Hieroscopy

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Hieroscopy ( sacrifice viewing , from ancient Greek ἱερός hieros "sacred", "sacrifice" and ancient Greek σκοπεῖν "to look at"), also hieromancy (fortune telling from sacrificial material, from ancient Greek ἱερός hieros and ancient Greek μαντεία manteia " divinatory procedures, which divinatorical methods denote.") try to predict the future through sacrificial material . Mostly the apparently most important process of this kind is meant , the sign interpretation from sacrificial animals , especially from their liver ( liver inspection ), but other materials such as flour, wine, smoke ( capnomancy ), bird flight (ornithomancy) could also be used Lightning (fulguration), from sacrificial animals (haruspicium), from fire (pyromancy) and the like are used.

The basic assumption of this divinatory technique in fortune telling was that (certain) people were able to recognize meaningful patterns in random events . Gods and transcendent beings ( spirit beings , supranaturalism ) used them as a means to make their intentions known to those who were able to understand and interpret the signs .

Hieroscopy has been documented for many ancient and some modern cultures. The richest source material comes from the ancient Orient , where relevant manuals, protocols and inquiries were written in cuneiform on clay tablets that have survived. Hieroscopy is also documented for the peoples of classical antiquity , the Etruscans , Romans and Greeks , but there are hardly any written records here. It is assumed that the place of origin of these procedures is to be found in the ancient oriental region, where it also became of the greatest importance.

The designation for someone who practices hieromancy is accordingly hieromance .

meaning

From the 2nd and 1st millennium BC The divinatory literature of the ancient Orient assumed an enormous extent. Omina and oracle were understood primarily as warnings. They should offer the opportunity to take countermeasures early on. In the deeply religiously rooted Old Orient, however, expected disasters were not primarily understood as human guilt, but especially as divine will, which was then also politically exploited by the rulers. This high status of oracles is also attested by the documented swearing-in of sign interpreters or the order to steal divinatory specialist literature.

In classical antiquity, the term Chaldeans , also used synonymously for Babylonians , referred to the astrologers, sign interpreters, conjurers and scholars working in Rome and Greece. This must be seen as a reflection of a perceived close connection between the science of sign interpretation and Mesopotamia.

Relationship to other divination methods

In addition to hieroscopy, other divinatory processes were also used in antiquity, each of which had specific tasks. Especially in the 1st millennium BC In BC, astrology in particular gained in importance, and it was believed that it provided permanent information about the relationship between kings and gods. In contrast to this, the interpretation of earthly Omina was related to the people in whose sphere of life they had occurred; an exception to this was the occurrence of freak births . What these methods have in common, however, is that they relate to randomly occurring "characters" and therefore did not offer any permanent information. In contrast, the oracle process of hierarchy could be carried out at any time and thus provoked signs could be produced. A great deal of trust was placed in these procedures, but the competence of the sign interpreter was sometimes called into question, so that they could not work in all areas of life.

Viscera

The entrails or Extiszipin (entrails of Latin equivalent extispicium ) is the most important and best testified Divinationsverfahren in ancient times, which is why many pars pro toto is called Hieroskopie in the strict sense. With the exception of Egypt, it was widespread throughout the ancient Mediterranean and the Middle East. Insights into the future were gained by observing a sacrificial animal, usually a lamb, before and during slaughter, and by inspecting its skeleton and innards. As the final authority to legitimize all kinds of political decisions, this procedure was of the utmost importance. It had its sacramental character, so that it had to be performed by a professional shiver of sacrifice embedded in a ritual framework.

The liver viewing ( Greek hepatoscopy) was one of the central and most widespread practices of the sacrificial viewing in ancient oracles and omenology . Understood in terms of the result of a divination, it is also referred to as hepatomanty, a divination from the liver and representative of the other viscera. It still plays an occasional role in some traditional Asian cultures today.

Sources

The ancient oriental tradition traces the intestinal inspection back to Enmenduranki , the first antediluvian king of Sippar , to whom the method was revealed by the gods Adad and Šamaš so that he could teach the people. In fact, the viscera is a very old process, as an inscription Ur-Nanšes von Lagaš shows, which testifies to the appointment of a high priest by visually inspecting the viscera; Corresponding evidence can then also be found from the time of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur and the Isin-Larsa period . In addition, there is the mention of the profession of the victim spectator in lexical lists from Fāra , Abū ṢalābĪḫ and Ebla . The sources are more extensive , especially from the ancient Babylonian period, when numerous omen collections offer insights into the practice of inspecting the entrails. Through historical references, they testify to the important role that the intestinal inspection had already played during the time of the Akkade Empire . Especially from the later Old Babylonian period, the intestinal inspection is documented in different types of text.

