The Celestial Pole in the Apocalypse

[DCHindley]

Robert,

Following the links you gave in one of your earlier posts, and Googling (is that even a word?) the name "ud-ka-gab-a" (with and without the final "-a"), it appears that some [meaning few] Akkadian texts refer to a constellation by this name in the region of the two bears and the nearby delta shaped constellation, but the word means "gaping mouth monster" or something like that, and the Jackal or Hyena (basically, a form of dog) as well as the Leopard have been suggested as the animal so indicated.

There is a constellation among the miscellaneous Southern Figures outside the Zodiac that is called the Sea Monster (Cetus, Ketas) that is sometimes connected to the chaos monster Tiamat, and which Greek lore associates various animals with:

She [Tiamat = Leviathan] is further reduplicated in Hydra, and the seven Evil Spirits appear to be reduplicated, to some extent, in certain southern constellations (Vide Smith and Sayce, Chal. Ac. Gen. p. 99). They habitually live 'in the lower part of heaven' (= the nocturnal southern sky) and devise evil 'at sunset.' One is like a Sea-monster (= Cetus), another a Scorpion (= Scorpio), a third a Leopard (= Therion, Lupus), a fourth a Serpent (= Hydra), a fifth a raging Dog (= Canis Maj.), an animal disliked by the Semite, a sixth ' the evil Wind,' the Storm-bird (= Gorvus). [Brown vol 1]

Perhaps we should be checking for a star named Therion (Greek) or Lupis (Latin)? Therion means "wild beast" and I believe Lupus is usually translated "Wolf." The only constellation (17-19 stars) so identified in Ptolemy's star chart is in the southern sky below the celestial equator.

Brown, in vol 2, speaks of an ancient "Lunar Zodiac" in which the 2nd asterism is

2. Kakkab Lik-bar-ra. | Ilu A-nu.
'The Asterism of the Hyena, | The-god Anu. |
The Lik-, Lig-, or Urbarra (' Striped-dog '), Sem. Akhu, Heb. Oakh, is rendered by that eminent naturalist the late Rev. Wm. Houghton 'hyena,' but more commonly 'jackal.'...
In W. A. I. II. xlix. No. 4, 1. 1 the asterism Likbarra appears in a list with the stars of the Lion, Dog, etc. The Urbarra, if only by play on words (to which the scribes evidently much inclined), is the animal appropriate to the Horizon - and Foundation - god Ur, and hence is suitably placed next to 'the Foundation.' As noticed (Sup. p. 35) the Likbarra appears in Euphratean uranographic art. Jensen (Kosmol. p. 147) makes the curious mistake of supposing that the line is to be read as an equation, i.e., Urbarra=Anu. This and his peculiar view about Anu, 'Anu ein Pol des Himmels ' (lb. p. 19), have misled Sir Norman Lockyer, who writes:
'Do we get the jackal in Babylonian astronomy? . . . Jensen refers to the various readings "jackal" and "leopard," and states that it is only doubtful whether by this figure the god ANU or the pole of the Ecliptic ANU is meant' (The Dawn of Astronomy, p. 362). As I have said elsewhere, 'the theory which makes "Anu Nordpol d. Ekliptik" and "Bil Nordpol d. Aequators" is not really borne out by the Inscriptions' (Academy, March 31, 1894, p. 272); and the Jackal or Hyena (not 'Leopard') is neither Anu nor a planet.

I have to wonder whether this constellation of the Lunar Zodiac, erroneously thought to have been located at or near the pole, is what some have said was the asterism "ud-ka-gab-a." Brown seems to use Acadian and Sumerian terms interchangeably, so I do not know for sure whether "ud-ka-gab-a" is synonymous with "Lik-bar-ra" or "Urbarra".

This is all very confusing and I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll have to sign out ...

DCH

So from all the evidence I have looked at, the Babylonian Leopard (or Panther) has nothing to do with Ursa Minor.

That comment is insulting toward Professer Binsbergen and the sources he lists. You are saying these sources, such as Jensen, are not included in what you call "all the evidence". since they flatly contradict your assertion that the Babylonian Leopard has nothing to do with Ursa Minor. Do you just think Professor Binsbergen and his sources are incompetent liars?

Why do you think reputable scholars such as Binsbergen and Jensen would have made such an assertion if you can just airily dismiss it with no conflicting citations?

The point of this leopard debate is that the Ursa Minor link supports the observation that symbols in the Apocalypse are an accurate allegory for observation of the movement of the sky as it was possible for ancient astronomers. This debate about whether in fact Binsbergen and Jensen are correct in associating the Leopard with Ursa Minor looks like just another indicator of the broad willingness to ignore evidence about Babylonian astronomy.

To help illustrate the absurdities that attend this sort of topic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelopardalis explains that the polar constellation of the camel-leopard adjacent to Ursa Minor was only named in 1612. That would mean that the ancients could see this big area of the circumpolar sky, permanently above the horizon, but they never gave it a name, just because its stars are faint. This is even though the ancients venerated that region of the sky as the abode of God.

[Ulan]

So from all the evidence I have looked at, the Babylonian Leopard (or Panther) has nothing to do with Ursa Minor.

