History of Constellation and Star Names

Thureau-Dangin, François. (1919). "Un Acte de Donation de Marduk-Zâkir-Sumi." (Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale, Volume XVI, Number 3, Pages 117-156). [Note: See especially page 147. The author (1872-1944) was a leading Assyriologist and Chief Conservateur of Oriental Antiquities at the Louvre Museum in Paris. See the (German-language) obituary by Ernst Weidner in Archiv für Orientforschung, Fünfzehnter Band, 1945-1951, Pages 174-175.]

van Dijk, J[?]. (1964-1965). "Le Motif Cosmique dans la Pensée Sumérienne." (Acta Orientalia Ediderunt Societates Orientales Danica Norvegica Svecica, Volume XXVIII, Pages 1-59). [Note: Interesting for its examination of Sumerian cosmological beliefs in religion and myth. The author was a Sumerologist. I do not think that Part 2 of the article appeared.]

Hartner, Willy. (1965). "The Earliest History of the Constellations in the Near East and the Motif of the Lion-Bull Combat." (Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Volume XXIV, 1965, Numbers 1 and 2, Pages 1-16, and Plates 1-XVI). [The article is unreliable. Willy Hartner was a distinguished historian of astronomy and science. Life dates: 1905-1981. See the (English-language) obituary by Michael Hoskin in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 25, 1984, Page 373.]

Alster, Bendt. (1974). "On the Interpretation of the Sumerian Myth "Inanna and Enki."" (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Volume 64, I Halband, March, Pages 20-34). [Note: The Danish author, a leading Assyriologist (now retired), gives an astronomical interpretation of the subject matter. He seems to have been influenced by "Hamlet's Mill," by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend (1969). The author later doubted some of his ideas and did not proceed with his proposed book "The Eternal Cycle" giving an astronomical interpretation of Sumerian mythology. (He literally tore up the manuscript.) His manuscript argued that the cyclical return of the planets, (and the sun and moon) played an important role in Mesopotamian religion.]

Alster, Bendt. (1974). "The Paradigmatic Character of Mesopotamian Heroes." (Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale, Volume LXVIII, Number 1, Pages 49-60). [Note: The author favours an astronomical interpretation of the subject matter.]

Alster, Bendt. (1976). "Early Patterns in Mesopotamian Literature." In: Eichler, Barry. (Editor). Kramer Anniversary Volume, Pages 13-24). [Note: The Danish author, a leading Assyriologist, gives an astronomical interpretation of the subject matter.]

Hostetter, Homer. (1979). "A Planetary Visit to Hades." (Archaeoastronomy: The Bulletin of The Center for Archaeoastronomy, Volume II, Number 4, Fall, Pages 7-10). [Note: An astronomical interpretation of the Sumerian story of Inanna's descent into the underworld. (The author was unaware of Alster Bendt's 1974 article.) [H.] Clyde Hostetter taught journalism at California Polytechnic State University from 1958 to 1983. He was awarded the status of Professor Emeritus of Journalism for his academic services. He became interested in archaeoastronomy in 1976 whilst working in Saudi Arabia for the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Commission on Joint Economic Cooperation. He is a proponent of the origins of astronomy in Sumeria circa 3000 BCE, and a diffusionist. In his book on pre-Polynesian astronomy "Star Trek to Hawa-i'i" (1991) he believes he has identified the symbols on an ancient middle eastern copper bowl (purchased in an open-air suq (market) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) as having an astronomical significance and he has also traced the use of these astronomical symbols through the Batak culture in Sumatra to the culture of the early Hawaiians. Some of the book's material was previously published in articles in the Griffith Observer.]

Perera, Sylvia. (1981). Descent to the Goddess. [Note: The author, a Jungian analyst, holds that the journey of Inanna through the seven gates of the Underworld represents various planetary positions of Venus.]

Thompson, W[?]. (1981). The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origin of Culture. [Note: Written from the perspective of Jungian psychology. The author gives an astral interpretation of the myth of Inanna based on the movements of Venus (= Inanna) and Mercury (= Enki).]

Hostetter, Homer. (1982). "Inanna Visits the Land of the Dead: An Astronomical Interpretation." (Griffith Observer, February, Pages 9-15). [Note: The author's astronomical interpretation holds that the myth describes a 584-day synodic period of Venus that began with inferior conjunction shortly before the spring equinox. One of 3 articles in the Griffith Observer using material that would later form his book "Star Trek to Hawa-i'i" (1991). The other 2 articles were "The Bowl of Ishtar" (July, 1979); and "The Eclipse That Failed" (March, 1983). For a contrary view see: "The Descent of Inanna as a Ritual Journey to Kutha?" by Giorgio Buccellati (Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, Volume 4, Issues 3, December, 1982, Pages 3-7). See also a brief critique of Hostetter's article in: "A Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities." by Wolfgang Heimpel (Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, Volume 4, Issues 3, December, 1982, Pages 9-22).]

Heimpel, Wolfgang. (1982). "A Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities." (Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, Volume 4, Issues 3, December, 1982, Pages 9-22). [Note: Holds that the Sumerians identified Inanna with the planet Venus.]

van der Waerden, Bartel. (1984). "Greek Astronomical Calendars I. The Parapega of Euctemon." (Archive for the History of the Exact Sciences, Volume 29, Pages 101-114). [Note: Contains a section redating the Mul.Apin series to circa 2300 BCE. This change was influenced by Werner Papke's 1978 doctoral thesis. Bartel van der Waerden believed that astronomy of the Babylonians and Greeks attained a high level at an early date and so was drawn towards speculative arguments for such.]

Bruschweiler, Françoise. (1987). Inanna: la déesse triomphante et vaincue dans la cosmologie sumérienne: recherche lexicographique.

Szarzynska, Krystyna. (1987). "The Sumerian Goddess INANA-KUR." (Orientalia Varsoviensia, Volume 1).

Papke, Werner. (1989; reprinted 1996). Die Sterne von Babylon. [Note: Unreliable. See pages 237-276 for his argument dating the Mul.Apin series to Babylon circa 2300 BCE. Life dates: 1944-.]

Horowitz, Wayne. (1991). "Further Notes on Birmingham Cuneiform Tablets volume I." (Acta Sumerologica, Volume 13, Pages 406-417). [Note: The article includes a brief discussion of possible evidence pointing to an Ur III origin of at least some constellation and star names.]

Szarzynska, Krystyna. (1993). "Offerings for the Goddess Inana in Archaic Uruk." (Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale, Volume 87, Number 1, Pages 7-28). [Note: Argues that Uruk cuneiform tablets circa 3000 BCE show the Sumerians identified the goddess Inanna as morning Venus-star and evening Venus-star.]

Cohen, Mark. (1993). The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East. [Note: See pages 178-180.]

Horowitz, Wayne. (1998). Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography. [Note: On pages 166-168 the author discusses evidence indicating the possibility of Sumerian star charts.]

Brown, David. (2000). Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology. [Note: See especially pages 67, and 245-248.]

Seyffarth, Gustavus. (1855). Berichtigungen der roemischen, griechischen, persischen, aegyptischen, hebraeischen Geschichte und Zeitrechnung, Mythologie und alten Religionsgeschichte: auf Grund neuer historischer und astronomischer Huelfsmittel. [Note: German-born Lutheran Clergyman who became a well-known archaeologist and Egyptologist. Held the belief in the zodiacal origins of the alphabet. See also: The Literary life of Gustavus Seyffarth: An Autobiographical Sketch, edited by K[arl?]. Knortz (1886). Gustavus Seyffarth also knew the Lutheran minister Joseph Seiss who supported the "gospel in the stars" theory. Life dates: 1796-1885.]

Broome, J[?]. (1872). Astral Origins of the Emblems and Hebrew Alphabet. [Note: Unreliable. See the critical review by Archibald Sayce in Nature,Volume XXV, Thursday April 6, 1882, Pages 525-526.]

Winckler, Hugo. (1902). Die Babylonische Kultur in ihren Beziehungen zur Unsrigen. [Note: The author of this pamphlet was a key Panbabylonist. See the (French-language) book review by M[?]. I[?]. in Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, Vingt-Troisième Année, Tome Quarante-Sixième, 1902, Pages 403-404.]

Stucken, Eduard. (1913). Der Ursprung des Alphabetes und die Mondstationen. [Note: The author was a principal Panbabylonist and criticized for knowing no restraint. See the extensive (German-language) review by Anon in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Volume XVII, 1914, Number 5, Columns 210-215.]

Hommel, Fritz. (1920). Zur astralen Anordnung des phönikisch-griechischen Alphabets. [Note: The author was a distinguished German Assyriologist.]

Hommel, Fritz. (1926). Ethnologie und Geographie des Alten Orients. (Pages 96-104).

Wadler, Arnold. (1948). One Language - Source of All Tongues. [Note: Full of silly ideas.]

Moran, Hugh. and Kelley, David. (1953; Second edition 1969). The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs. [Note: See the (German-language) book review by Johannes Schubert in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Volume 69, 1974, Number 7/8, Columns 338-340; and the critical (English-language) book review by Marshall Durbin in American Anthropologist, Volume 73, Number 2, April, 1971, Pages 299-304. See also the 65 page monograph "Correspondences Between the Chinese Calendar Signs and the Phoenician Alphabet" by Julie Wei (1999). The monograph was issued as part of Sino-Platonic Papers edited by Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania. Victor Mair, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania, has also investigated the possible connection between the lunar calendar and the origin of the alphabet. (On the astronomical origins of the alphabet see the corrective article "Origine de L'Alphabet" by Émile Puech (Revue Biblique, Tome XCIII, 1986, Pages 161-213).)]

