658 JASTROW -HEPATOSCOPY AND ASTROLOGY [December 4, 



ceasing divine activity. The theory of the correspondence between 

 heaven and earth was carried by the theologians of the Euphrates 

 Valley to its logical consequences. Myths and legends were so 

 shaped under the influence of the theory as to admit of a double 

 interpretation, the one having reference to the movements and as- 

 pects of the heavenly bodies, the other to occurrences whose scene 

 is placed on earth. A series of acts of creation on earth is counter- 

 balanced by a corresponding series in the heavens.'® The heavens 

 were divided off into districts with mountains, rivers and cities 

 corresponding to those on earth. The famous Gilgamesh Epic — a 

 composite tale with almost equal proportions of nature myth, legen- 

 dary lore' and dimned historical traditions — admits likewise of a 

 double interpretation, the scenes applying equally to the movements 

 of heavenly bodies and to events on this globe ;-^^ and the same holds 

 good for such tales as the story of Etana and the Adapa myth which, 

 besides betraying the work of theological schools in making the 

 tales the medium of conveying doctrinal teaching,-" are so con- 

 structed as to conform with the fundamental principle of a corre- 

 spondence between heaven and earth. 



Corresponding, therefore, to the theory underlying Babylonian- 

 Assyrian hepatoscopy as above set forth, we have in the case of 

 astrology likewise a theory which lifts the endeavor to divine the 

 future through the observation of the planets and stars beyond mere 

 caprice and arbitrary guesswork. Granted the underlying assump- 

 tion that there is a perfect correspondence between heaven and earth, 

 it follows that if one can grasp the meaning of the aspects and 

 movements of the heavenly bodies one can recognize clearly what 

 the gods are doing, and hence what the future is to be, which, 

 since it is in the hands of the gods, is merely the outcome of their 

 activity as revealed in the heavens. Astrology is, therefore, like 

 hepatoscopy a means of entering into the workshop of the divine 



^ See Zimmern, " Biblische und Babylonische Urseschichte " (3*" Auflage, 

 Leipzig, 1903). 



^^ See Kugler, die Sternenfahrt des Gilgamesch (Stimmen aus Maria- 

 Laach, 1904. Heft. 4). 



^See Jastrow, "Religion of Babylonia and Assyria" (Boston, 1898), 

 PP- 519-555, and in greater detail in the writer's next volume. "Temples, 

 Mj'ths and Cults of Babylonia and Assyria." 