The first group is made up of written offerings , which over time have been combined into whole collections of omens. They occur suddenly from the 18th century BC. When the tradition of oral interpretation, presumably up to now, was first set down in writing. This can be seen against the background of the emergence of the ancient Babylonian empire, where experiences and teachings from different origins were brought together and incorporated into a standardized curriculum. Based on orthographic conventions, two main text groups can be identified as sources of these traditions, which originate on the one hand from the area of ​​ancient Sumer and on the other hand from the region around Sippar . During the 2nd millennium BC These text traditions were continued and merged into extensive omen series . As later in the 1st millennium BC Even then, it was customary to adopt complex orthographic conventions based on the use of logograms . At the end of the 2nd millennium, the literature on the sacrificial exhibition experienced massive canonization and series formation, which resulted in the iškar bānûti work comprising 100 plates as the end product. which can be found for the first time in the library of Assurbanipal and has been handed down to the Seleucid-Parthian period. Its 10 sub-series deal with individual parts of the process of the shiver of sacrifice. The apodoses of the omens collected in it deal almost exclusively with the interests of the king or the state.

In addition to the omen collections, the omen commentaries form another important source group. These are reference works grouped into series, which summarized comments, sometimes several tables in length, for each series of the omen collection . The most extensive work of this type was named mukallimtu and is first documented in the library of Assurbanipal. In particular, this work compiled the redundant terminologies used in the omen collections and explained the corresponding terms. Some of them also contained questions for the Victim Show exams. The 10th sub-series by iškar bānûti called multābiltu , which in turn consisted of seventeen tablets, also belongs to this genre . It names the associations that are important for the interpretation of a finding, but overall it has not yet been fully explored. A special group within this text group are the orientation boards , which name the topography of the parts of sacrificial animal innards and assign them to specific areas. They have come down to us on clay tablets and on liver models.

In addition to written sources, archaeological sources have also come down to the entrails. Among them, models and drawings of victim displays occupy a special position. For example, there are models of animal livers, animal lungs, animal intestines and a copy of a model of sheep's spleen. Markings on these models could then clarify various victimization findings.

A number of sacrificial viewing protocols and inquiries have also been preserved from the ancient and especially from the Middle Babylonian period . They contain brief descriptions of the victim shows and their final evaluation. Most of these panels come from the archives of wealthy private households or, in the case of Mari , from the royal palace. Corresponding descriptions can also be found on the sacrificial viewing requests from the Neo-Assyrian kings, who also reveal a prayer to the sun god and the actual oracle request. With these texts, however, the conclusive assessment of the findings is not made.

scope of application

As early as the early dynasty , royalty primarily made use of the viscera. These procedures made it possible to receive answers even to complex questions and, on the other hand, offered the opportunity to obtain divine confirmation for important decisions quickly and at any time. In this function it was also used in ancient Babylonian times and up to the 1st millennium BC. Used. As politically explosive knowledge, both the objects of the oracle inquiries and the techniques of the discipline were subject to strict secrecy. After all, a particularly large number of inquiries were made about military-strategic decisions and about a worsening political situation. As a rule, the inquiries are limited to a certain period of validity of the response; some inquiries were also carried out on tour, for example about the functionality of the army. Inquiries also related to personnel matters, building projects or the question of whether the king should take a certain drug. In particular, the victim show also served to verify forecasts that had emerged from other divinatory processes.

In addition to royalty, wealthier private households could also use the viscera. Corresponding inquiries relate above all to the health of the questioner and his family, but also to business questions, the loyalty of the wife or the meaning of dreams.

Practical implementation

The intestinal inspection was a complex process that was embedded in a ritual and carried out by professional spectators. Usually this position was inherited within a family. In the Neo-Assyrian period in particular, important issues were examined by several independent teams of victims in order to prevent errors and fraud. All in all, the procedure of an intestinal inspection can only be traced in the main to this day.

execution

Entrails inspections were generally only carried out on days deemed suitable for this. The ritual then began with the cultic cleansing of the sacrificial shiver, who had to close his ears with tamarisk and cedar . This was followed by prayers to the stars and the personal gods of the sacrificial giver, who were summoned through invocations, prayers and food offerings as well as incense. Then the concern, stylized in the form of a decision-making question , was whispered in the ear of the flawless sacrificial animal before it was slaughtered. Parts of his flesh then had to be offered to the sun and weather gods. They were presented with a clay tablet with the victim's request and his fingernail print. The severed head of the victim was placed in front of the victim before the inspection of the bowels could begin.