Gordon, Cyrus. (1970). "The Accidental Invention of the Phonemic Alphabet." (Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Volume 29, Number 3, Pages 193-197).

Bausani, Alessandro. (1978). "L'alfabeto come calendario arcaico." (Oriens Antiquus, Volume XVII, Pages 131-146).

Ettisch, Ernst. (1987). The Hebrew Vowels and Consonants as Symbols of Ancient Astronomic Concepts.

Teames, Sally. (1997). "The Astronomical Origin of the Alphabet." (Paper presented at: Third Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop, University of Notre Dame, June 19-22; and The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 109th Annual Meeting, June 29-30). [Note: The author is a school teacher.]

Wei, Julie. (1999). Correspondences Between the Chinese Calendar Signs and the Phoenician Alphabet. (Sino-Platonic Papers, Number 94, March). [Note: Approximately 70 pages. The Sino-Platonic Papers is an occasional series.]

Martiny, Günter. (1932). Die Kultrichtung in Mesopotamien. [Note: Basically the publication of the authors doctoral thesis. The author offers evidence that Neo-Babylonian temples were oriented with reference to the constellations appropriate to their tutelary deities. See the extensive (German-language) reviews by Anon in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 1934, Number 4, Columns 218-232; by Paul Neugebauer and Albert Schott in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Volume 42, 1934, Pages 198-217; and the entry in Astronomischer Jahresbericht, Volume 34, 1932, Page 12. Both Paul Neugabauer (an astronomer) and Albert Schott (an Assyriologist) supported the temple-orientation theory of Günter Martiny. Martiny believed he had found evidence that the orientatation of a succession of Assyrian temples (of which the oldest date of foundation known is 1800 BCE) varies as a function of the angle of precession. In attempting to interpret Martiny's archaeological data Neugebauer and Schott initially proposed that Neo-Babylonian (i.e., Assyrian) temples were purposely directed towards the azimuth of the hour angle circle passing through the star alpha Virginis (Spica) and intersecting the horizon when the spring equinox is on the horizon. Neugebauer later discarded this explanation when he could not find evidence that the star alpha Virginis (Spica) had importance in Mesopotamian astronomy. The competent German amateur astronomer and historian of early astronomy Robert Böker disagreed with the alpha Virginis (Spica) explanation given by Neugebauer and Schott. Böker suggested an alternative hypothesis based on the azimuth of the descent of the star alpha Crucis and showed that it had better agreement with the reputed dates and axis azimuths of the temples. However, Neugebauer's changed explanation held that a clearly recognisable line is formed by the stars alpha Cassiopeiae, eta Cephei, beta Ursae Minoris, alpha Draconis, eta Ursae Majoris, and eta Virginis, and this line formed the meridian used in the centuries before and after circa 3000 BCE, as the basis for the orientation of Neo-Babylonian (Assyrian) temples. Günter Martiny (1903-?) appears to have been a German archaeologist (or perhaps Architect) who specialized in ancient and medieval building archaeology. I have also seen him referred to as an engineer. From the majority of his publications he can be considered a specialist in Mesopotamian temple architecture. In the late 1930's he appears to have resided (for a time) in England. His early work involved the investigation of the construction and alignment of Mesopotamian temples. His later work involved the investigation of medieval Ottoman mosque architecture. It would also appear he was an admirer of Wilhelm Dörpfeld (1853-1940), the German archaeologist who was a specialist in ancient Greek architecture. The last article by him that I can identify is "Wiederaufbau des Bergsfrieds Schloßberg bei Osternohe" in Mitteilungen der Altnürnberger Landschaft (abbreviation: MittAltnürnbergerLandschaft), Band 17, 1968, Page 68.]

Martiny, Günter. (1933). "Zur Astronomischen Orientation Altmesopotamischer Tempel." (Architectura I, Pages 41-45). [Note: The author offers evidence - soundly criticized since - for the "precessional orientation" of Babylonian temples.]

Dombart, Theodore. (1936/37). "Die untere Babelturm-Freitreppe und ihr Steigungsverhältnis." (Archiv für Orientforschung, Elfter Band, Pages 66-71). [Note: The article comprises a discussion of Günter Martiny's ideas.]

Martiny, Günter. (1938). "Etemènanki, der Turm zu Babel." (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Volume 92, Pages 572-578).

Martiny, Günter. (1940). "The Orientation of the Gimilsin Temple and the Palace Chapel." In: Frankfort, Henri. et al. The Gimilsin Temple and the Palace of the Rulers at Tell Asmar. (Pages 92-96). [Note: Chapter III of the book, which is Volume 43 of The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications.]

Martiny, Günter. (1966). Die Gegensätze im Babylonischen und Assyrischen Tempelbau. [Note: This 37 page pamphlet is a reprint of an earlier journal article in Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Band 21, Number 3, 1936.]

C. G. S. [Swartz, Carl.] (1809). Le Zodiaque Expliqué ou Recherches sur L'Origine et la Signification des Constellations de la Sphere Greque. [Note: The premier edition of the authors 1807 publication that originated this form of argument. The author, Carl Gottlieb Swartz [Schwartz] (1757-1824), was a Swede who lived the latter part of his life in France. For a critical (English-language) book review see "Origin and Antiquity of the Zodiac," by Anon [William Roberts ?] in The British Review and London Critical Journal, Volume 9, Number 17, February 1817, Pages 136-150. The reviewer does not mention the "void zone" argument. The "void zone" arguments have now been critically demolished by two recent articles by the astronomer and historian Bradley Schaefer. See: (1) Schaefer, Bradley. (2002). "The Latitude and Epoch for the formation of the Southern Greek Constellations." (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 33, Number 4, Pages 313-350); and (2) Schaefer, Bradley. (2004). "The Latitude and Epoch for the Origin of the Astronomical Lore of Eudoxus." (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 35, Number 2, Pages 161-223). The former paper establishes that the southern Greek constellations originated in the first millennium BCE. The latter paper establishes that the astronomical lore of Eudoxus was of Babylonian origin circa 1130 BCE.]

Proctor, Richard. (1878). "The Origin of the Constellation-Figures." In: Proctor, Richard. Myths and Marvels of Astronomy. (Pages 331-363). [Note: Chapter XIII of his book (of collected essays). For a discussion of the wide appeal of Richard Proctor see "The Visual Theology of Victorian Popularizers of Science" by Bernard Lightman, in Isis, Volume 91, Number 4, December 2000, Pages 651-680.]

Peck, William. (1884). The constellations and how to find them. [Note: In this publication the author believed that the constellations dated back to "Chaldea" circa 2000 BCE. See the (English-language) obituary by H. M. in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume LXXXIX, 1929, Pages 186-187. Life dates: 1862-1925.]

Peck, William. (1890). "The Constellation Figures - Their Probable Origin." In: Peck, William. A Popular Handbook and Atlas of Astronomy. (Pages 1-11). [Note: The article is Chapter 1 of his book. He uses several of the arguments and conclusions employed by the "void zone" proponents (i.e., Richard Proctor?). In this publication the author believed that the very earliest constellations were established by the Egyptians circa 15,000 BCE and were further developed by the "Chaldeans" circa 2000 BCE.].

Maunder, Edward. (1898). "The Zodiac Explained." (The Observatory, Volume XXI, Pages 438-444).

Maunder, Edard. (1897/1898). "The Oldest Astronomy." (Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume VIII, Number 9, Pages 373-376).

Maunder, Edward. (1898/1899). "The Oldest Astronomy. II." (Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume IX, Number 7, Pages 317-321).

Maunder, Edward. (1900). "The Oldest Picture-Book of All." (The Nineteenth Century: A Monthly Review, Volume 48, September, Pages 451-464). [Note: The article was also reprinted in The Living Age [Littell's Living Age], Seventh Series, Volume IX, October, November, December, 1900, Pages 614-624.]

Maunder, Edward. (1902). "Constellation Studies." In: Maunder, Edward. Astronomy Without a Telescope. (Pages 2-11). [Note: Chapter 1 of his book.]

Maunder, Edward. and Maunder, Annie. (1903/1904). "The Oldest Astronomy. III." (Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume XIV, Number 6, Pages 241-246).

Maunder, Edward. (1904). "Snake Forms in the Constellations and on Babylonian Boundary Stones." (Knowledge & Scientific News, Volume 1 New Series, Number 9, October, Pages 227-230).

Orr, Mary. (1913, new and revised edition 1956 by Barbara Reynolds). Dante and the Early Astronomers. [Note: See pages 35-38. Follows the ideas of Edward Maunder. See also; "M. A. Orr (Mrs John Evershed), astronomer and Dantist." by Mary Brück in Astronomy & Geophysics, Volume 38, June/July, 1997, Page 9.]

Crommelin, Andrew. (1923). "The Ancient Constellation Figures." In: Hutchinson's Splendour of the Heavens. (Pages 640-669). (2 Volumes, also later published in one volume but no date.) [Note: Chapter XVII in Volume 2. See the (English-language) obituaries by P. J. M. in The Observatory, Volume 63, January, 1940, Number 788, Pages 11-13; and by C. Davidson in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical society, Volume 100, February, 1940, Pages 234-236. Also see the (English-language) biographical entry in Who Was Who, 1929-1940, (published 1941), Page 309. Life dates: 1865-1939.]

