3 - 4 pm (CET)

Dr. Solmeng-Jonas Hirschi

The extent of Babylonian astronomical and/or astrological knowledge in pre-Hellenistic Greece is difficult to assess properly in the extant sources but its presence is certain. More than a century before Aratus of Soles, and thus long before the conquests of Alexander, a new sort of interpretation and prediction of astral motions emerges through what seems to point to the arrival of a novel analytical framework in the Greek-speaking world, namely the Zodiac. Understood in a narrow sense as the geometrical division of the ecliptic into 12 "signs", the grid reflects the scientific interest for the accurate computation of the visible (com)position of the sky at any time of the sidereal year. This could then be used to create an accurate calendar tracking the yearly cycles of agricultural tasks. But it could also offer an interpretive frame to indicate the outcome of decisions, future meteorological events, or the character of certain individuals. Such extended uses, in particular predictions and causal relations between phaenomena, were of particular concern to philosophers. My talk will focus on the potential reception of the Zodiac by Epicurus (ca. 340-270 BCE), considering the sources available to him, e.g. Eudoxus of Cnidus, and his overall attitude towards predictive inferences when it comes to managing one's expectations and fears of future harms.

Participants can join the online Chronoi Talk by clicking on the following link:

https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin/j.php?MTID=mfec7d35d1ef2070952db219d8f45188a

The conference room can be accessed using the following methods:

• Joining directly in your browser; simply click the link above, and look for a button with this option near the bottom of the webpage.

• Downloading the program to your computer (instructions can be found by following the meeting link)

• Using the smartphone app called “Cisco Webex Meetings."

You are welcome to enter the online conference room up to 15 minutes in advance of the start time.