Ancient Egyptian Astrology

In episode 398 professor Ian Moyer joins the show to talk about the history and practice of astrology in ancient Egypt, and discuss some of the notable Egyptian contributions to the astrological tradition.

Ian is the author of the book Egypt and the Limits of Hellenism, which explores the ancient history and modern historiography of cultural and intellectual encounters between ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

At the beginning of the episode we talk about the early Egyptian use of the 36 fixed star decans for calendrical and timekeeping purposes, and how these eventually came to be used for the purposes of astrology.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

The Naos of the Decades
The rising decan as a precursor to the Ascendant
Zodiacs in the temples of Dendera and Esna
The use of astrology by Egyptian priests
Demotic horoscopes
Astrological glyphs derived from Egyptian
Coffin lids with zodiacs

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
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