History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.445

v6.c82.445

The above references to Babylonian boundary stones and monuments are enough to show that in Babylonia some four or five signs of the Zodiac had been distinguished before 1000 B. C But the complete list of picture sings of the Zodiac was known in Babylonia at least from about 6th century B. C. as Meissner (referred to above) says.⁸⁸⁷ Sarton cautiously suggests the probability of Babylonian influence on other Oriental peoples (Iranian, Indian and Chinese) but he gives up the discussion of this question as a debatable⁸⁸⁸ one. Authorities are agreed that the oldest horoscopes are found in Mesopotamia and not in Greece nor in Egypt. Sarton states that the first known horoscope is a cuneiform tablet in the Bodleian referring to the date 29th April 410 B C., and that the second is another tablet in the Pierpont Morgan Library referring to April 263 B C. (in JAOS. vol 75, No. 3 p. 172). F. C. Cramer in 'Astrology in Roman Law and Politics' (Philadelphia, 1954) agrees with this and gives references to horoscopes of 258 B. C., 235 B C and 142 B. C. (pp. 5-8). Prof. Neugebauer on the other hand remarks⁸⁸⁹ that only seven horoscopes are found preserved from Mesopotamia, all written in Seleucid period, the earliest being of 263 B. C. C. V. Maclean refers to a horoscope of 28th February 142 B C. Sarton says that the very word 'horoscopos' was coined very late in Greece, that it is used by Manilius (first century A. D) and Clement of Alexandria (150-220 A D.) and that its use cannot be found earlier.⁸⁹⁰ The earliest Greek horoscope from Egypt concerns the year 4 B C. and Prof Neugebauer says that he knows about 60 horoscopes from 4 B. C. to 500 A. D. The earliest Demotic and Greek horoscopes were written about the beginning of the Christian era and the earliest Demotic horoscope refers to 13 A D.⁸⁹¹ Prof. Neugebauer holds that the rising times of zodiacal signs mentioned in Bṛhajjātaka (I. 19) are precisely the same as the rising times of zodiacal signs in the Babylonian system (called A) Vide Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7 No, 3 pp 100-102