Both mystery and romance have ever been associated with the Zodiac, that
imaginary girdle encircling the earth through which the sun, moon, and the
planets pass during the year. The word is derived from the Greek, meaning
a little animal or group of animals. Its division into signs or parts is
attributed to the Sumerian and Akkadian races that peopled the hills and valleys
on the banks of the Euphrates at a very early period.
Originally the Zodiacal Signs consisted of Taurus the bull, Cancer the tortoise or crab, Virgo (probably a moon goddess), Scorpio the scorpion, Capricorn the goat-man goat-fish, and Pisces the fisherman. Later came Aries the ram, Gemini the twins, Leo the lion, Libra the balance or scales and Sagittarius the bowman or archer. To these Aquarius the water-bearer was added which completed the twelve signs.
Many and various reasons have been suggested for the choice of these symbols from time to time, and although some appear to form a probable solution of the mystery, none of the conjectures are entirely satisfactory. Pluché and Dupuis, for instance, endeavored to establish the principles of an astro-mythology by tracing the progress of the Moon through the twelve signs in a series of adventures which may be compared to the wanderings of Isis.
It should be remembered that the first observers were men who depended for their subsistence on a familiarity with the changes of the seasons. They watched the stars singly and in groups and thus probably began to associate them with familiar objects, both animate and inanimate.
There seems to be little doubt that the flocks and herds first suggested such names as the bull and the ram. The figures and shapes of men, horses, birds and fishes would be naturally recognized, as would the implements of husbandry like the plough, and the weapons of the huntsman. Their enemies the lion, and the bear, and their friend the dog, suggested names for some of the constellations and finally the altar, on which the first fruits of harvest and vintage were presented or the flesh of lambs or goats consumed by sacrificial fire, would be figured by the fanciful eye among the orbs of heaven.
Others attribute the origin of some of the signs to the Egyptians and the Greeks. The latter peopled the sky with their fabulous heroes and poetical myths. Thus among the constellations, Sagittarius was attributed to the centaur, and Aries the ram, on account of its association with the golden fleece. Then we have Perseus and Andromeda and Orion the gigantic hunter, all derived from Greek mythology.
On the other hand there is evidence that certain of the signs are of greater antiquity, as instanced in the Scorpion, which is carved on some of the Babylonian boundary stones which date back to the Kassite period. There is a legend recorded in the Assyrian tablets, in which a scorpion-man who guarded the gate leading to the Masu mountain played an important part. He and his wife watched the sun at rising and setting.
On some of the ancient Babylonian boundary stones there are representatives in miniature of the aspect which the heavens presented to the people of that period. The disks of the Sun and Moon together with Venus-Ishtar are represented, as also the symbols of the Scorpion, the Bird, the Dog, the thunderbolt of Adad, the Mace, the Dragon who embraces in his folds half the entire firmament, the Tortoise and the Archer.
Long before the time of Assurbanipal the eighth month was known to the Babylonians as "the month of the star of scorpio," the tenth month belonged to the "star of the goat," and the twelfth to the "star of the Fish of Ea."
There is an allusion to Gemini in a Babylonian tablet recording an observation about 273 BC. The translation is given as follows: "On the 18th - cloudy and dark - on the night of the 19th in the morning the moon was distant about 6 ammat from the westerly Twin."
As the Babylonian doctrines spread to other countries they became grafted on to native beliefs; this is shown in the Zodiac adopted by the Egyptians who substituted the hippopotamus, the jackal, and the thigh for draco, the little bear, and the great bear respectively. In some inscriptions also the crocodile is represented in place of the hippopotamus, as it was regarded sacred by some local tribes.
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Original text by C J S Thompson, edited and revised by D. J. McAdam. © 2004-2006. Please note: all applicable material on this website is protected by copyright law and may not be copied without express written permission.
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