We’ve argued [LINK] that the Mycenaean-era Greeks shaped much of the northern sky, placed some of their own heroes in the sky,
At the same time, we propose that they adopted the figures of the Zodiac.
Western astrology, with its focus on the motions of the planets and the moon and the sun, has origins in Mesopotamia. (For more on this history, see Rogers [LINK].) By the first part of the second millennium, the practice was well-established among many of the peoples in this region. Evidence suggests that astrology evolved long before the invention of stellar longitude and latitude. Which leads us to wonder, how did these people measure the movements of the planets?
The answer is simple, once you see it: Describe the motions of the moon, sun and planets relative to the fixed stars. But this simplicity comes with a catch: you need to develop a standardized map and nomenclature for the stars.
Well, some of the stars. Solar, lunar and planetary motions, as it happens, are confined to a particular band of the sky. For this region, an accounting of readily identified stars was needed, even to the fifth and sixth magnitude. This is the origin of the Zodiac – an international metrological standard. Beyond this band, north and south, a less-rigorous mapping sufficed, marking the brightest of stars. But the zone of the Zodiac was standardized, and tightly mapped out, because these stars were used in tracking the motions of sun, moon and planets.
Science is the study of ‘how does it work?’
Metrology is the craft of measuring ‘it’
The zodiac was invented as a metrological tool
for tracking the motions of moon, sun and planets
Mesopotamian-style astrology spread along well-established trade routes from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean coast, from Joppa in the south to Phoenicia in the north, and beyond to southern Anatolia. Those who adopted the practice also adopted the stars of the Zodiac.
Not everyone took to the practice. The Egyptians almost certainly knew of Mesopotamian astronomy and astrology, but pursued instead their own version of astronomology.
In the same way, the peoples of the AEgean might have known of Mesopotamian and Egyptian practices, but probably had their own traditions of the stars. The radiation of Anatolian agricultural practice likely included a tradition of calendar stars to mark the passing of the year, and the times of planting and harvest and festivals and such. The Minoans of Crete, and other sailors of the Mediterranean must have mapped the northern sky to aid in navigation, and to track the time at night. The proto-Greek horseriders probably contributed some star figures of their own – who but a rider would see a Horse in the stars?
The evidence of history tells that the Greeks eventually adopted Mesopotamian astrology. The evidence of myth suggests that this practice didn’t hold sway until the rise of the cult of Zeus.
We have argued that the stars of ancient Greece were put in the sky around 1400 BCE (+/- 50 years or so). As a result, heroes of Mycenaean-era Greece fill wide swaths of the sky. But there’s a region they do not impinge upon – the band of the Zodiac.
This suggests that the Greeks of the Mycenaean era practiced Mesopotamian astrology, and along with it the twelve standard figures of the Zodiac. If true, then astrologers would certainly have been involved in shaping the Mycenaean sky, and would not have allowed the new Greek figures to impinge upon the Zodiacal standard. (See also The Eye of Horus [LINK] for some thoughts on reshaping the sky.)
We can imagine two scenarios leading to this. Perhaps the Poseidon-era Greeks (and/or the Minoans) had adopted Mesopotamian astrology and its associated Zodiac, and Zeus-era Greeks held to this tradition. Alternately, the Zeus-era Greeks of Mycenae might have adopted the Mesopotamian zodiac on their own, one more factor distinguishing them from their Poseidon-era forebears, and from the Minoans.
We favor the latter, on the evidence of myth.
The stories of Greek mythology don’t connect Poseidon with the sky. He begins as a god of horses, and evolves into a god of the sea and of ships (and of horses); but he’s not to be found in the stars.
But the lineage of Zeus is intimately involved with the planets. We’ve got Hermes/Mercury, and Ares/Mars, both children of Zeus/Jupiter, who in turn was born of Cronos/Saturn. There’s Apollo, lord of the sun, and his twin sister Selene, mistress of the moon, children of Zeus. (Aphrodite/Venus is an exception, with her own unique origin story.) The addition of planetary gods to the lineage of Zeus suggests – no, it shouts that the Zeus-cult embraced planetary astrology.
The fact that the planetary deities are tied to the Zeus-cult suggests that the early Greeks did not adopt the Mesopotamian practice of astrology – for if they had, there likely would have been some planetary deities in place before Zeus came along. The strong ties of Zeus to the planets, and the absence of Poseidon from the sky, together suggest that the Zeus-cult was able to claim the planets because the early Poseidon-centric Olympian culture did not track the planets in the Mesopotamian manner.
There’s no evidence that the Minoans followed the planets in the manner of the Sumerians and Babylonians. On the other hand, as expert sailors, it’s fair to guess that the Minoans were also expert astronomers. We presume that they were probably aware of Venus and Mars and Jupiter, at least; but can neither prove nor disprove the notion.
We’ve tried to keep our presumptions pretty firmly grounded. Here, we’re going to get a bit crazy and suggest that maybe the Minoans paid particular attention to Venus, the bright morning / evening star which never gets too far from the horizon. If so, then we might guess that Aphrodite/Venus was originally an ocean-goddess who’d been adopted by the Poseidon-era Greeks. All the other planets, as well as the sun and moon were claimed as the family of Zeus; but Venus was of an independent lineage. Did she have Minoan roots? Or maybe a Cycladic origin? Just thinking out loud here. . . .
Taken all together, the evidence suggests that the Mycenaean-era Greeks adopted the Mesopotamian practice of astrology, tracking the motions of the planets as omens of good or ill. When they reshaped the sky, in addition to their own heroes, they adopted the standard figures of the Zodiac.