That comment is insulting toward Professer Binsbergen and the sources he lists. You are saying these sources, such as Jensen, are not included in what you call "all the evidence". since they flatly contradict your assertion that the Babylonian Leopard has nothing to do with Ursa Minor. Do you just think Professor Binsbergen and his sources are incompetent liars?

Why do you think reputable scholars such as Binsbergen and Jensen would have made such an assertion if you can just airily dismiss it with no conflicting citations?

I said "all the evidence I looked at", and that evidence is listed in this thread (Franz Kugler, 1907; Florisoone, 1951). Those publications list their source(s) with tablet numbers. You can go and look for yourself. Both publications agree on the point that leopard=panther can be identified as our Cygnus + Pegasus + α Andromedae. If you don't like their results, discuss why they don't apply. Not sure how this is supposed to insult Binsbergen.

Edit: By the way, I was reading through the Jensen book, but haven't found anything in there yet that doesn't concern the signs of the zodiac or identifying the right polar star.

[Robert Tulip]

Ulan, I am sorry I read your second post in isolation from your first. As you say, you were referring to Kugler and Thompson.

Studying this further, an excellent paper published by the Journal of the British Astronomical Association is Origins of the Ancient Constellations: 1. The Mesopotamian Traditions by John H. Rogers. It provides good analysis and star tables and map, and argues (p21) that evidence could suggest the Babylonians knew the pole was precessing from Thuban - which they knew as the sky god Anu and the cosmic mooring rope of heaven and earth - towards Polaris.

This may also mean they also knew the pole was precessing on towards the constellation they called the Panther, which would be consonant with the Bible writers using the Bear-Lion-Leopard motif to symbolise the receiving stations for the pole.

The basic theme in this thread is the axis mundi, the fixed position around which the stars appear to revolve. The core issue is that the Revelation 13 text on the power seat and authority of the heavens matches to ancient knowledge of movement of the pole, interpreting the imagined heaven of God against the real observed heavens of the sky.

Binsbergen provides a particularly rich examination of a range of mythic sources on leopard symbolism across Africa and Asia, so I would hesitate to contradict him without good reason. For example, the remarkable Benin bronze on p136 of his slides shows an axial god with snake feet swinging two leopards, somewhat like the Babylonian Anu relation to the two wagons known as the bears.

As Binsbergen explains, leopard-lion myth is widespread, but details on ancient beliefs can be hard to reconstruct. The leopard-bear link from Jensen is a small part of the argument in this thread, which is essentially that the Biblical symbolism reflects the structure of time visible for the ancients, with strong indication of Babylonian astronomical sourcing. Binsbergen does not rely solely on Jensen for the range of leopard star symbolism he attests. As the article Ulan linked shows, Jensen is primarily known for his speculative analysis of linkages between Gilgamesh and the Bible. Leopards also symbolise stars in general, and also, as Rogers proves, the next position of the pole in its great circle over the Great Year of precession.

Gary Thompson is an advocate for Neugebauer’s attack on Pan-Babylonianism. I am reading Neugebauer’s work helpfully linked by DC Hindley, and will provide critical commentary on it. Essentially, Neugebauer's argument is strongly political, based on an unfair discounting of the methods and insights of those who argue for a more coherent and deep understanding of Babylonian cosmology than he accepts. The politics of this debate touch on the cultural status and role of science and religion, and how Neugebauer’s methods fail to adequately analyse allegorical text. More on that soon.

[DCHindley]

From what I can tell, there are two tablets called MUL.APIN, which describe the star constellations that are associated with months of the lunar calendar (the Babylonian calendar) around 1,350 BCE. In these, there is an asterism near the pole, encompassing stars that are partly in the later Greek constellation Ursa Minor (Little Bear) and Lyra, which characterizes the 9th month.

STAR OF AKKAD
UZA (= UZ)
Goat
Lyra

STAR OF AMURRU
Salbatanu
—
MARS (this is probably NOT the planet Mars, as planets are not asterisms)

STAR OF ELAM ETC
UD.KA.DUH.A
Panther-griffin
Cygnus + parts of Cep & Lac

Apparently UD.KA.DUH.A is a variant of UD.KA.GAB.A, both meaning "gaping mouth dragon," which is variously translated Jackal, Hyena, Panther (as here) and Leopard.

There is a discussion of this on the Wiki page for MUL.APIN. I would ask, though, why the author of the Apocalypse, writing in late 1st century CE when Greek asterisms prevail, would even know about Akkadian asterisms much less use them in a literary work directed at fellow Greeks and Asians, who were all thoroughly Hellenized.