Davis, George. (1959). "The Origin of the Ancient Constellations." (Sky and Telescope, June, Pages 424-427). [Note: The author uncritically accepted the views expressed in the highly unreliable book "Primitive Constellations," by Robert Brown Junior (2 Volumes, 1899-1900). (See the authors remarks at the end of the article references.)]

Ovenden, Michael. (1966). The Origin of the Constellations." (The Philosophical Journal, Volume 3, Number 1, Pages 1-18). [Note: Michael Ovenden was an astronomer. The authors ideas appeared earlier , for example, in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume 71, 1960-1961, Pages 91-95. The article is unreliable and contains significant errors. See: "The Latitude and Epoch for the Formation of the Southern Greek Constellations." by Bradley Schaefer (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 33, Part 4, 2002 Pages 313-350); and "The Latitude and Epoch for the Origin of the Astronomical Lore of Eudoxus." by Bradley Schaefer (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 35, Number 2, 2004, Pages 161-223). For his initial article in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, published 1960-1961, At least by 1959 Michael Ovenden had sought the advice and collaboration of Dr A[braham?] Wasserstein, Department of Greek, University of Glasgow, when developing his ideas on the origin of the constellations. (The University of Glasgow was the same university where Ovenden was teaching at the time.) The core of Wasserstein's advice was the information which the works of Aratus and Hipparchus could give about the origin of the constellation figures. Life dates for Michael Ovenden: 1926-1987. See the (English-language) obituaries for Michael Ovenden by Archibald Roy in The Observatory, Volume 108, Number 1082, February, 1988, Pages 31; and the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical society, Volume 29, March, 1988, Pages 90-91. Life dates for Abraham Wasserstein (if correctly identified): 1921-1995.]

Brown, Peter. (1971). "Origin of the constellations." In: Brown, Peter. What star is that? (Pages 9-25). [Note: Chapter 1 of his book. Life dates for Peter Lancaster Brown: 1927-?]

Pomerance, Leon. (1976). The Phaistos Disc: An Interpretation of Astronomical Symbols. [Note: Uncritically uses Michael Ovenden's constellation ideas to support his own theories. See the sympathetic, but skeptical, (English-language) book review by David Kelley in Archaeoastronomy: The Bulletin of The Center for Archaeoastronomy, Volume II, Number 3, Summer, 1979, Pages 20-21). See also the sympathetic, but critical, (English-language) book review by Sharon Gibbs in Archaeology, Volume 30, Number 4, July, 1977, Pages 283-285; and the subsequent exchange between author and reviewer in "Letters to the Editor," in Archaeology, Volume 31, Number 1, January/February, 1978, Page 60. For a calendrical interpretation see the (English-language) book review article "Mediterranean Civilisation and the Phaestos Riddle" by John Griffith (Nature, Volume 86, Number 2168, May 18, 1911, Pages 385-387). Worth reading is the (English-language) book review article "How Not to Decipher the Phaistos Disc: A Review" by Yves Duhoux (American Journal of Archaeology, Volume 104, 2000, Pages 597-600).]

Clube, Victor. and Napier, Bill. (1982). The Cosmic Serpent: A catastrophist view of Earth History. [Note: See pages 268-269.]

Roy, Archibald. (1984). "The Origin of the Constellations." (Vistas in Astronomy, Volume 27, Pages 171-197). [Note: Archibald [Archie] Roy was an astronomer (now retired). The article originated out of an earlier series of articles published in the magazine "The Unexplained: Mysteries of Mind, Space & Time," Volumes 61-64, Circa 1981. The magazine was reprinted as a multi-volume book "Mysteries of Mind, Space & Time: The Unexplained," and the constellation articles appeared in Volume 5, Pages 560-574. The article is uncritical, speculative, and unreliable.]

Gingerich, Owen. and Welther, Barbara. (1984). "Some Puzzles of Ptolemy's Star Catalogue." (Sky and Telescope, May, Pages 421-423).

Hughes, David. (1984). "Draughtsmen of the constellations." (Nature, Volume 312, 20/27 December, Page 697). [Note: See the correction in Nature, Volume 313, 17 January, 1985, Page 182 (News and Reviews).]

Roy, Archibald. (1986). "The lamps of Atlantis: An astronomical detective story ((constellations))." In: Hunt, J[?]. (Editor). Cosmos: An Educational Challenge. (ESA Proceedings of the GIREP Conference 1986. (Pages 47-49). [Note: ESA = European Space Agency; GIREP = Groupe International de Recherche sur l'Ensignement de la Physique.]

Ridpath, Ian. (1988). "Stars and storytellers." In: Ridpath, Ian. Star Tales. (Pages 1-12). [Note: Chapter 1 of his book.]

Thurston, Hugh. (1994). "A Possible Origin for the Constellations." In: Thurston, Hugh. Early Astronomy. (Pages135-138). [Note: The section is part of Chapter 6: The Greeks.]

Barrow, John. (1995). "Long day's journey into night: the origin of the constellations." In: Barrow, John. The Artful Universe. (Pages 161-174). [Note: The section is part of Chapter 4: The heavens and the Earth.]

Rogers, John. (1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions." (Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume 108, Number 1, February, Pages 9-28).

Rogers, John. (1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: II. The Mediterranean traditions." (Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Volume 108, Number 2, April, Pages 79-89).

Bormanis, Andre. (1999). "From Sumer to Star Trek: The History of Star Names." (SkyWatch '99, Annual publication by Sky Publishing Corporation, Pages 28-31).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1993). "On the Origin of the Zodiacal Constellations." (Vistas in Astronomy, Volume 36, Pages 171-190). [Note: This paper is a detailed explanation of his ideas on constellation origins. Alexander Gurshtein (1937- ) is an eminent Russian astronomer and historian of science. As an astronomer he was active in the Soviet Union's Lunar Space Program. Since 1995 he has been teaching at Mesa State College in the USA and now resides permanently in the USA.]

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1994). "Dating the Origin of the Constellations by Precession." (Physics-Doklady, Volume 39, Number 8, Pages 575-578). [Note: A succinct explanation of his ideas of the origins of the constellations.]

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1995). "Prehistory of Zodiac Dating: Three Strata of Upper Paleolithic Constellations. (Vistas in Astronomy, Volume 39, Pages 347-362).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1995). "When the Zodiac Climbed Into the Sky." (Sky and Telescope, October, Pages 28-33).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1996). "The Great Pyramids of Egypt as Sanctuaries Commemorating the Origin of the Zodiac: An Analysis of Astronomical Evidence." (Physics-Doklady, Volume 41, Number 5, Pages 228-232).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1997). "In Search of the First Constellations." (Sky and Telescope, June, Pages 46-50).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1997). "The Origins of the Constellations." (American Scientist, Volume 85, Number 3, May-June, Pages 264-273). [Note: See also Letters to the Editor, American Scientist, Volume 85, Pages 500-501.]

Gurshtein, Alexander. (1998). "The Evolution of the Zodiac in the Context of Ancient Oriental History." (Vistas in Astronomy, Volume 41, Number 4, Pages 507-525).

