Customer Reviews

Ancient Astrology (Sciences of Antiquity Series)

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In this book, Dr Barton takes on the question of the significance of astrology in the ancient world. She discusses ancient sources such as Tacitus, Pliny, and Ptolomy, and explores the general atmosphere surrounding astrology in Greece and Rome. Legal and social background is covered. She covers the general way in which horoscopes were drawn up, as well as the geometry and astronomical models behind the observations. There are a few interesting questions that she leaves unanswered (for example, I couldn't tell from Maternus's writings exactly how the house cusps were calculated, whether they were using porphyry or similar).

One of the interesting elements here is the discussion of horoscope interpretation, using Prince Charles's horoscope as an example, illustrating the process of interpretation as well as the fact that predictions for an individual in Rome are not compatible with today's world directly.

A number of different people may find this book helpful including students of Greece and Rome, those interested in the history of science, those interested in the history of ideas more broadly, and practicing modern astrologers today.

This book gave a lot of insight that I needed to help me with research. It is the most informative on ancient customs and traditions and I highly recommend it.