In the Talk tab of the Wiki page, there is this:

J. H. Rogers' interpretations on MUL.APINs path of Enlil (northern path)

Name (transliteration)	Translation	Identification
mulAPIN	The Plough, Enlil, who goes at the front of the stars of Enlil.	Tri + γ And
UR.BAR.RA	The Wolf, the seeder of the Plough.	α Tri
SHU.GI	The Old Man, Enmesharra [shadowy ancestor of Enlil].	Perseus
GAM	The Crook, Gamlum.	Auriga
MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL.LA	The Great Twins, Lugalgirra and Meslamtea.	α + β Gem, etc.
MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR	The Little Twins, Allamush and dNin-EZENxGUD.	ζ + λ Gem, etc.
AL.LUL	The Crab, the seat of Anu.[note 1]	Cancer
UR.GU.LA	The Lion, Latarak [lion-headed protector god].
LUGAL	The star which stands in the breast of the Lion; the King.	Regulus[note 2]
--	The dusky stars which stand in the tail of the Lion:	5, 21 Leo? [Coma Cluster?][note 3]
--	the Frond (of the date palm) of Eru, Zarpanitu [wife of Marduk].	Gamma Comae Berenices
SHU.PA	SHU.PA, Enlil who decrees the fate of the land.	Boötes
Hegalaau	The star which stands in front of it: the Abundant One, the messenger of Ninlil [wife of Enlil].	β Com ?
BAL.TESH.A	The star which stands behind it: the Star of Dignity, the messenger of Tishpak [god of armies].	Corona Bor.
MAR.GID.DA	The Wagon, Ninlil [wife of Enlil].	Ursa Major
KA5.A	the Fox, Erra, the strong one among the gods.	80-86 UMa [Alkor]?
U8	The star which stands in front of the Wagon: the Ewe, Aya.	NE. Boötes? [η UMa?]
MU.BU.KESH.DA	The Hitched Yoke, the great Anu of Heaven.	Thuban?
MAR.GID.DA.AN.NA	The Wagon of Heaven, Damkianna.	Ursa Minor
IBILA.E.MAH	The star which stands in its rope: the Heir of the Sublime Temple,	Polaris?
--	the first-ranking son of Anu.
DINGIR.GUB.BAS	The standing Gods of Ekur,	ζ + η Her?;
DINGIR.TUSH.AS	the sitting Gods of Ekur,	ε, π, ρ, θ, Her?;
UZ	The She-goat, Gula.	Lyra
UR.KU	The star which stands in front of the She-goat: the Dog.	S. Hercules
dLAMMA	The bright star of the She-goat: Lamma, the messenger of Baba.	Vega
dNin-SAR u dErragal	The two stars which stand behind it: Nin-SAR and Erragal.	ζ + ε Lyr
UD.KA.DUH.A	The Panther: Nergal.	Cyg, Lac, part of Cep.
SHAH	The star which stands at its right side: the Pig, Damu [god of healing].	Head of Draco? [Del?]
ANSHE.KUR.RA	The star which stands at its left side: the Horse.	α, β, γ, δ Cas [Peg/Lac/Eql?]
lu-lim	The star which stands behind it: the Stag, the messenger of the Stars.	E. And. [+ Cas?]
--	The dusky stars which stands in the breast of the Stag:
KA.MUSH.I.KU.E	the Deleter.	β And [α Cas?]
--	When the stars of Enlil have finished,
--	one big star -- (although) its light is dim -- divides the sky
--	in half and stands there: the star of Marduk, the Ford,	Jupiter (on the
mulSAG.ME.GAR	Jupiter, keeps changing its position and crosses the sky.	meridian at dawn)

DCH

[Robert Tulip]

…tablets called MUL.APIN, which describe the star constellations that are associated with months of the lunar calendar (the Babylonian calendar) around 1,350 BCE. In these, there is an asterism near the pole, encompassing stars that are partly in the later Greek constellation Ursa Minor (Little Bear) and Lyra, which characterizes the 9th month… UD.KA.DUH.A Panther-griffin Cygnus + parts of Cep & Lac Apparently UD.KA.DUH.A is a variant of UD.KA.GAB.A, both meaning "gaping mouth dragon," which is variously translated Jackal, Hyena, Panther (as here) and Leopard.

I had not seen such an early date. This position for the leopard places it squarely in the path of the pole, which has moved from the dragon through the Bear, and will next pass through Cepheus the enthroned King, a constellation that for the Babylonians apparently was part of the leopard. I have not found other support for Jensen’s claim that the Babylonians saw Ursa Minor as a leopard, so perhaps he mixed it up with the nearby circumpolar constellation of Cepheus/Cygnus.

I would ask, though, why the author of the Apocalypse, writing in late 1st century CE when Greek asterisms prevail, would even know about Akkadian asterisms much less use them in a literary work directed at fellow Greeks and Asians, who were all thoroughly Hellenized.

The Apocalypse embeds extensive astral imagery. This theme of the movement of the seat of the heavens interpreted in terms of actual observation of the North Celestial Pole over centuries indicates a continuity for the authors with then ancient astronomical work, for which the prime candidate is Babylon.

We cannot simply say that Greek asterisms prevailed in Israel in the first century. History is written by the victors. The stars were the television of the ancient world, used to tell popular myths. It is very likely that there was extensive oral star lore which has been lost, due to a combination of political persecution and indifference.

The extent of the influence of the Babylonian captivity on Jewish religion, flowing through into Christianity, is a complex question that cannot be simply answered by restricting analysis to overt direct evidence alone. I will expand on this in a commentary on Otto Neugebauer on The History of Ancient Astronomy.