Astrology in the Papyri
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Abstract
T H E stars had not been obliterated, for ancient man, by artificial lighting; he was closer to them physically as well as spiritually. In the present volume Professor Hans Georg Gundel, following a suggestion by his late distinguished father, Wilhelm Gundel, analyses the cosmic, astral, and astrological lore of the Greek magical papyri. The material is discussed, in the first part of the book, with reference to the sun, moon, planets, and fixed stars. In the second part there is a review of astrological theories and techniques. The volume ends with a concordance of the sources in Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae, and elsewhere, and an appendix devoted to P. Giss. Inv. 1080, which was first edited by the author (with J. M. A. Janssen). There is also an index of subjects and of loci. The need for such a study may be illustrated by a remark made in parenthesis by Mr. C. H. Roberts in his review of Cumont's L'ligypte des Astrologues, which was published in 1937, and which relied mainly on literary texts: 'Perhaps it is only fair to add that the papyri have also provided us with a number of astrological texts.' Even the caveat by Mr. Roberts seems an understatement in the light of the present work, which naturally includes the evidence of occasional references as well as of extended appeals to astrology. What the anxious client is often after is crisply exemplified in the advice given by the magician in Preisendanz, P.G.M. 13, 708 fF., which Dr. Gundel treats on pp. 16 and 68: