Left: Ptolemaic world view, in Andreas Cellarius’ Harmonia Macrocosmica.
We see here how the same dynastic power-brokers in Alexandria who created new philosophies and religions centred on Helios also created the astrological system with the Helios-centric zodiac.
We have seen how the conquests of Alexander the Great brought Hellenisation to Persia, Greco-India and Egypt, and mentioned how this divided society in Judea, which led to a series of wars and ultimately, the destruction of that nation by Hadrian.
We have seen already that the New Testament was created under Hadrian using Flavian sources.
In Greco-India, we have seen Buddhism as a product of Greco-India, the rise of monasteries and their spread along the trade routes, where we also find early synagogues.
Later and in trading posts such as Dura Europos, the earliest churches also appear.
Babylonia or Chaldea in the Hellenistic world came to be so identified with astrology that “Chaldean wisdom” became among Greeks and Romans the synonym of divination through the planets and stars.
Hindu astrology adopted the Hellenistic zodiac during the Seleucid period (2nd to 1st centuries BCE).
Right: Sun dial within two sculpted lion feet, Ai-Khanoum (Alexandria on the Oxus)
The transmission of the zodiac system to Hindu astrology predated widespread awareness of the precession of the equinoxes, and the Hindu system ended up using a sidereal coordinate system (as opposed to the Tropical System followed by the Greeks), which resulted in the European and the Hindu zodiacs, even though sharing the same origin in Hellenistic astrology, gradually moving apart over two millennia that have passed since. The Sanskrit names of the signs are direct translations of the Greek names (dhanus meaning “bow” rather than “archer”, and kumbha meaning “water-pitcher” rather than “water-carrier”).
Jyotisha is the Hindu system of astrology (also known as Indian astrology, Hindu astrology, and of late, Vedic astrology). The documented history of Jyotisha begins with the interaction of Indian and Hellenistic cultures in the Indo-Greek period. The practice of Jyotisha primarily relies on the sidereal zodiac, which is different from the tropical zodiac used in Western astrology in that an ayanamsa adjustment is made for the gradual precession of the vernal equinox.
The oldest astrological treatise in Sanskrit is the Yavanajataka (Sayings of the Greeks), a versification by Sphujidhvaja in 269/270 CE of a now lost translation of a Greek treatise by Yavanesvara during the 2nd century CE under the patronage of the Western Satrap Saka king Rudradaman I. (Mc Evilley “The shape of ancient thought”, p385 (“The Yavanajataka is the earliest surviving Sanskrit text in horoscopy, and constitute the basis of all later Indian developments in horoscopy”, quoting David Pingree The Yavanajataka of Sphujidhvaja p5))
Hellenistic astrology syncretically originated from Babylonian and Egyptian astrology and horoscopic astrology first appeared in Ptolemaic Egypt. This should be seen in the wider perspective, starting with the dream and vaulting ambition of Alexander the Great to merge Greek and Persian societies, then the transmuting effect of Hellenisation within regional, cultural contexts.
The Dendera zodiac is the first known depiction of the classical zodiac of twelve signs:
Egyptian bas-relief from the ceiling of the portico of a chapel dedicated to Osiris in the Hathor temple at Dendera.
This chapel was begun in the late Ptolemaic period; the now-accepted date for the relief is 50 BCE.
On display at the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
The zodiac is a planisphere or map of the stars on a plane projection, showing the 12 constellations of the zodiacal band forming 36 decans of ten days each, and the planets. These decans are groups of first-magnitude stars, used in the ancient Egyptian calendar, which was based on lunar cycles of around 30 days and on the heliacal rising of the star Sothis (Sirius).
Champollion deciphered the names of Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and Domitian on the ceiling of Dendera’s temple, and placed the zodiac in the era of Roman rule over Egypt. (J. G. Honoré Greppo, Essay on the Hieroglyphic System of M. Champollion, Jun., and on the Advantages which it Offers To Sacred Criticism. Saxton & Miles, 1842.)
Ptolemy and Lysimachus are two of the three successors of Alexander the Great and became co-founders of the Ptolemaic dynasty, that ruled Egypt until Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, the twin children of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, were taken as hostages by Octavia the Younger, mother of the inveterate hostage-taker, Antonia Minor.
Particularly important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy, whose work Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day. (Derek and Julia Parker, Parker’s Encyclopedia of Astrology p16, 1990)
Zodiac and months from Tetrabiblos of Ptolemaios
Manuscript from the 8th century CE. Geographia of Ptolemy; Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
Helios in the centre, identified as the Christ by the cross, twelve naked female figures represent the hours, twelve clothed apostles represent the twelve months, and surrounding that the twelve zodiac signs.
In Claudius Ptolemy – a Ptolemy I noted how:
As a member of the same family as Alexander the Alabarch and his son, the merchant Marcus, this need [for celestial navigation] is obvious. The relationship would also provide the means to gain much of his geography and the Hellenistic Babylonian data.
In short, Ptolemy was a Ptolemy and therefore, a Lysimachus.
One Lysimachus of the period is Philo: Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia and Philo the Jew. He is described commonly as a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, in general ignorance of what and who is a Lysimachus. As his philosophy – containing the first christology – is syncretic, so here we see synagogues of the period begin to adopt the Helios zodiac.
Tzippori, or Sepphoris, is located in the central Galilee and after the death of Herod in 4 CE, the inhabitants revolted against Roman rule. Not surprisingly, the city was eventually captured and destroyed. Following this, Herod Antipas, ruler of the Galilee region, set about restoring Tzippori. He spared no expense on restoring and beautifying the city, prompting the Jewish historian Josephus to later call it the “glory of the entire Galilee.”
The mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue was rediscovered in 1993. There is a large Zodiac with the names of the months written in Hebrew. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot.
The Greek sun god Helios (represented as a radiant sun disk) riding in his quadriga, or four-horse chariot.
Sepphoris synagogue
Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi moved to the city with the Sanhedrin, making it the seat of Jewish religious authority. Rabbi Yehudah completed the codification of the Oral Law into the Mishnah in Tzippori in about the year 200CE and the scholars living in the city participated in the writing of the Jerusalem Talmud.
The Beit Alfa Synagogue is an ancient Byzantine-era synagogue located in Heftziba, at the foot of Mount Gilboa in northern Israel. It was constructed in the 6th century CE and is famous for its mosaic floor which was uncovered in 1928.
Two inscriptions were found on the entryway floor. The Greek inscription is in memory of the artists who made the mosaic, Marianus and his son Hanina. The Aramaic inscription reads:
This mosaic was laid in the year of the reign of Justinian the emperor for the sum of one hundred measures of wheat donated by the people of the village.
The central nave floor is divided into three panels: a depiction of the Binding of Isaac; a representation of the sun pulled by a star chariot surrounded by the constellations and signs of the zodiac; and a tableau representing the Temple of Jerusalem and religious objects associated with Judaism.
Sun god Helios – zodiac of Beit Alpha Synagogue mosaic floor
The zodiac has the names of the twelve signs in Hebrew. In the center is Helios, the sun god, being whisked away in his chariot by four galloping horses. The four women in the corners of the mosaic represent the four seasons.
The most recent zodiac to be discovered is at Hammath-Tiberias.
“Hammath” means “hot springs” and the site is indeed a group of hot springs along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The rabbis identified them with the Hammath-Naphtali of Joshua 19: 35.
The place first became important when Herod Antipas founded the city of Tiberias near the springs in 18/19 BCE.
Tiberias was a Hellenistic city, but it also became an important Rabbinic center from the third century CE until 429 CE.
The synagogue with the zodiac is about one mile south of the modern city of Tiberias. Period II holds the zodiac wheel, and received the greatest attention from the excavator. The building which he found is definitely a synagogue, and went through two phases of construction, IIb, the older, and IIa, the younger.
The most striking aspect of the zodiac mosaic at Hammath-Tiberias is its Classical style, forming quite a contrast with the “Oriental” style of the other zodiacs. The iconography is completely in line with the typical Greek portrayals, to the point of including nude, uncircumcised, male figures for Libra and Aquarius.
The image of Sol is particularly interesting. It closely resembles the classical iconography of the cosmocrator. He is shown dressed in Imperial garb, a scarlet paludamentum, with his right hand raised in benediction. His left hand holds a whip, and a globe with two circles crossing. This is probably the spherical universe, with the celestial equator and the ecliptic, symbolizing universal rule. He looks right, and has both rays and a halo around his head. A crescent moon is shown beneath his right arm, and a seven-pointed star beneath his left.
Helios holding the celestial sphere and whip – Zodiac mosaic at the Severus Synagogue
In the center of the large Zodiac is the god of Sun, Helios, riding a celestial chariot and accompanied by sun, moon and stars.
The entrance inscriptions are interesting from several points of view. They contain the first epigraphic reference to the Jewish Patriarch.
“Threptos,” literally someone raised in the same family, probably means a member of the Patriarch’s household here, but it is the phrase “most illustrious Patriarchs” which is the key to dating the inscription, and by implication, the zodiac mosaic and phase IIb.
“Lamprotatos” is an official title, the Greek equivalent of the Latin vir clarissimus, the official designation of the lowest of the three senatorial grades. The Patriarchs were not members of the Roman senate, but the Theodosian Code, 16.8.17, issued 392 CE, tells us that the Jewish Patriarch held the legal status of a senator, or a Praetorian Prefect.
That is Rabbinic Judaism, created by the Flavian dynasty and at the behest of the Lysimachus in Alexandria, such as Tiberius Julius Alexander, son of Alexander Lysimachus, nephew of Philo, and who renounced Judaism for the Roman civil service.
In The Gordion Knot of Classical Antiquity, I noted how:
It has become clear that the history of Christianity is founded less in Judea and more in those cities to the north, such as Emesa, Edessa and Adiabene, and to the various Nysa.
Christ within the Zodiac circle
Fresco from the Cathedral of the Living Pillar, Georgia
When archaeologists began uncovering zodiacs in synagogues, there were – naturally – surprised and since then, though the shock has worn off and there has been much scholarly discussion of their meaning, it adds up to very little.
This mystification is due to the wide-ranging character of the forces at work, across time and space from the Indus to the Nile and across centuries, beyond the accepted bounds of Classical Antiquity and encompassing many specialist fields of study.
Christ-Helios at the center of the zodiac (Bibliothéque Nationale)
As the opus of Claudius Ptolemy demonstrates, this is astronomy and astrology, geography and mathematics, and similarly with the opus of Philo, is syncretic. Hellenisation embraced more than Persia, but also India, Egypt and – eventually, at enormous cost and with the brute force of Rome – Judea.
Western civilisation is not particularly western and has rarely been civil.
At least we may now know from where the sun shines.
Related posts:
- An army of divine men and the secret army of Mithras
- Augustus: the Roman Messiah
- The Lysimachus Dynasty
- Lifting the Vaults of Heavenly and Earthly Peace
- Persian, Greek and Roman syncretism in the Kharga Oasis
- The Royal Library of Alexandria in the first century
- Chrest Magus
- The Sun of Righteousness
- Romans at Stonehenge: from standing stones to cosmic pillars
- Helios and Selene in Alexandria on the Oxus
Pingback: Palm Beach Bulgaria