The Uses of Astrology
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Abstract
In addition to celestial omens which are documented, at least for lunar eclipses, as early as the Old Babylonian period, a number of other texts attest to Mesopotamian interest in celestial phenomena and in the stars and their influence upon the sublunar world. Although far from being developed into an astrology as we know it from the Greeks, astral influence was sought in various areas of Mesopotamian science. The haruspex turned to the stars asking that they place reliable omens in the exta of the lamb, and there are also some indications that parts of the exta examined for divinatory purposes were associated with planets and constellations. It is especially the medical texts which reveal the importance attributed to astral influence in enhancing the efficacy of the treatment.