Gurshtein, Alexander. (2005). "Did the Pre-Indo-Eurpeans Influence the Formation of the Western Zodiac?" (Journal of Indo-European Studies, Volume 33, Number 1 & 2, Spring/Summer, Pages 103-150). [Note: This article, his longest to date, is published in a peer-reviewed journal. In the conclusion to the article he makes the incredibly uninformed and misleading statement: "The writers making this claim [that the Western Zodiac originated during the 1st millennium BCE in Mesopotamia] propose no explanations as to why the Zodiac would have been instituted at this certain time in this certain place. This demonstrates that Gurshtein continues to remain completely unfamiliar with the Mesopotamian cuneiform evidence. It attempts to create a puzzle that does not exist. The explanations which he claims are lacking are actually given in a number of the references he cites. From my essay on the origin of the zodiac: "The zodiac was a development from the Babylonian scheme of 17/18 constellations/stars marking the path of the moon. The Babylonian system of 17/18 constellations/stars zodiac marking the path of the Moon belongs to the Assyrian Period (and perhaps originated circa 1000 BCE) and was still in use in the 7th-century BCE and contained the constellations that were to form the 12-constellation solar zodiac. At least 5 of these 17/18 constellations/stars are not previously listed but are additional constellations/named stars in the Mul.Apin series. Post Mul.Apin (i.e., toward the Neo-Babylonian Period) the number of constellations/stars in the Path(s) of Sin/Shamash was limited from 17/18 to 12. Circa 700 BCE a "zodiac" comprising of 12 irregular sized constellations had been developed. Only those 12 constellations/stars nearest to the path of the ecliptic were used. The other 5/6 were discarded as ecliptic markers. A Babylonian text from circa the 5th-century BCE which lists 12 months (and ignores the intercalary month) and their associated constellations, also assigns both the Pleiades and Taurus to month 2, both Orion and Gemini to month 3, and both Pegasus and Pisces to month 12. This provides an indication of another of the progressive steps towards an eventual zodiac of 12 equal 30 degree divisions and signs. The issue of reducing from 17/18 constellations/stars as marker's along the Moon's path was connected with the establishment of 12 (ideal) solar months of 30 days each. (The fact that certain stars had become connected with the schematic year of 12 months x 30 days each greatly assisted the development of the reduction of the zodiac to 12 divisions. The calendar was schematic because of the fact that the year does not consist of exactly 360 days. This made it necessary to add an extra 13th month now and then. The periodic intercalation of a 13th lunar month was done to keep the lunar calendar in line with the seasons. It was not based on solar observations.) (This theoretical division of the year into 12 months of 30 days each is indicated as dating back to the Old Babylonian Period circa 1800 BCE.) Hence the system of 12 zodiacal constellations was invented mostly from existing constellations/named stars that originated largely during the 2nd millennium BCE for marking a different i.e., (roughly approximating an) "equatorially-centred", sky system. (The Babylonians had no actual recognition of a celestial equator.) The 12-constellation zodiac replaced the earlier 17/18 constellation/star scheme that it developed from. Whilst there is relatively clear evidence that perhaps 8 of our 12 present zodiacal constellations existed in the 2nd millennium BCE there were at least 4 constellations - that were to form part of the zodiacal scheme - that most probably did not exist until the 1st millennium BCE. There is no unambiguous evidence that all of our present 12 constellations comprising the zodiac existed prior to the Late Assyrian Period. Circa the 5th-century BCE the Babylonian skywatchers needed a suitable frame of reference to indicate the positions of the Moon and the planets between the stars along the path of the ecliptic. With the demands of their developing astronomy it was no longer sufficient to continue with a scheme that simply noted that the Moon or a planet was close to this or that star. Circa 420 BCE the Babylonians substituted the original 12 constellations forming the zodiacal scheme with a sidereal scheme of twelve equal divisions of the ecliptic comprising 30º segments. This followed the Babylonian invention of degrees, which was introduced into mathematical astronomy to enable the measuring of celestial "longitude" from a given point (which was the vernal equinox). (A schematic month was comprised of 30 days and therefore each zodiacal segment or "sign" numbered 30°.) The zodiac of 12 equal signs was never used by the Babylonians as a coordinate system. It was only used as a mathematical abstraction for computing lunar and planetary motion. (The Normal Stars, a set of approximately 30 stars positioned around the ecliptic, continued to be used by the Babylonians for locating the positions of the moon and planets. About the middle of the 3rd-century BCE the zodiacal reference system seems to have finally become established as the norm for such.) Also, the Babylonians always simply defined the starting points of the scheme of zodiacal signs by their positions relative to the fixed stars. Hamal, the brightest star of the Ram (= Babylonian MUL.LU.HUN.GA ("Hired Man") was probably used to mark the vernal equinox. However, the completed zodiacal system of the Babylonians, for reasons still incompletely known, did not start at 0º ecliptic longitude but at about 355º, and this difference extends through the whole zodiac. ... In summary: The 12-constellation zodiac arose during the Late Assyrian Period (the Assyrian Period began circa 1100 BCE) from a deliberate scheme which circa 1000 BCE placed 17/18 constellations/named stars (comprising of 12 existing constellations/stars previously used in marking the equatorially-centred system of the "three stars each," and 6 "new" constellations) for use as reference points along the path of the Moon. The development of the 12-constellation zodiac into 12 equal divisions (i.e., 30 degree signs) occurred later during the 5th-century BCE (for mathematical reasons). In its final form the use of the zodiac also included marking the movements of the planets."]

Winckler, Hugo. (1899). "Himmel, kalender und mythos." (Altorientalische Forschungen, Zweite Reihe, Band II, Pages 354-395). [Note: Hugo Winckler was a German philologist, historian, and archaeologist. He was one of the founders of the Panbabylonism school and in this was influenced by the ideas of Eduard Stucken on astral mythology. Life dates: 1863-1913. See the (German-language) obituary by Anon [Felix Peiser?] in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 16 Jahrgang, Number 5, May, 1913, Columns 193-200.]

Winckler, Hugo. (1901, revised 1903). Himmels- und Weltenbild der Babylonier. [Note: See the (French-language) book review by Charles Fossey in L'Année Sociologique, Sixiéme Année [Tome VI] 1901-1902, 1903, Page 266. Also, see the (German-language) review by Felix Peiser of Peter Jensen's pamphlet "Kritik von Winckler's Himmels- und Weltenbild der Babylonier," in Orientalistische Literatur-Zeitung, Siebenter Jahrgang, Number 4, April, 1904, Columns 142-145.]

Winckler, Hugo. (1905). "Astronomisch-mythologisches. 1. Der weg Anus, Bels und Eas." (Altorientalische Forschungen, Dritte Reihe, Band II, Pages 179-184).

Winckler, Hugo. (1905). "Astronomisch-mythologisches. 2-4. Die erîtu-sterne - Die bahre und der fisch." (Altorientalische Forschungen, Dritte Reihe, Band II, Pages 185-211).

Winckler, Hugo. (1905). "Astronomisch-mythologisches. 5-18. Die formel - Marduk-Nebo - Welteinteilung - Ninib der nordplanet - Die zwillinge = mond und sonne - Des menschen sohn = erlöser." (Altorientalische Forschungen, Dritte Reihe, Band II, Pages 274-314).

Jeremias, Alfred. (1908, Second edition 1909). Das Alter der babylonischen Astronomie. [Note: The 1909 edition has approximately 30 additional pages - mostly dealing with the criticisms of the Jesuit astronomer and Assyriologist Franz Kugler against Panbabylonism. See the (German-language) book review by Wilhelm Erbt in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Dreizehnter Jahrgang, Number 12, 1910, Columns 545-546; and the (French-language) book review by Charles Fossey in Revue critique d'histoire et de littérature, Volume 44, Number 2, 1910, Pages 78-80. Alfred Jeremias was a Lutheran minister and archaeologist. Life dates: 1864-1935. See the (German-language) obituaries by Ernst Weidner in Archiv für Orientforschung, Zehnter Band, 1935-1936, Pages 195-196; and W[?]. Baumgartner in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Neue Folge, Band 9, (Band 43), 1936, Pages 299-301.]

Jeremias, Alfred. (1913, Second edition 1929). Handbuch der altorientalischen Geisteskultur. [Note: Unreliable. See the (German-language) book reviews by Ernst Zinner in Vierteljahrsschrift der Astronomischen Gesellschaft, 65 Jahrgang, 1930, Pages 25-26; Bruno Meissner in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Neue Folge, Band 9, (Band 84), 1930, Pages 94-100; and A[?]. Wiedmann in Theologische Literaturzeitung, Volume 55, Number 5, March, 1930, Columns 101-102; the (English-language) book review by Jacob Hoschander in The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series Volume 5, 1914-1915, Pages 634-637; and the (French-language) book review by Albert Condamin in Recherches de Science Religieuse, Volume 5, 1915, Pages 178-180.]

Weidner, Ernst. (1914). Alter und Bedeutung der babylonischen Astronomie und Astrallehre. [Note: Dated and unreliable. A collection of essays in defense of standard Panbabylonism ideas including Babylonian knowledge of precession and the phases of Venus. One chapter discusses the Babylonian scheme of constellations. As a young Assyriologist Ernst Weidner would appear to have been influenced by the Assyriologist and Panbabylonist Felix Peiser (who was editor of the journal Orientalistische Literaturzeitung). See the (German-language) book review by Bruno Meissner in Theologische Literaturzeitung, Vierzigster Jahrgang, Number 12, 1915, Columns 270-271.]

Jeremias, Alfred. (1915). "Sterne (bei den Babyloniern)." In: Roscher, Wilhelm. Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie. (Vierter Band, Columns 1427-1500).

De Santillana, Giorgio. and Von Dechend, Hertha. (1969; Fourth (English-language) reprint 1998. However, excepting for the 1993 German-language edition by Hertha von Dechend, and 1999 Italian-language edition edited by Alessandro Passi, without changes or corrections.) Hamlet's Mill: An Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time. [Note: This book has received, and continues to receive, an enormous amount of uncritical support. However, it is a poorly organized book regarding its material and it presents an obscure and confusingly argued case. While the book contains an immense amount of loosely related information there is no persuasive evidence presented for the connections being made. Its purpose is basically an attempt to revive some of the key ideas of Panbabylonism i.e., Mesopotamian establishment of an equally divided, 12-constellation zodiac and knowledge of the effects (at least) of precession (and the incorporation of such into ancient mythological themes) by circa 4000 BCE. The book was basically written by Giorgio De Santillana when he was seriously ill (which helps to explain its lack of unity and coherence) and the numerous appendices were written by Hertha von Dechend. The book clearly shows the influence of Hertha von Dechend's teacher Leo Frobenius (who had written several books mirroring some Panbabylonian ideas, and the correspondence between mythological themes and celestial phenomena). The errata list that was enclosed with the 1993 German-language edition was left out of the 1994 reprint of such. See the critical (English-language) book reviews by Edmund Leach in The New York Review (of Books), February 12, 1970, Page 36, (Giorgio's De Santillana's protest letter regarding this review appeared in "Letters," The New York Review, May 7, 1970); by Jaan Puhvel in The American Historical Review, Volume LXXV, Number 6, October, 1970, Pages 2009-2010; by Lynn White Junior in Isis, Volume 61, 1970, Pages 540-541; by Gerald Gresseth in Journal of American Folklore, Volume 84, Number 332, April/June, 1971, Pages 246-247; by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 3, 1972, Pages 206-211; by Albert Friedman in Journal of the History of Philosophy, Volume X, 1972, Page 479; by Hilda Davidson in Folklore, Volume CXXXV, 1974, Pages 282-283; by David Leeming in Parabola, Volume III, Issue 1, 1978, Pages 113-115; and the (German-language) book review by Thomas Barthel in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Band 99, Heft 1 und 2, 1974, Pages 284-287). See also the sympathetic (English-language) book reviews by Philip Morrison in Scientific American, Volume 221, Number 5, November, 1969, Page 159; and by Harald Reiche in The Classical Journal, Volume 69, Number 1, October/November, 1973, Pages 81-83. For a review of the 1993 German-language edition see the (German-language) book review by P[?]. Richter in Sterne und Weltraum, Band 34, 1995, Pages 4-10. See the sympathetic (English-language) obituary of Giorgio de Santillana (1902-1974) by Nathan Sivin, Professor of Chinese Culture and the History of Science, University of Pennsylvania, in Isis, Volume 67, 1976, Pages 439-493; and the (English-language) obituary of Hertha von Dechend (1915-2001) by Uta Lindgren, Professor of the History of Science, University of Bayreuth in Isis, Volume 94, 2003, Pages 112-113. Professor Uta Lindgren mistakenly credits Hertha von Dechend with being was the first person to analyze myths for their astronomical content. Also, unfortunately, the nature of von Dechend's MIT seminars, though mentioned, are not clearly explained. (It appears there were 6 seminars per term of approximately 2 hours each. It also appears that Giorgio de Santillana actually gave most of the presentations.) It is mentioned that Giorgio de Santillana first met Hertha von Dechend when he participated in a symposium in Frankfurt in 1958.]

