Exegesis V08 Issue 004

Exegesis Volume 08 Issue #004

In This Issue:

From: "Dennis Frank"
Subject: [e] Re: exegesis Digest V8 #3

Exegesis Digest Thu, 06 Mar 2003

From: "Dennis Frank"
Subject: [e] Re: exegesis Digest V8 #3
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 21:46:21 +1300

> >I want to look a little more closely at the Babylonian astronomy system,
> >specifically at Kidinnu or Kudinu. Could someone point me toward some
> >information?
> >
> >Thanks.
> >
> >Joan
> >Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein

Simple: run a web search for both versions of the name (separately). Not simpler: you can access Brittannica online via various portals, where a similar search would yield the few facts known in a concentrated context.

Okay, moving back from last to first paragraph, here's some informational pointing...

Astronomy?? A typo, I thought. On second thoughts, considering the era of the subject, maybe not. Probably the more technically correct of the two choices. Competent astrologer and best-selling author Michael Baigent published a somewhat relevant survey in 1994( "From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia"). If an effort to dress up the scantily-clad subject in some captivating finery, it sure did fail. But it does provide a single relevant reference..

Baigent writes (p178) that thousands of Greeks came to Babylon in the aftermath of Alexander's conquest. "Many studied astrology at the astrological schools which flourished. Archaeology had proved the existence of two Babylonian teachers who were mentioned later by the Greeks: Kidinnu, called by the Greeks Cidenas, and Nabu-rimannu, known as Naburianos."

More helpful is Rupert Gleadow's "The Origin of the Zodiac" (1968). If you can't access it let me know as I've got a copy of that also, and can provide the 3 relevant quotes. The gist is that he was founder of the Hellenistic zodiac, having located the vernal equinox at 8 Aries (by measurement).

Mastering the zodiac requires comprehension of relativity. In the physical (rather than merely metaphysical) sense, I mean, it being a measurable frame of reference that crystallized into several historical and culturally-specific forms. I mention this to caution you against the trap the novice may fall into: assuming that the various historically-identified locations of the vernal equinox were due to sloppy measurement or primitive maths or technology!