Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans

Description

Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans is a book by Belgian archaeologist and historian Franz Cumont, first published in 1912. In this study of star-worship collected from all available astrological and astronomical texts from antiquity, Cumont shows that astronomical knowledge was developed over time in the ancient Near East, eventually allowing prediction of phenomena such as the location of the planets, the phases of the moon, and eclipses. This knowledge was used as the basis of a religious system which was integrated into Greek and Roman Paganism. This involved worship of the planets and stars and a belief that after death (if virtuous) we ascend to the heavens. Other aspects of ancient star-worship that are still with us are our seven-day week and the transference of the winter Solstice into the celebration of the birth of Christ.

This book has 42,129 words, 69 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1912.

Production notes: This ebook of Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans was published by Global Grey on the 5th July 2018, and updated on the 7th March 2023. The artwork used for the cover is 'Astrologer observing the Equinox' by Domenicus van Wijnen.