Brown, Junior., Robert. (1885). The Phainomena or 'Heavenly Display' of Aratos: Done into English Verse. [Note: Said to be a literal translation into English but radically different to the English translation rendered in "The Skies and Weather-forecasts of Aratus," by E[?]. Poste (1880). See the (English-language) review by J[ohn?]. Watson in The Academy, August 29, 1885, Number 695, Pages 137-138.]

Brown, Junior., Robert. (1892). "The Celestial Equator of Aratos." In: Morgan, E. (Editor). Transactions of the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists. 2 Volumes. (Pages 445-485). [Note: The paper is in Volume 2. This is the publication in which Robert Brown dates the origin of the Babylonian zodiac to 2084 BCE.]

Schott, Albert. and Böker, Robert. (1958). Aratos: Sternbilder und Wetterzeichen. [Note: See the sympathetic (German-language) book review by Manfred Erren in Gnomon, Band 31, 1959, Pages 728-732.]

Erren, Manfred. (1967). Die Phainomena des Aratos von Soloi. [Note: A detailed study. The author argues that the Aratean constellations can be dated to Babylonia circa 2000 BCE. Regardless of some of its radical conclusions it is considered to be the standard study in the German-language. See the critical (German/English-language) book review by Walther Ludwig and David Pingree in Gnomon, Band 43, 1971, Pages 346-354.]

Creuzer, Georg. (1836). Symbolik und Mythologie der alten Völker. (4 volumes, 3rd revised edition, 1836-1842). [Note: See Volume 1, Pages 267-290. The first astronomical identification of the Mithraic tauroctony. German classical scholar, philologist, and archaeologist. Life dates: 1771-1858.]

Stark, Karl. (1869). "Die Mithrasstein von Dormagen." (Jahrbücherdes Vereins von Altertumsfreunden im Rheinlande, Band 46, Pages 1-25). [Note: Karl Stark was a classical philologist. Life dates: 1824-1879.]

Drews, Arthur. (1923). Der Sternhimmel in der Dichtung und Religion der Alten Völker und des Christentums. []Note: Arthur Drews had an astronomical interpretation for just about everything.]

Vermaseren, Maarten. (1963). Mithras, the Secret God. [Note: An authoritative book by a recognised scholar of Mithraism.]

Beck, Roger. (1977). "Cautes and Cautopates: some astronomical considerations." (Journal of Mithraic Studies, Volume 2, Number 1, Pages 1-17). [Note: This now defunct journal was a semiannual (twice a year) publication. It has been replaced by the Electronic Journal of Mithraic Studies.]

Insler, Stanley. (1978, 3 Volumes). "A New Interpretation of the Bull-Slaying Motif." In: de Boer, Margaret. and Edridge, T[?]. (Editors). Hommages ā Maarteen J. Vermaseren. (Volume 2, Pages 519-538).

Speidel, Michael. (1980). Mithras-Orion: Greek Hero and Roman Army God. [Note: Seeks a Hellenistic origin for Mithraism i.e., the myth of Mithras is largely the myth of the Greek hero Orion. See the (English-language) book reviews by Robert Ogilvie in The Classical Review, New Series Volume XXXI, 1981, Page 305; and by Roger Beck in Phoenix, Volume 36, 1982, Pages 196-198. The (French-language) book review by Michel Malaise in Latomus Revue D'Études Latines, Tome XL, 1981, Pages 461; and the (German-language) book reviews by Peter Herz in Gnomon, Band 54, 1982, Pages 88-90; by Gerhard Radke in Anzeiger für die Altertumswissenschaft, XXXV Band, 3/4 Heft, Juli/Oktober 1982, Column 276; and by Kurt Rudolph in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Band 78, Nummer 3, 1983, Columns 279-280.]

Tuman, Vladimir. (1983). "The Cerberus Slab of Hatra may represent Important Astronomical Events." (Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 24, Pages 14-23).

Merkelbach, Reinhold. (1984). Mithras. [Note: Excellent lengthy study. Special unnumbered issue of Beiträge zur Klassischen Philologie. Life dates: 1918-?]

Beck, Roger. (1988). Planetary Gods and Planetary Orders in the Mysteries of Mithras.

Ulansey, David. (1989; reprinted 1991). The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. [Note: Published in Turkish in 1998; and published in Italian in 2001. Wildly speculative precessional interpretation of the Mithraic religion. The author holds that Cilician pirates developed the Mithraic mysteries using Hipparchus' discovery of precession. Based on his 1984 Princeton University doctoral thesis titled: Mithras and Perseus: Mithraic Astronomy and the Anatolian Perseus-Cult. Highly speculative, selective, and controversial. The author (basically a "New-Ager") holds to a Jungian viewpoint for the interpretation of mythology. The book sets out a theory of the astronomical origin of Mithraism only. It does not contain any examination of the history of Mithraism nor does it contain any exposition of Mithraic cultic practices. As far as I am aware Ulansey has never engaged in any archaeological work concerning Mithraism and his few published articles on Mithraism, with one or two exceptions i.e., "Mithras and the Hypercosmic Sun" in Studies in Mithraism edited by John Hinnells (1994), basically repeat his book. (Ulansey's 1994 paper reappears as "Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth." in Alexandria 5: The Journal of Western Cosmological Traditions edited by David Fideler (April, 2000).) The author's astronomical ideas concerning Mithraism originated during a 1977 brain-storming session, on a picture of the Mithraic myth of the bull slaying, conducted in a graduate class on the Mystery Religions by Professor John Gager. (Ulansey is an amateur astronomer.) This immediate conclusion of Ulansey's has been kept by him and forms the basis for his continuing rejection of the theories of recognized Mithraic scholars. It is tempting to see a connection with the visionary techniques of Carl Jung. On at least one occasion Jung's own visionary experiences involved himself mimicing the Mithraic Leontocephalus. Also, Jung was very much interested in the Mystery Religions and was especially fascinated with the Mithraic iconography of Mithras slaying a bull. See especially his repeated explorations of the Mithraic tauroctony in his book Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido (1912). Ulansey openly admits that he is not comfortable with mainstream scholarship in general. He is currently (since the early 1990s) a professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. This is a private graduate school with approximately 1000 (mostly part-time) students that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (a regional accrediting agency recognised by the United States Department of Education). Ulansey usually identifies himself as a historian of religions, with a focus on the ancient Mystery Religions, Gnosticism, and early Christianity. The Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness Program which he helped to start was conceived of as a combination of Western esotericism and selected scientific themes. The California Institute of Integral Studies, has undergone several transformations since originating in the early 1950s under the influence of the teachings of eastern gurus and similar. Mithraic experts who are opponents of Ulansey's ideas on the origin of Mithraism include Roger Beck, Manfred Clauss and Helmut Waldmann. Most book reviewers at the time of the book's publication shared an absence of critical ability to deal with the material. See the (English-language) book reviews by Bartel van der Waerden in Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 21, 1990, Pages 365-366; by Anon in Scientific American, September, 1991, Volume 265, Number 3, Pages 136; by John Griffiths in The Classical Review, New Series, Volume 41, Number 1, 1991, Pages 122-124 (a critical review); and by Curtis Wilson in Ancient Philosophy, Spring, 1992, Volume XII, Number 1, Pages 242-244; and the (French-language) book review by (the French Egyptologist) Michel Malaise in Latomus, Tome 55, 1996, Pages 496-498. Also see "Gnostic Liberation from Astrological Determinism: Hipparchan "Trepidation" and the Breaking of Fate." by Horace Hodges (Vigiliae Christianae, Volume 51, Number 4, November, 1997, Pages 359-373) for the claim that at least some Gnostic sects used Hipparchus' discovery of the precession of the equinoxes as evidence of a benevolent force (a soteriological god) intervening in the world to successfully shift the zodiacal sphere to break the bonds of astrological fate and release the Gnostic elect from the power of the cosmos and its creator.]

