History of the Zodiac Astrology and 50 similar items

Birkitts Books presents ...History of the Zodiac ISBN: 1597311529 Author: Powell, Robert Publisher: Sophia Foundation Press Release Date: 2007 Seller Category: Science and Nature Qty Available: 1 Condition: Used: Very Good Sku: 240830031 Notes: Minor shelf wear, binding tight, pages clean and unmarked. Robert Powell, Ph.D., born in Reading, England, taught mathematics and statistics at Brighton University. He is the author of numerous works and now presents in book form his doctoral thesis on the history of the zodiac. The zodiac was first clearly defined by the Babylonians some 2500 years ago, but until recently the basis of this original definition remained unknown. This zodiac of the Babylonians, known as the sidereal zodiac because it is specified in direct relation to the stars (Latin sidera, `stars'), was used for centuries throughout the ancient world, all the way to India, and must be distinguished from the tropical zodiac in widespread use by astrologers in the West today, which was introduced into astrology in the middle of the second century A.D. by the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy. Such was Ptolemy's influence, however, that the tropical zodiac gained prominence and, except for its survival in a variant form in India, knowledge of the sidereal zodiac was lost. In this penetrating study of the history of the zodiac, first submitted in 2004 as his Ph.D. thesis, Robert Powell restores the sidereal zodiac to its rightful place as the original zodiac, tracing it back to the Babylonians in the fifth century B.C. The implications of this rediscovery of the original zodiac are immense, the key point being that the signs of the sidereal zodiac, each thirty degrees long, coincide closely with the twelve astronomical constellations of the same name, whereas the signs of the tropical zodiac, since they are defined in relation to the vernal point, now have no direct relationship to the corresponding zodiacal constellations, owing to the precession of the equinoxes. This carefully researched history of the zodiac includes chapters on the Egyptian decans and the Hindu nakshatras, showing how these sidereal divisions, which originated in Egypt and India, are related to the original Babylonian zodiac. By illuminating the history of the tropical zodiac in widespread use at the present time, light is also shed on the controversy surrounding the 'zodiac question' (tropical vs. sidereal), showing that originally the tropical division was not a zodiac at all, but a calendar for describing the course of the seasons. This book, the fruit of thirty years of research, is intended not only for scholars but for general readers as well, and offers the clearest and most comprehensive study of the history of the zodiac yet published. "Robert Powell's dissertation refers to a problem fundamental to the earliest reflections concerning celestial space: that of the measurement of the heavens by ordering the stars and constellations in a coordinate system. The author also presents a tool which can be useful for further research work: the reconstructed Babylonian star catalogue." Professor Grazyna Rosinska, Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of SciencesDon't forget to check out other great deals in our Store!!