The Daimon in Hellenistic astrology : origins and influence

by Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum

Paper Book, 2016

Status

Available

Call number

133.50938

Genres

Classics

History

Religion & Spirituality

Nonfiction

Collection

Don

Publication

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2016]

Description

In The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origins and Influence , Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum investigates for the first time the concept of the daimon (daemon, demon), normally confined to religion and philosophy, within the theory and practice of ancient western astrology (2nd century BCE ? 7th century CE). This multi-disciplinary study covers the daimon within astrology proper as well as the daimon and astrology in wider cultural practices including divination, Gnosticism, Mithraism and Neo-Platonism. It explores relationships between the daimon and fate and Daimon and Tyche (fortune or chance), and the doctrine of lots as exemplified in Plato ?s Myth of Er. In finding the impact of Egyptian and Mesopotamian ideas of fate on Hellenistic astrology, it critically examines astrology ?s perception as propounding an unalterable destiny.… (more)

Media reviews

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Dorian Greenbaum’s study of Hellenistic astrology is the latest in a field that is remarkably neglected, considering the central role that astrology occupied in all levels of Hellenistic culture, from street to temple and court. Her work forms part of what is an even smaller body of work, dealing

with astrology’s internal history (its own cosmology, techniques and theory of personality) rather than externals (such as social and political uses). For Greenbaum Hellenistic culture is characterised by the use of the Greek language in the classical world which she extends up to the sixth and early seventh centuries, when the production of astrological texts effectively ceased, with the exception of a horoscope cast for Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in 905. Greenbaum’s focus is the daimon, that ill-defined entity which occupied the Hellenistic cosmos, played a role in individual lives, and comprised a central part in the astrological diagnosis of destinies. The daimon, Greenbaum writes, is multivalent, and may appear in different contexts as demon, spirit, genius, personality, destiny and power or, even, she adds, as fate. There is also, we might add, some overlap with soul.

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