A Brief History of Hellenistic Astrology
4000 y. BCE
Mesopotamia. The earliest observations of celestial bodies and predictions based on these observations.
2000 -1600 y. BCE
During the Old Babylonian period, vast libraries of celestial sign observations were compiled, standardized, and organized into collections. The most popular of these compilations was Enuma Anu Enlil.
721 - 609 y. BCE
In the Neo-Assyrian Empire, there were at least 10 different astrology “universities” where elite astrologers were trained. These astrologers regularly sent letters to kings with reports on astronomical observations and astrological predictions. Correspondence between astrologers and Kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal has survived to this day.
500 y. BCE
A Mesopotamian secular astrology text was translated into the Egyptian language.
~5 c. BCE
In Mesopotamia, the zodiac was standardized into 12 signs, with each sign allocated 30 degrees. Ephemerides were developed, allowing astrologers to no longer observe the movements and positions of celestial bodies with the naked eye. This period also saw the first inklings of the concept of natal astrology. The earliest surviving natal astrology charts date back to 410 BCE.
~3 c. BCE
The twelve-sign zodiac was introduced to Egypt, after which it began to be depicted on the walls of Egyptian temples and tombs. In some of these zodiac representations, the Egyptians incorporated the sky deities known as decans, created around 2100 BCE, which are now referred to as houses, as related parts of the zodiac system.
1-2 c. BCE
Hellenistic astrology developed with four key components that had not been unified before: planets, zodiac signs, aspects, and the house system.
43 y. BCE, 72 y. BCE
The earliest surviving and dated birth horoscopes in Greek have been found. Both horoscopes were composed by the 1st-century astrologer Balbillus.
38 y. BCE
Horoscopes written in Demotic script by Egyptian priests have also been found and preserved.
~14-36 y.
The earliest surviving dated technical astrology manuals are Manilius’s Astronomica (~14 AD) and Thrasyllus’s The Tablet (Pinax, ~36 AD). In these works, both authors reference earlier astrologers such as Hermes Trismegistus, Nechepso, and Petosiris, and their works, which have not survived in full form and are difficult to date.
149-150 y.
A Greek known as Yavanesvara translated a Hellenistic astrology text into Sanskrit in the city of Ujjain, India, adapting it to the needs of the local religions and society. The work is titled “Yavanajataka,” from Sanskrit: yavana meaning ‘Greeks’ + jātaka meaning ‘astrological birth chart calculation,’ which translates to ‘Greek astrological birth chart calculation.’
269-270 y.
Another Hellenized Greek known as Sphujidhvaja rewrote the Yavanajataka into an instructional poem, which has survived to this day. These works had a significant influence on the development of Indian astrology, as there had been no such complex system with zodiac signs, planets, aspects, and houses before. The locals had a lunar “zodiac” called nakshatras, which they later integrated with the Hellenistic system.
~2 c.
During the approximate height of the Roman Empire, Hellenistic astrology also flourished and was widely practiced.
~222-267 y.
Hellenistic astrology also reached the Sassanid Empire, as the kings sent envoys to India, China, and Rome to collect the scientific texts of the time. Fragments of works by Dorotheus of Sidon and Vettius Valens’s “Anthology” arrived and were translated into Middle Persian—Pahlavi. The texts of these two authors, along with a few others, laid the foundation for the development of Persian astrology. Unfortunately, not many sources from this tradition have survived, as many texts were destroyed during wartime.
~3 c.
With the decline of the Roman Empire, the downfall of Hellenistic astrology began.
313 y.
Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
357 y. 409 y.425 y.
Strict decrees were introduced, declaring the practice of astrology illegal. Initially, astrologers were given a choice: to burn their books or face exile. After some time, no choices were left, and the aim became to eliminate both astrologers and their books entirely.
5 c.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, astrology almost entirely disappeared in Western Europe due to widespread illiteracy, lack of knowledge of the Greek language, and the loss of Roman culture. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Roman Empire—Byzantium—astrology continued to thrive. In the 7th century, Byzantium still ruled Egypt, one of the main centers of astrological practice, which prolonged the survival of astrology.
529 y.
The Byzantine Emperor Justinian closed the philosophy schools in Athens that taught “pagan” philosophy. He also carried out persecutions of astrologers.
619 y., 629 y., 639 y., 642 y.
In 619 AD, the Sassanids (Persian Empire) conquered Egypt, and in 629 AD, Byzantium reclaimed it. In 639 AD, the Islamic Empire conquered Egypt and by 642 AD took over Alexandria. A new language, culture, and theology overtook the homeland of Hellenistic astrology, where the tradition still existed. This event is considered the end of the Hellenistic astrology tradition.
~8 c.
Astrology flourished in the Islamic Empire during the Abbasid dynasty, as they were open to learning, scholarship, and were particularly interested in astrology. When they decided to move their capital from Damascus to Baghdad, they convened a group of astrologers and asked them to select the most auspicious date for the founding of the new capital, which the astrologers did. In 762 AD, Baghdad was founded and became the new scientific center of the time. Some of the earliest surviving texts translated into Arabic were astrological texts. Dorotheus’s texts were translated twice into Arabic from the Sasanian Pahlavi language, along with Vettius Valens’s “Anthology,” Rhetorius’s “Compendium,” and Ptolemy’s “Tetrabiblos.” At the same time, texts were also translated from Persia and India, creating a unique blend that formed Arabic astrology. The language of astrological texts shifted from Greek to Arabic, and Baghdad became the center of astrology, much like Alexandria had been before.
12 c.
During the Second Crusade, when Muslim lands in Spain were conquered, Europeans discovered vast libraries of Arabic scientific books, including 8th-9th century translated works on astrology. As a result, these texts began to be translated from Arabic into Latin. After a long hiatus, astrology was reintroduced to Europe. However, this was not a revival of Hellenistic astrology; it was a mixture of early Hellenistic, Persian, and Indian traditions.
12 c.
At this time, universities were being established across Europe, and astrology was one of the disciplines taught. It was strongly integrated into the field of medicine, so students were required to learn the basics of astrology in order to use it as a diagnostic tool.
15 -17 c.
After the invention of the printing press, 12th-century Latin translations of astrological texts from Arabic were printed and became more widely accessible to the public. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, European scholars flooded into the dying Byzantine Empire and brought back previously unseen astrological texts written in Greek. During the Renaissance, astrology experienced a resurgence. The astrology practiced in Europe at that time was a synthesis of sources from the 12th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
17-20 c.
Due to various social, political, and scientific factors, the practice and understanding of astrology declined. The last notable period for astrology was in England with the work of astrologer William Lilly and his contemporaries. William Lilly published the first astrology book in English, “Christian Astrology,” in 1647, but this was not enough to protect astrology from its decline.
20 c.
In the first half of the 20th century, what we now call modern astrology developed. Alan Leo successfully popularized and simplified astrological techniques. He was involved in the Theosophical movement, which led to astrology being associated with the New Age movement. In the 1930s, astrologer Dane Rudhyar reconceptualized astrology as a profound tool for psychological and character analysis. This concept gained significant popularity from the 1960s to the 1980s. Western astrology became primarily focused on character analysis and psychological self-reflection.