Ulansey, David. (1989). "The Mithraic Mysteries." (Scientific American, December, Volume 261, Number 6, Pages 80-85). [Note: The article is a summary of his book.]

North, John. (1990). "Astronomical Symbolism in the Mithraic Mysteries." (Centaurus, Volume 33, Pages 115-148). [Note: Critical of many of David Ulansey's ideas. See also the article review by Pamela Long in Avista Forum. Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art, Volume 7, Number 1, Spring / Summer, 1993, Pages 7-8. It is supportive of North's position.]

Swerdlow, Noel. (1991). "On the Cosmical Mysteries of Mithras." (Classical Philology, Volume 86, January-October, Pages 48-63). [Note: A critical review of David Ulansey's book on Mithraism.]

Beck, Roger. (1994). "In the place of the Lion: Mithras in the tauroctony." In: Hinnells, John. (Editor). Studies in Mithraism. (Pages 29-50). [Note: Perceptively critical of David Ulansey's book on Mithraism.]

Waldman, Helmut. (1994). "Mithras tauroctonus." In: Hinnells, John. (Editor). Studies in Mithraism. (Pages 265-277). [Note: Critical of David Ulansey's book on Mithraism.]

Beck, Roger. (1998). "The Mysteries of Mithras: A New Account of Their Genesis." (The Journal of Roman Studies, Volume LXXXVIII, Pages 115-128).

Clauss, Manfred. (2000). The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and his Mysteries. [Note: Excellent. See the (German-language) book review by Rainer Vollkommer (of the 1992 German edition) in Klio, Band 77, 1995, Pages 523-524. The author is a recognised Mithraic scholar and an authority on the Greek-Roman period. He holds the academic position of Professor of Ancient History at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfort and Main. Life dates: 1945-.]

Breyer, Ralph. (2001). "Mithras - der Nachthimmel? Auseinandersetzung mit Maria Weiß." (Klio Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Band 83, Heft 1, Pages 213-218). [Note: Basically a criticism of the thesis of Maria Weiß that Mithras may be equated with the star-lit night sky.]

Clauss, Manfred. (2001). "Mithras und die Präzession." (Klio Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Band 83, Heft 1, Pages 219-225). [Note: A devasting critique of David Ulansey's speculation that Cilician pirates developed the Mithraic mysteries using Hipparchus' discovery of precession. Part of the English-language "Summary" states: "This hypothetical construction reveals a degree of incapacity hitherto seldom to be seen in the studies of ancient history. Without understanding the source material one speculation has been put upon the other to built (sic) this theory."]

Griffith, Alison (2001). "Mithras, Death, and Redemption in Statius, Thebaid I, 719-720." (Latomus Revue D'Études Latines, Tome 60, Pages 108-123).

Fotheringham, John. (1919). "Cleostratus." (The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume XXXIX, Pages 164-184).

Fotheringham, John. (1920). "Cleostratus: A Postscript." (The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume XL, Pages 208-209).

Webb, Edmund. (1921). "Cleostratus Redivivus." (The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume XLI, Pages 70-85).

Fotheringham, John. (1925). "Cleostratus (III)." (The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume XLV, Pages 78-83).

Webb, Edmund. (1928). "Cleostratus and his Work." (The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume XLVIII, Pages 54-63).

Jensen, Peter. (1886). "Der Kakkab misri der Antares." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Erster Band, Pages 244-267).

Halévy, Joseph. (1886). "L'Etoile Nommée Kakkab Mesri en Assyrien." (Journal Asiatique, Huitiéme Série, Tome VIII, Pages 369-380).

Oppert, Jules [Julius]. (1886). "Le Kakkab Mesri, Étoile de la Direction." (Journal Asiatique, Huitiéme Série, Tome VIII, Pages 558-562).

Oppert, Jules [Julius]. (1886). "Mul Kaksidi, l'etoile de direction et non Antarès." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Erster Band, Pages 435-439).

Mahler, Eduard. (1887). "Der Kakkab misri." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Zweiter Band, Pages 219-223).

Halévy, Joseph. (1887). "Un dernier mot sur kakkab mesri." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Zweiter Band, Pages 431-438).

Archenhold, Simon. (1887). "Ueber die Identificierungsversuche des Kakkab misri der Assyrer." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Zweiter Band, Pages 439-444).

Bezold, Carl. (1887). "Eine Bemerkung zur Antares-Literatur." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Zweiter Band, Pages 445-447).

Weidner, Ernst. (1912). "Zur Identifikation des kakkab KAK-SI-DI." (Babyloniaca: Études de philologie assyro-babylonienne, Tome 6, Pages 29-40). [Note: Forms part IV of a larger article: "Zur babylonischen Astronomie." See also erratum on page 234 of same journal.]

Lockyer, Joseph. (1891). "On some points in the early history of astronomy. I." (Nature, Volume 43, Number 1120, April 16, Pages 559-563).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1891). "On some points in the early history of astronomy. II." (Nature, Volume 44, Number 1123, May 7, Pages 8-11).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1891). "On some points in the early history of astronomy. III." (Nature, Volume 44, Number 1125, May 21, Pages 57-60).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1891). "On some points in the early history of astronomy. IV." (Nature, Volume 44, Number 1127, June 4, Pages 107-110).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1891). "On some points in the early history of astronomy. V." (Nature, Volume 44, Number 1131, July 2, Pages 199-202).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1892). "The origin of the year. I." (Nature, Volume 45, Number 1169, March 24, Pages 487-490).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1892). "The origin of the year. II." (Nature, Volume 46, Number 1179, June 2, Pages 104-107).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1892). "The origin of the year. III." (Nature, Volume 47, Number 1202, November 10, Pages 32-35).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1893). "The origin of the year. IV." (Nature, Volume 47, Number 1210, January 5, Pages 228-230).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1893). "The early asterisms. I." (Nature, Volume 48, Number 1245, September 7, Pages 438-440).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1893). "[The] Early asterisms. II." (Nature, Volume 48, Number 1248, September 28, Pages 518-520).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1893). "[The] Early asterisms. III." (Nature, Volume 49, Number 1261, December 28, Pages 199-203).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1901). "An attempt to ascertain the date of the original construction of Stonehenge from its orientation." (Nature, Volume 65, Number 1673, November 21, Pages 55-57).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1902). "The farmer's years. I." (Nature, Volume 65, Number 1681, January 16, Pages 248-250).

Lockyer, Joseph. (1902). "The farmer's years. II." (Nature, Volume 66, Number 1700, May 29, Pages 104-107).

See, Thomas. (1892). "History of the Color of Sirius." (Astronomy and Astro-Physics, Volume XI, April, Part 1, Pages 269-274; May, Part 2, Pages 372-385). [Note: See also the comments on this paper "Color of Sirius in Ancient Times" by William Lynn in Astronomy and Astro-Physics, Volume XI, New Series Number 7, August, Pages 634-635; and "The Color of Sirius in Ancient Times" by William Lynn in The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 1, January-May, 1895, Page 351.]

See, Thomas. (1892). "Note on the History of the Color of Sirius." (Astronomy and Astro-Physics, Volume XI, New Series Number 7, August, Pages 550-552).

See, Thomas. (1927). "Historical Researches Indicating a Change in the Color of Sirius, Between the Epochs of Ptolemy, 138, and Al Sûfi, 980, A. D." (Astronomische Nachrichten, Band 229, Columns 245-272).

Osthoff, H[?]. (1927). "Zur Farbe des Sirius im Altertum." (Astronomische Nachrichten, Band 229, Number 5495, Columns 443-444).

Dittrich, E[?]. (1928). "Woher das Epitheton >>rot<< für Sirius stammt." (Astronomische Nachrichten, Band 231, Number 5542, Columns ?-?).

Stentzel, A[?]. (1928). "Ägyptische Zeugnisse für die Farbe des Sirius im Altertum." (Astronomische Nachrichten, Band 231, Number 5542, Columns 387-392).

Meißner, O[?]. (1928). "Über die antiken Sternfarbenschätzungen." (Astronomische Nachrichten, Band 231, Number 5542, Columns 391-396).

Schossser, Wolfhard. and Bergmann, Werner. (1985). "An early-medieval account on the red colour of Sirius and its astrophysical implications." (Nature, Volume 318, 7th November, Pages 45-46).

Tang, Tong. (1986). "Star colours." (Nature, Volume 319, 13 February, Page 532). [Note: Points out that according to the Chinese evidence Sirius has always been white.]

McCluskey, Stephen. (1987). "The color of Sirius in the sixth century." (Nature, Volume 325, 1st January, Page 87 "Matters Arising.").

van Gent, Robert. (1987). "The color of Sirius in the sixth century." (Nature, Volume 325, 1st January, Pages 87-88 "Matters Arising."). [Note: See also the brief letter ""Red" Sirius" by Ian Ridpath in The Observatory, Volume 108, August, 1988, Page 130.]

Schossser, Wolfhard. and Bergmann, Werner. (1987). "The color of Sirius in the sixth century." (Nature, Volume 325, 1st January, Page 89 "Matters Arising.").

Dyke, Norman. (1988). "Sirius: its historical appearance." (Australian Journal of Astronomy, Volume 2, Number 3, April, Pages 102-104).

Bicknell, Peter. (1989). "Sirius and Manilius." (The Observatory, Volume 109, April, Pages 58-59).

