The birth omens in Greece (1)

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The Stoic philosopher Chrysippus analyzed the conditional “If someone is born when Canicula (Sirius) is rising, he will not die in the ocean” (Cicero, De Fato 12). This appears to be related to a record in a Babylonian principal manual of instruction “The place of Cancer: death in the ocean” (TCL 6 14.23). This correlation, shows that the Babylonian science of birth omens was known in the Greek world by the late 3rd century BCE. The Babylonian birth omens were probably known in Greece even long before the Stoic philosophers debated about their validity.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Cicero, De Fato 12
TCL 6 14.23

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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