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Interactions Between Greek and Babylonian Thought in Seleucid Uruk

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Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk

Part of the book series: Why the Sciences of the Ancient World Matter ((WSAWM,volume 2))

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Abstract

This contribution investigates two aspects of the complex network of mutual influences between Greek and Babylonian knowledge in the late first millennium. The first one is the transformation of the ancient Mesopotamian constellation of the Hired Man into that of the Ram, better known through its Greek version inherited by the West. The other one raises the possibility that Pythagorean cosmological views might be reflected in a scholarly text from Uruk dated to the year 225 BCE.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The tablet is published and edited in Beaulieu et al. (2018) together with similar texts.

  2. 2.

    The name of Ina-qibīt-Anu is restored but certain because of his genealogy and titles. That Ina-qibīt-Anu bears the title šassukku Enūma Anu Enlil instead of the expected tupšar Enūma Anu Enlil is consonant with the learned nature of the text. The equation šassukku = tupšarru was very probably taken from Malku IV 11 (Hruša 2010: 92), the only lexical text where it appears (CAD Š/II 145, s.v. šassukku, lex. section). As discussed below, MLC 1866 quotes another entry from Malku on line 14 (aslum = immer).

  3. 3.

    References to Anu-aḫu-ušabši are collected by Grainger (1997: 195), who gives his years of activity as 251/250-228/227 BCE. The genealogical tree of the family is reconstructed by Clancier (2009: 63).

  4. 4.

    Apart from Kurtik (2007, in Russian), there is no recent comprehensive study of the Mesopotamian constellations and their history. A useful summary and comparison with the Mediterranean traditions is given by Rogers (1998a, b).

  5. 5.

    The text is discussed by Foxvog (1993: 107). The association of Aries with the vernal equinox and the beginning of the spring was imbedded in the series MUL.APIN , I ii 36. DIŠ ina ITI BÁRA UD 1-KAM MUL LÚ.ḪUN.GÁ IGI.LÁ ‘On the first day of the month of Nisannu, the Hired Man becomes visible’ (Hunger and Pingree 1989: 40; Watson and Horowitz 2011: 70, 189). Because of precession, however, the vernal equinox was moving towards Pisces in the period when MLC 1866 was written.

  6. 6.

    Wallenfels (1994: 116–117, 153); Kurtik (2007: 730, Fig. 14).

  7. 7.

    This was proposed by Ungnad (1944: 256, n. 37). MÚL LU/UDU for the constellation of the Ram also appears in VAT 7851: 7, for which see Weidner (1967: 14, n. 31) who notes that the sign is indeed LU, and not KU standing as an abbreviation for (LÚ).ḪUN.GÁ.

  8. 8.

    The equivalence aslu = immeru occurs only in the lexical series Malku V 25 (CAD A/II 336, s.v. aslu A; Hruša 2010: 110), and MLC 1866 appears therefore to quote that line.

  9. 9.

    One must also note that TU 19 seems to have UR.ḪUN.GÁ; the text is edited by Hunger (1976: 246–249, rev. 31). MÚL UR.ḪUN.GÁ KI KI.LAM LÚ.DAM.GÀR; Hunger (1976: 260) explains UR instead of LÚ by the common equation UR = amīlu in lexical texts, but it seems better to assume that the sign copied as UR is in fact LU since the two signs often look identical in that period. TU 19 belonged to Anu-aḫu-ušabši and was copied by his son Ina-qibīt-Anu , the same one who also copied MLC 1866 ; therefore it seems almost certain that we must read MÚL LU(UDU).ḪUN.GÁ in TU 19: rev. 31, the same writing which appears in MLC 1866 , col. I, 13 and 15. The long spelling LU(UDU).ḪUN.GÁ may reflect a family tradition.

  10. 10.

    The Hired Man (Aries) is associated with Dumuzi in MUL.APIN I i 43. MUL LÚ ḪUN.GÁ ddumu.zi (Hunger and Pingree 1989: 30), and also in the late commentary STC 1, 217: 9. MUL LÚ.ḪUN.GÁ = ddumu-zi = dqin-g[u]. The association of Dumuzi with the Constellation Aries is discussed by Foxvog (1993).

  11. 11.

    Kurtik (2007: 276).

  12. 12.

    Plays on homophones in scholarly texts and the use of homophones in non-scholarly contexts became quite common during the Persian and Hellenistic eras.

  13. 13.

    Wallenfels (1994: 116).

  14. 14.

    For the description of the Ram in Eratosthenes , see the recent edition by Pàmias and Zucker (2013: 60–61 and 217–222). They consider a Babylonian origin unlikely given that the position it occupies (with seventeen stars listed by Eratosthenes ) overlaps the Babylonian constellations of the Hired Man and the Field. Aratus is mostly concerned with the position of the Ram in relation to other constellations (edition by Maier and Maier 1921: 206–299).

  15. 15.

    Rackham (1938: 188–189).

  16. 16.

    Evans (2012).

  17. 17.

    For a similar, more speculative notion of transfer based on assonance, see West (1997: 30) who claims that the Babylonian constellation ikû, ‘the Field’ was reinterpreted in Mycenean Greece as ikwos, ‘horse’, then hippos in the first millennium to eventually become the winged horse Pegasus in the classical world. A similar proposal was already put forward by Ungnad (1923: 87–88).