Ceragioli, Roger. (1993). "The Riddle of Red Sirius: An Anthropological Perspective." In: Ruggles, Clive. and Saunders, Nicholas. (Editors). Astronomies and Cultures. (Pages 67-99).

Breuil, Henri. (1909). "Le Bison et le Taureau céleste chaldéen." (Revue Archéologique, Quatrième Série, Tome XIII, Janvier-Juin, Pages 250-254).

Gingerich, Owen. (1984). "The origin of the zodiac." (Sky and Telescope, Volume 67, Pages 218-220). [Note: Speculates that the "Great Bear" constellation may date back to the ice-ages. The essay is also included in the author's The Great Copernicus Chase (1992) pages 7-12.]

Antequera Congregado, Luz. (1992). Arte y astronomia: evolución de los dibujos de las constelaciones. [Note: A doctoral thesis comprising 708 pages.]

Antequera Congregado, Luz. (1994, 2nd edition 2000). "Altamira: Astronomia y religión en el Paleolitica." In: Belmonte, Juan. (Editor). Arqueoastronomía Hispana. [Note: The book title also appears as: Arqueoastronomía hispánica.]

Edge, Frank[lin]. (1995). Aurochs in the Sky: A Celestial Interpretation of the Hall of Bulls in the Cave of Lascaux. [Note: A booklet comprising 35 pages. The author is an American astronomer who began his research into the topic in 1991.]

Edge, Frank[lin]. (1997). "Taurus in Lascaux." (Griffith Observer, Volume 61, September, Pages 13-17).

Rappenglück [Rappenglüeck], Michael. (1997). "The Pleiades in the "Salle des Tareaux", Grotte de Lascaux." In: Jaschek, Carlos. and Barandela, Fernando. (Editors). Actas del IV Congreso de la SEAC "Astronomía en la Cultura" / Procedings of the IVth SEAC Meeting "Astronomy and Culture", Pages 217-225).

Rappenglück [Rappenglüeck], Michael. (1998). Eine Himmelskarte aus der Eiszeit? [Note: A doctoral thesis. The author's interest in the topic began in 1984.]

Rappenglück [Rappenglüeck], Michael. (1999). Eine Himmelskarte aus der Eiszeit? [Note: The book is based on the author's 1998 doctoral thesis of the same title. (The book has 531 pages.)]

Rappenglück [Rappenglüeck], Michael. (1999). "Palaeolithic Timekeepers Looking at the Golden Gate of the Ecliptic; the Lunar Cycles and the Pleiades in the Cave of La-TETe-Du-Lion (Ardéche, France) - 21,000 BP." (Earth, Moon, and Planets, Volume 85-86, Pages 391-404). [Note: The full journal title is:Earth, Moon, and Planets: An International Journal of Solar System Science. The author argues that a rock panel in the cave (dating to the Solutrean era circa 21,000-22,000 BCE) shows the combination of a star pattern - Aldebaran in the Bull and the Pleiades - with a drawing of the moons cycle above.]

Kaurov, E[?]. (1999). "Sky Luminaries in the Space Orienting Activity of Homo Sapiens in the Middle Palaolithic." (Astronomical and Astrophysical Transactions, Volume 17, Pages 459-473). [Note: Speculative.]

Rappenglück, Michael. (2003). "The anthropoid in the sky: Does a 32,000-year old ivory plate show the constellation Orion combined with a pregnancy calendar?" In: Blomberg, Mary., Blomberg, Peter., and Henriksson, Göran. (Editors). Calendars, Symbols, and Orientations: Legacies of Astronomy in Culture. (Pages 51-55). [Note: Proceedings of the 9th annual meeting of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC), Stockholm, 27-30 August 2001.]

Dupuis, Charles François. (1794/1795). Origine des tous les cultes: ou, Religion universelle. (7 Volumes (in octavo) (appeared 1794) plus 1 Volume of plates (i.e., atlas) (appeared 1795)). [Note: Numerous editions of the multi-volume edition appeared (usually issued over a number of years), and the number of volumes per multi-volume edition varied. (A celestial globe was also produced.) A 4-volume edition (3 volumes in quarto plus 1 volume of plates (i.e., atlas)) appeared 1796. Numerous one-volume abridged editions also appeared - the first being in 1797. The best abridged one-volume edition is the modified 1822 edition. A reprint of the French one-volume abridgement appeared as late as 1978. (A 3-volume abridged reprint also appeared 1897-1900.) An English translation of the abridged 1798 edition was published as "The Origin of all Religious Worship" in 1872 (the printing date is sometimes stated to be 1845 and also 1875), and reprinted 1984. Life dates: 1742-1809. A German translation of the abridged one-volume edition was published as "Ursprung der Gottesverehrung" in 1910.]

Martin, Thomas Henri. (1869). "Mémoire sur cette question: la précession des équinoxes a-t-elle été connue des Égyptiens ou de quelque autre peuple avant Hipparque?" (Mémoires présentés par divers savants a l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres de l'Institut Impérial de France, Première Série, Tome VIII, Pages 303-522). [Note: A serious but dated study of possible evidence for knowledge of precession in the ancient world before Hipparchus. Life dates: 1813-1884. The essay "Sulla relazione del calendario degli antichi Egiziani col fenomeno della precessionare" ["On the Relationship of the Calendar of the Ancient Egyptians with the Phenomenon of the Precession"] by the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli (see: Scritti Sulla Storia della Astronomia Antica, Tome III, Pages 109-119) was penned as comment on Thomas Martin's essay.]

Schiaparelli, Giovanni. ((Originally published)1874). "Sulla relazione del calendario degli antichi Egiziani col fenomeno della precessionare." In: Schiaparelli, Giovanni. (3 Volumes, 1925-1927; Reprinted 1997-1998). Scritti Sulla Storia della Astronomia Antica. [Note: Tome III, Pages 109-119.]

Massey, Gerald. (1883). The Natural Genesis. (2 Volumes). [Note: Completely unreliable. Life dates: 1828-1907. See the short obituary notice in The Athenæum, Number 4175, November 2, 1907, Page 553. See also an article on Gerald Massey by John Collins in the Contemporary Review, May, 1904. See the (English-language) book review by Anon in Athenaeum, 29 December, 1883, Pages 864. For a fascinating biography of Gerald Massey see the book Gerald Massey: Chartist, Poet, Radical and Freethinker by David Shaw (1995).]

St. Clair, George. (1898). Creation Records Discovered in Egypt. [Note: The author believed that precessional knowledge was the basis for all Egyptian mythology. Life dates: 1836-1909.]

St. Clair, George. (1898). "Atlas legend: precession of the equinoxes before Hipparchus. (Westminster Review, Number 150, December, Pages 647-654).

Jeremias, Alfred. (1908, 2nd edition 1909). Das Alter der babylonischen Astronomie. [Note: See the chapter "Präzession und Weltzeitalter." Life dates 1864-1935.]

Ginzel, Friedrich. (1901). Die astronomischen Kenntnisse der Babylonier und ihre kulturhistorische Bedeutung. Parts I, II, & III. (Klio Beiträge zur alten Geschichte, Volume I, 1901, Pages 1-25, 189-211, 349-380). [Note: See page 205. Republished as a pamphlet in 1908.]

Jeremias, Alfred. (1913, 2nd edition 1929). Handbuch der altorientalischen Geisteskultur. [Note: The book is generally unreliable. The author was unrelenting in the promotion of Panbabylonist ideas regardless of the absence of the quality of evidence used.]

Weidner, Ernst. (1913) “Die Entdeckung der Präzession, eine Geistestat babylonischen Astronomen.” (Babyloniaca: Études de philologie assyro-babylonienne, Tome 7, Pages 1-19).

Weidner, Ernst. (1914). Alter und Bedeutung der babylonischen Astronomie und Astrallehre. [Note: Contains an essay "Die Kenntnis der Präzession bei den Babyloniern" arguing for early Babylonian knowledge of precession. (Essentially the same as his 1913 article in Babyloniaca.) The essays contained in this book were all written by a very young Ernst Weidner and all are very much in the Winckler-Jeremias framework of Panbabylonism.]

Schnabel, Paul. (1923, Reprinted 1968). Berossos und die Babylonisch-Hellenistische Literatur. [Note: In chapter 10, § 5 the author argues for the discovery of precession by Kidenas. The book is full of errors and unreliable. Life dates: 1887-?]

Schnabel, Paul. (1927). "Kidenas, Hipparch und die Entdeckung der Präzession." (Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Verwandte Gebiete, Neue Folge, Band 3 (Band 37), Pages 1-60). [Note: The argument for the late Babylonian discovery of precession has been thoroughly demolished by Otto Neugebauer in "The Alleged Babylonian Discovery of the Precession of the Equinoxes." (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Volume 70, Number 1, 1950, Pages 1-8). See also an early demolition by Franz Kugler of the precession argument in “Erwiderung auf E. Dittrichs “Platons Zahlenrätsel und die Präzession” (OLZ XIII, Sp. 103 ff.).” (Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Band 13, 1910, Columns 277-279).]

Langdon, Stephen (1935). Babylonian Menologies and the Semitic Calendars. [Note: Several persons claim that in this book the Assyriologist Stephen Langdon expresses his opinion that the Babylonians knew of precession. (For example: The Observatory, Volume 71, Number 862, 1951, Page 120 , "Notes on Babylonian Astronomy".) I am not aware of any explicit statement by Stephen Langdon regarding such. However, such may be inferred from some statements in Lecture 1 and also some other parts of the book. Langdon's acceptance of Sumerian constellations, and an early zodiac, are mistaken. This negates the book's use for claims of precessional knowledge by the Babylonians.]

