err in such questions, to mistake one thing for another, is not to be judged as a sin or, if it is, as a small and light one. In sum, whatever kind or how much of an error these miscues may be, it does not involve the way that leads to God, which is the faith of Christ which works through love

.

—

Enchiridion

8Slide42

Augustine of Hippo

(354-430 CE)

When it

is asked what we ought to believe in matters of religion, the answer is not to be sought in the exploration of the nature of

things, like

those whom the Greeks called "

physicists.”

Nor need we be

afraid

that

a Christian

will

be

ignorant

of the force and number of the elements, the motion,

order

, and eclipses of the heavenly bodies, the form of the heavens, the kinds and natures of animals,

plants

, stones, springs, rivers, and mountains; about the divisions of space and time, about the signs of impending storms, and the myriad other things which these "physicists" have come to understand, or think they have.

For

even these men, gifted with such superior

insight

…

have

not yet learned everything there is to know. For that matter, many of the things they are so proud to have discovered are more often matters of opinion than of verified

knowledge.

It is enough for a Christian to believe that the cause of all created things, whether heavenly or earthly, whether visible or invisible, is none other than the goodness of the Creator, who is the one true God.

—

Enchiridion

3Slide43

• rejection of

curiositas • irrelevance of scientific (worldly) knowledge

• scientific pursuits distracting and potentially corrosive

• “pagan” science as false and derivative

• Athens vs. Jerusalem : Science vs. Scripture

• anti-intellectualism of Church

• knowledge vs. belief

• inference vs. revelation