Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 71
SE A L: W. H. WA RD, THE SE AL CY LINDERS OF WESTER N ASIA (CA R NEGIE INSTIT U TE, 1910); R A M: HE V ELIUS
BULL WITH SEVEN SISTERS Probably carved around 800 BC, this
Neo-Assyrian seal made explicit the connections between agriculture
and the heavens for Mesopotamian cultures. Here, a plowman drives a
single beast to make a furrow. Above the Bull shine the Sun, Moon, and
Pleiades. In front is the Ear of Grain, the Roman Spica.
classical astro-mythographers Hyginus and Manilius relate the
story that Venus and Cupid, when confronted on the banks of
the Euphrates (the very venue of the story suggests a Mesopotamian origin!) by the monster Typhon, escaped by diving into
the river and changing into a pair of fish, the zodiacal Pisces.
The Origin of the Ram
The Cycle of Animals
Finally, there's the problem of Aries, the Ram, the one constellation of the Graeco-Roman zodiac that doesn't have an
obvious Sumero-Babylonian forerunner. MUL.APIN calls these
stars (probably referring particularly to the asterism of AlphaBeta-Gamma Arietis) lúHun-gá, "Hired Laborer." This may
be taken to mean "Plowman," because the Mesopotamians
figured a celestial Plow occupying the stars of our Triangulum
plus Gamma Andromedae just to the north of this figure. This
Plow was pulled by the Bull (Taurus) just to its east to cut the
Furrow of the heavens (the ecliptic), with the Plowman guiding it. That scene is shown on a Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal of
about 800 BC. The seal's design also shows the Pleiades in their
correct position above the Bull's back, and the Ear of Grain -
our Spica - directly in front of the Bull.
But all this doesn't explain why the Greeks had a Ram in
the stretch of the zodiac where the Mesopotamians earlier
had a Plowman. However, MUL.APIN itself provides a possible
explanation: It identifies the celestial Hired Laborer with the
shepherd-god Dumuzi. Accepting this interpretation of the
Hired Laborer as the shepherd-god Dumuzi, the Greek zodiacal
Ram can be read as the Leader of the Flock of Dumuzi.
This identification of Dumuzi with the stars of the Plowman isn't as arbitrary as it might seem: Preceding Dumuzi
(lúHun-gá) "In the Path of the Moon" is Anunı¯tum, an epithet
for the fertility goddess Inanna/Ishtar, spouse of Dumuzi, who
therefore occupied the stars of the Northern Fish of Pisces.
Moreover, the association of the stars of the Northern Fish
with Inanna/Ishtar was no accident, because the part of the
zodiac that stands 180° from Virgo is Nin-mah, which, it will
be recalled, was another epithet for Inanna/Ishtar (as other
tables in MUL.APIN show, the Mesopotamians were very alert
to which constellations rose and set opposite each other).
The association of the stars of Pisces with Inanna/Ishtar,
prototype of the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus, was
remembered in Graeco-Roman astrology because Pisces was
the hypsomata, "House," of the planet Venus. Moreover, both
So how and when did the constellations of the zodiac come
from Mesopotamia to Greece? The "how" is easier to answer
than the "when." For thousands of years, trade had been
going from southern Mesopotamia up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers north into southeastern Anatolia (modern Turkey)
and west to Syria and the Mediterranean. From Syria, the
trade went south to Egypt and west to the Greek islands.
This trade carried not only goods but also the culture of the
Sumerians and Babylonians. A fragmentary list of Mesopotamian star and constellation names that dates to roughly
1375 BC was found at Tell el-Amarna in central Egypt. But
the Mesopotamian constellations were probably known in
Egypt long before this, because features of Sumerian culture
- particularly in art and architecture - appeared in Egypt
before 3000 BC and presumably the Sumerian constellations
had come with them.
Constellation figures are easier to follow on their march
from Babylonia to Greece than constellation names because
most of the traders and travellers were not literate. Thus the
constellation figures can be thought of as tracers of the flow
of civilization in ancient times. For example, the image of the
Mesopotamian Water-Pourer appears in the early 2nd millennium BC in the art of both southeastern Anatolia and Syria.
By the mid-2nd millennium Babylonian star-figures like the
Water-Pourer, the Goat-Fish, the Serpent-Wrestler, and the
Dragon-Drawn Wagon had become part of general Eastern
Mediterranean culture. Therefore they were part of the fabric
from which the Greek poets of the early 1st millennium BC
wove their myths and epics.
¢ CRAIG CROSSEN is a freelance writer, editor, and traveler
who calls Minnesota home base. He co-authored Sky Vistas
(2004) and has published several articles on the structure of the
Milky Way Galaxy in Sky & Telescope and elsewhere. Presently
he is completing books on the origins of the Classical constellations and on the history of archaeology in Iraq.
sk yandtelescope.com * JA N UA RY 2 018
71
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/
Sky and Telescope - January 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - January 2018
Contents
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - Cover1
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 1
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - Contents
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 3
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 4
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 5
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 6
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 7
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 8
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 9
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 10
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 11
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 12
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 13
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 14
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 15
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 16
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 17
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 18
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 19
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 20
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 21
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 22
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 23
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 24
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 25
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 26
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 27
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 28
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 29
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 30
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 31
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 32
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 33
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 34
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 35
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 36
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 37
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 38
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 39
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 40
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 41
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 42
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 43
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 44
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 45
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 46
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 47
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 48
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 49
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 50
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 51
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 52
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 53
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 54
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 55
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 56
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 57
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 58
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 59
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 60
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 61
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 62
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 63
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 64
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 65
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 66
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 67
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 68
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 69
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 70
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 71
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 72
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 73
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 74
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 75
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 76
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 77
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 78
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 79
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 80
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 81
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 82
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 83
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 84
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - Cover3
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - Cover4
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18SAL
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 90
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18S
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18SA
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18EAL
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 94
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18E
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18EA
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18RAL
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 98
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18R
Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - SGA18RA
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202404_qr
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202401_aus
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202312_aus
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202304_qr
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/skywatch_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_mars
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aas/st_201001
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com