Before the sacrificial animal was cut up, the victim had to make a series of observations that were incorporated into the overall findings. Then the intestines were examined first and the shape and number documented before they were removed. The same procedure was followed with the other organs, the heart and lungs being examined very carefully. By far the greatest attention was paid to the inside of the liver of the victim. This was searched counterclockwise for certain features and rated as positive or negative depending on location and appearance. On the one hand, each individual finding was assigned a future-related significance; on the other hand, the victim's shower determined the end result of the procedure by counting the positive and negative liver markings.

interpretation

During the liver show, 13 parts of the liver were given special attention and each was given a name. These goods:

  1. Furrow on the lobus sinister: naplastum (gaze) or manzāzum (point of view)
  2. Furrow at the top of the lobus sinister: padānum (path)
  3. folded ventrolateral edge of the lobus sinister: naṣraptum (staining vat)
  4. ligamentum teres hepatis: danānum (strength)
  5. incisura ligamenti teretis: bāb ekallim (palace gate)
  6. Furrow on the lobus quadratus: šulmum (welfare)
  7. Gallbladder: martum (bitter)
  8. indented furrow on the lobus dexter: tākultum (pocket)
  9. Furrow on the lobus dexter adjacent to the gallbladder: padān imitti marti (path to the right of the bitter ones)
  10. Part of the lobus dexter: nīdi kussîm (location of the throne)
  11. processus caudatus: ubānum (finger)
  12. processus papillaris: ṣibtum (growth)
  13. Temple between lobus caudatus and lobus sinister: nīrum (yoke)

Various markers could appear at these points, which had a positive or negative meaning depending on their location. The most important of these markers were

  • strongly protruding lymph nodes: erištum ( translation unclear )
  • club-shaped outgrowth: kakkum (weapon)
  • calcified, punctiform bore hole of liver parasites: pūṣum (white)
  • Connective tissue cord: qûm (thread)
  • membrane caused by liver parasites: šišītum (membrane)
  • Groove in the shape of a foot: šepum (foot)
  • Calcified bores of tapeworm larvae on the surface: uṣurtum (drawing)
  • bubbles caused by fins: ziḫḫum or dīḫu ( translation unclear )

The liver surface, richly designed in this way, was understood as a board written on by the gods, on which the individual drawings had various readings, from which the appropriate interpretation for the current context had to be determined. Various possibilities came into question for this link between the liver findings and what was happening in the real world. For example, certain parts of the liver, such as the palace gate, could be assigned directly to certain areas of the world, such as royalty . A club-shaped outgrowth also means the use of force. Links could also be made via etymologies or with stars, which at the moment cannot yet be understood. On the other hand, the liver was also divided into numerous areas, which in turn had a “right” (positive) and a “left” (negative) side. The evaluation of a finding was then determined depending on its position. A negative mark on the left was therefore an overall positive finding.

Impact history

The fact that Mesopotamian collections of omens were held and taught in Anatolian, Syrian and Iranian royal courts as early as the 2nd millennium shows that the Mesopotamian intestinal inspection was widely received. A corresponding influence can also be demonstrated for ancient Israel.

For the cultures of classical antiquity, no direct influence can be proven due to a lack of sources. However, it is noticeable that the procedures are so similar that they can only be explained by exerting influence. Corresponding contacts are likely to have existed through Asia Minor and the Levant coast. In the Hellenistic and Roman Empire, Mesopotamian scholars were also active at the respective courts as showers of sacrifices.

Special case: inspection of birds

A special case of the intestinal inspection is the one attested in ancient Babylonian times and for the 1st millennium BC. Assumed inspection of (victim) birds, but their bodies were not opened. Instead, the plucked bird's body was examined for all sorts of abnormalities, with red spots (sūmum) being of particular importance. White spots and the color of the head were also examined. As Omenkompendien show, this method was used by kings and generals because the apodoses often relate to military matters.

Olomina

In addition to sacrificial animals, other sacrificial materials could also be used for divination. They belong to the victim show in a broader sense. One of these methods is the lekanomancy (from Greek λεκάνη, bowl), which operates on the contemplation of oil poured into a bowl of water. In Mesopotamia this was considered an ancient science revealed by the gods, which was taught to the mythical king Enmeduranki together with the liver inspection. For King Sulgi , his claim to master this process clearly attests to its existence. The vegetable oil used for this purpose probably served as an offering through which insight into the future was gained. For this purpose, the victims had to cleanse themselves ritually early in the morning and then poured oil into a vessel filled with water, which was then poured over again with water. The findings were then determined from the color, the direction of movement and the shapes assumed by the oil. The apodoses in omen collections very often relate to the future of private individuals and to the chances of recovery for the sick. In addition, quite a few also refer to the course of campaigns, so that these three areas can be identified as the main area of ​​application of this method. This procedure was also widespread in the cultures of classical antiquity and in ancient Egypt and can still be observed today in Sicily.

Rauchomina

Libanomancy (from the Greek λίβανος, incense) is based on the use of incense , a practice that began at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Procedure attested to. This is relatively poorly attested to with only four ancient Babylonian omentums, so that it is not clear to what extent and over what period of time it was actually used; References to Rauchomina can be found in the 52nd panel of a collection of terrestrial omina called šumma ālu . This procedure, too, was the responsibility of a professional sign interpreter who, looking to the east, held a censer on his lap and sprinkled flour or incense into it. He observed the shape of the resulting fire and smoke as well as its direction of movement in order to obtain information on questions from private individuals or on military matters.

Flour omina

Aleuromancy (from the Greek άλευρον, flour) is particularly poorly attested, for which only a single late Babylonian omen table has been found, which is possibly also due to the use of this inexpensive method in poorer sections of the population and thus a lack of written fixation. The apodoses of this one omen table deal exclusively with the concerns of private individuals. Presumably, as in the procedures mentioned so far, the flour served as an offering to the gods, from which information about the future should then be obtained. However, nothing is known about a ritual embedding of this procedure. In the practical implementation, flour, partly mixed with emmer grains, was thrown up in piles and insights into the future were gained from its orientation in space or the position of the emmer grains in the pile.

See also

literature

  • Leda Ciraolo, Jonathan Seidel (Ed.): Magic and Divination in the Ancient World . Brill, Leiden 2002. (Ancient magic and divination; 2), ISBN 90-04-12406-3 .
  • Frederick H. Cryer: Divination in Ancient Israel and Its Near Eastern Environment . JSOT Press, Sheffield 1994, ISBN 1-85075-353-9 .
  • Ulla Koch-Westenholz: Babylonian liver omens. the chapters Manzāzu, Padānu and Pān tākalti of the Babylonian extispicy series mainly from Aššurbanipal's Library. Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, Copenhagen 2000. (CNI-publikations; 25), ISBN 87-7289-620-5 .
  • Rosmarie Leiderer: Anatomy of sheep liver in the Babylonian liver oracle. a macroscopic analytical study. Zuckschwerdt, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-88603-348-1 .
  • Stefan Maul : Omina and Oracle. In: Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-11-018535-0 , pp. 45-88.
  • Giovanni Pettinato: The oil prophecy among the Babylonians . Instituto di Studi del Vicino Oriente, Rome 1966.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 47.
  2. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 49.
  3. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 49.
  4. ↑ cf. SAA X, No. 7.
  5. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 49.
  6. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 49.
  7. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 50.
  8. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 69.
  9. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 69 f.
  10. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 70 f.
  11. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 71.
  12. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 71.
  13. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 71 f.
  14. ↑ Ulla Koch-Westenholz: Babylonian liver omens. the chapters Manzāzu, Padānu and Pān tākalti of the Babylonian extispicy series mainly from Aššurbanipal's Library. Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, Copenhagen 2000. (CNI-publications; 25), ISBN 87-7289-620-5 , pp. 27-31.
  15. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 72 f.
  16. ↑ Ulla Koch-Westenholz: Babylonian liver omens. the chapters Manzāzu, Padānu and Pān tākalti of the Babylonian extispicy series mainly from Aššurbanipal's Library. Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, Copenhagen 2000. (CNI-publikations; 25), ISBN 87-7289-620-5 , pp. 31-35.
  17. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 73.
  18. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 74.
  19. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 74.
  20. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 75.
  21. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 75.
  22. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 76.
  23. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 76.
  24. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 76 f.
  25. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 77.
  26. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 77.
  27. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 77.
  28. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 78 f.
  29. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 79 f.
  30. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 80.
  31. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 81.
  32. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 82 f.
  33. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 83.
  34. ^ Konrad Volk In: Saeculum. 47, 1996, pp. 178-216.
  35. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 83.
  36. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 83.
  37. ↑ Giovanni Pettinato: History of the transmission of the aB oil texts and some considerations on the position of the oil prophecy in the history of religion. In: CRRA 14, 1966, pp. 95-107.
  38. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 84.
  39. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 84 f.
  40. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 85.
  41. ↑ Stefan Maul: Omina und Orakel A. In: RLA Vol. 10. De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, p. 85.