  18. 18.

    Another interesting case is discussed by Reiner (2000: 427) who edits a late astrological text from Babylon in which the term umāmu, ‘beasts’ (written ú-ma-mu) appears to refer to the zodiac . She raises the possibility that the term is a reflection of Greek zoa ‘living beings, animals’, from which the term ‘zodiac ’ was created.

  19. 19.

    Beaulieu (1995).

  20. 20.

    These family relations are recently reconstructed by Gabbay (2014: 270–271).

  21. 21.

    A late date of composition can further be argued from such spellings as ellet instead of elletu (line 3) and kullat instead of kullati (line 5), which reflect late Babylonian pronunciation without final vowels. A copy of an earlier text would more likely (though not systematically) adhere to traditional orthography.

  22. 22.

    Beaulieu (2015a, b).

  23. 23.

    Litke (1998: 29), line 75. ddúru.(du-ru-na)na = ŠU.

  24. 24.

    Lambert (2013: 50).

  25. 25.

    Lambert (2013: 3–4, 328–329).

  26. 26.

    First edition by Borger (1971). The incantation has been translated by Seux (1976: 492–493); and also by Foster (2005: 766).

  27. 27.

    The term ašru is confusing. Horowitz (1998: 225) claims that ašru must mean ‘heaven’, and indeed the term is equated with AN and šamû in late lexical texts and commentaries (CAD A/2 456b, s.v. ašru lex. section). However, ašru is also an equivalent of erṣetu, which would make more sense since all other epithets of Enmešarra in this text associate him with the netherworld. Seux (1976: 492, n. 6) proposes the translation ‘lord of (this) place’ (also adopted by Foster 2005: 766), observing the parallel with other parts of the text which use the word ašru to designate the place where the temple must be rebuilt.

  28. 28.

    Cavigneaux (2000, 228–232).

  29. 29.

    Geller (2014: 61–62).

  30. 30.

    Lambert (2013: 470).

  31. 31.

    See footnote 30.

  32. 32.

    See footnote 30.

  33. 33.

    This meaning is proposed by Horowitz (1998: 225), and it is repeated in the edition of Enūma eliš by Kämmerer and Metzler (2012: 390), who give the translation of Anduruna as ‘(Wo) Anu-wohnt,’ and explain it as ‘seltener literarischer Name für den Himmel’.

  34. 34.

    Horowitz (1998: 225).

  35. 35.

    Indeed, the catch-line of MLC 1890 appears to understand the term as ddúr-ru-na since it is repeated as dŠU, which presumes that what is repeated is prefixed with the divine determinative.

  36. 36.

    One should note in this connection that after his victory against Tiāmat in Enūma eliš , Marduk weaves her tail into a durmaḫu ‘great bond’ (Tablet V, 59; Lambert 2013: 100–101, 487). This is clearly the cosmic bond holding together the various parts of the universe.

  37. 37.

    Civil (1973: 172–175).

  38. 38.

    CAD T 420, s.v. tinūru, lex. section.

  39. 39.

    Huffman (1993: 395–400).

  40. 40.

    Huffman (1993: 400–401).

  41. 41.

    Aristotle is quoted according to Guthrie (1939: 218–219); in that section Aristotle gives his account of the cosmological theory of the Pythagoreans, including the fire which stands at the centre.

  42. 42.

    Huffman (1993: 397).

  43. 43.

    Huffman (1993: 253–254).

  44. 44.

    It is possible that Aristarchus of Samos, the main proponent of a heliocentric cosmos in Antiquity, may have been influenced by Philolaus, but this cannot be proven. Copernicus himself claimed to have been influenced by Philolaus. This question has provoked much scholarly debate as to the extent of Pythagorean influence on the rise of heliocentrism (e.g. Burkert 1972: 337–350). Interestingly, the main supporter of the heliocentric theory of Aristarchus in Antiquity was a Hellenized Babylonian known as Seleucus the Babylonian or Seleucus the Chaldean, who lived in the second century BCE (Heath 1913: 305–307).

  45. 45.

    Huffman (1993: 397).

  46. 46.

    It must also be noted that, as a member of the Titans, the second generation of gods that preceded the Olympian gods and were defeated by them, Rhea belonged to a group of vanquished gods. From a Mesopotamian perspective, her identification with the cosmic centre seems therefore natural in view of the traditions placing Enmešarra and Anzû, and by association Tiāmat, in that position. Tiāmat was also a mother goddess according to Enūma eliš .

  47. 47.

    In the introduction to his book on Melothesia in Babylonia , Geller (2014: 1) aptly refers to this phenomenon as an ancient globalization of knowledge.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 269804.

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  1. University of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S-1C1, Canada

    Paul-Alain Beaulieu

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  1. Laboratoire SPHERE UMR 7219, Université Paris Diderot—CNRS, Paris, France

    Christine Proust

  2. Department of Egyptology and Assyriology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    John Steele

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Beaulieu, PA. (2019). Interactions Between Greek and Babylonian Thought in Seleucid Uruk. In: Proust, C., Steele, J. (eds) Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk. Why the Sciences of the Ancient World Matter, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04176-2_8

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