Frost, Stanley. (1952). "Eschatology and Myth." (Vetus Testamentum, Volume 2, Fascicle 1, January, Pages 70-80).

Pichon, Jean-Charles. (1963). Les Cycles du retour éternel. (2 Volumes). [Note: The author is a prolific French occultist. The book covers similar ground to that of Hamlet's Mill. Life dates: 1920- .]

de Santillana, Giorgio. and von Dechend, Hertha. (1969, and reprinted several times since (in English (1970, 1977, 1983), and Italian (1983, reprinted 1984, and 1998; then an expanded edition published 1999, reprinted 2000, and 2003); and a German edition (1993, reprinted 1994) with some changes and 17 extra pages)). Hamlet's Mill: An essay on myth and the frame of time. [Note: The book which re-introduced some of the basic ideas of Panbabylonism. Life dates for Giorgio de Santillana 1902-1974. Life dates for Hertha von Dechend 1915-2001. The book's contents are poorly organised and the evidence cited is poorly presented and confusing. While the book contains an immense amount of loosely related information there is no persuasive evidence presented for the connections being made. An expert knowledge of the history of Babylonian astronomy is lacking. (Some persons hold that a German-language edition was also published in 1969 but this is erroneous.) The authors did not revise their book (but Hertha von Dechend did later publish a German-language edition with some changes/additions) or publish any other on the theme. Unfortunately the errata list that was enclosed with the 1993 German-language edition was left out of the 1994 reprint of such. During 1961, 1966, and 1979 Hertha von Dechend (when a research associate at MIT) delivered seminars on ancient cosmology at MIT and her lecture notes were available for a time. They were full of errors regarding both spelling and sense. It would appear the intention of Harald Reiche to edit them was never fulfilled. It is also easy to discern that the greater contents of the book Hamlet's Mill is her work and owes much to her early MIT seminars. The basic role of Giorgio de Santillana as "co-author" was evidently that of editing her material. (The problem of the book being poorly organised probably largely originates from von Dechend's MIT lecture notes being poorly organised.) Her extensive German-language lecture notes from lectures and seminars at Frankfurt University beginning 1970 have, to my knowledge, never been translated or made generally available. After the retirement (death) of Giorgio de Santillana in 1967 his history of science classes at MIT were continued by Harald Reiche, a Professor of Classics and Philosophy at MIT, who was an avid supporter of Hamlet's Mill. (In fact the only real support for the book came from certain faculty members of MIT.) Most latter-day commentators on Hamlet's Mill incorrectly believe that Giorgio de Santillana was still Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at the time of publication of Hamlet's Mill in 1969. That he was not should have been clear from the dust jacket. After his retirement it appears he continued to lecture at MIT until he became seriously ill.]

Hartner, Willy. (1979). "The young Avestan and Babylonian Calendars and the antecedents of precession." (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 10, Pages 1-22). [Note: The author suggests that the tropical and sidereal year were distinguished in Babylonian astronomy by 503 BCE and that it implies knowledge of precession.]

Severin, Gregory. (1981). The Paris Codex: Decoding the Astronomical Ephemeris. (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 71, Part 5). [Note: In his study of the Paris zodiac table the author maintains that the ancient Maya were aware of the precession of the equinoxes. See the critical (English-language) book reviews by Michael Closs in Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of the Centre for Archaeoastronomy, Volume VI, Numbers 1-4, January-December, 1983, Pages 164-171; and by David Kelley in Archaeoastronomy (Supplement to the Journal for the History of Astronomy), Number 5 (Supplement to Volume 14), 1983, Pages S70-S72.]

Reiche, Harald. (1985). "The Archaic Heritage: Myths of Decline and End in Antiquity." In: Friedlander, S[?]. et. al. (Editors). Visions of Apocalypse: End of Rebirth. (Pages 21-43). [Note: The author argues that the iconography of Iranian vases dating circa 4000 BCE are to be interpreted in terms of quasi-precessional phenomena.]

Ulansey, David. (1989; reprinted 1991). The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. [Note: Not exactly pre-Hipparchus but involving some supposed precessional "back-dating." The book is based on his 1984 Princeton University doctoral thesis titled: Mithras and Perseus: Mithraic Astronomy and the Anatolian Perseus-Cult. Highly speculative and controversial. A devastating critique of David Ulansey's speculation that Cilician pirates developed the Mithraic mysteries using Hipparchus' discovery of precession is given in: Clauss, Manfred. (2001). "Mithras und die Präzession." (Klio Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Band 83, Heft 1, Pages 219-225).]

Worthen, Thomas. (1991). The Myth of Replacement: Stars, Gods, and Order in the Universe. [Note: The author is a Classicist who retired from his position as Associate Professor, Department of Classics, The University of Arizona, in 1999. Basically the book takes an anthropological approach to precessional mythology. See the (English-language) book review by Raymond Mercier in Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 23, 1992, Pages 303-305).]

Sellers, Jane. (1992; revised edition 2003). The Death of Gods in Egypt. [Note: The author, who is not a professional Egyptologist, uses Egyptian mythology to test the ideas in Hamlet's Mill. (For reasons unrelated to the course the author did not complete her Ph.D. in Egyptology (under Dr. Klaus Baer) at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.) A revised and updated 2nd edition of her book was first privately published (unbound, i.e., loose sheet form) by the author in 1999 and then published as a bound volume by a minor publisher in 2003 (and this later 2nd edition is the preferred volume to use). Life dates: 1926- .]

Millar, F[?]. (1995). "The Celestial David and Goliath." (Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Volume 89, Number 4, Pages 141-154). [Note: The Canadian author argues that the ancient fear that "the sky is falling" was a description that identified knowledge of precession. He wrote several other articles on stellar mythology for the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada during 1998/1999. [F?]. Millar was a meteorologist at the Head Office of the Meteorological Service of Canada for 16 years before joining the Defence Research Board for 23 years. He viewed the book "Hamlet's Mill" as "true gospel." See the (English-Language) obituary by Mary Whitehorne in Nova Notes, Volume 32, Number 4, August 2001, Page 6. Life dates: 1910-2001.]

Sullivan, William. (1996). The Secret of the Incas. [Note: The author, who holds a doctorate from the Center of American Indian Studies at the University of St. Andrew's, applies the precessional mythology theme of Hamlet's Mill to the mythology of the Incas. His PhD was awarded in 1987 for research on which the book is based. The author also holds a MLitt degree from the Centre for Latin American Linguistic Studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The thesis topic for this was "Quechua Star Names", and was based on fieldwork into star names currently known to the Indians of Peru and Bolivia. See the (English-language) book review by Gerardo Aldana in Archaeoastronomy, Supplement to: Journal for the History of Astronomy, Volume 28, Number 22, 1997, Pages S88-S89.]

Sarma, K[?]. (1997). "Precession of the Equinoxes." In: Selin, Helaine. (Editor). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. [Note: See page 827. The article argues for knowledge of precession in India during Vedic times. The evidence offered is that Vedic priests changed (several times) the beginning of their year backwards from one constellation to the next previous constellation. It is not claimed that any measurement of precession was made. The author is with the Adyar Library and Research Centre, Adyar, Madras, India.]

Anon. (1999). "Continued Fraction Decipherment: the Aristarchan Ancestry of Hipparchos' Yearlength & Precession." (DIO, Volume 9, Number 1, June, Pages 30-38). [Note: The article was written by DIO's editor Dennis Rawlins. Argues for knowledge of precession by Aristarchos 150 years before Hipparchus' discovery.]

Kollerstrom, Nicholas. (2001). "On the Measurement of Celestial Longitude in Antiquity." In: Simon, Gérard. and Débarbat, Suzanne. (Editors). Optics and Astronomy. (Pages 145-159). [Note: Proceedings of the XXth International Congress of History of Science (Liège, 20-26 July 1997). Volume XII. Includes an assessment of early precessional knowledge.]

Aveni, Anthony. (2001). Skywatchers: A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico. [Note: Includes an assessment of whether the Mesoamericans had an understanding of precession. The author is an astronomer and expert on native American astronomy.]

Barber, Elizabeth. and Barber, Paul. (2004). When They Severed the Earth From the Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth. [Note: The authors maintain that myth originated in prehistoric non-literate societies as a vehicle to preserve and transmit information about real events and observations. The authors state that the original inspiration for much of their book were the essays in Before Philosophy by Henri and Henriette Frankfort, John Wilson, and Thorkild Jacobsen (1949). Chapter 16: Of Sky and Time is sufficient demonstration of the uninformed and wildly speculative nature of the authors arguments. They uncritically follow the central theme of Hamlet's Mill by Giorgio De Santillana and Hertha von Dechend. Elizabeth Wayland is Professor of Linguistics and Archaeology at Occidental College, Los Angeles. Paul Barber is a research associate with the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at the University of California, Los Angeles.]

Hansen, Chad. (2002). The five-fifths of myth. [Note: Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Dallas. Abstract: The main argument of the dissertation is that mythoi from around the world, as well as epics and legends that derive from these mythoi, embody an awareness of astronomical entities and events. In particular, the five planets visible to the naked eye can be divided into two groups according to their motion. The three planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars form one group, called here the Big Three, and the two planets Venus and Mercury form another group, called here the Divine Twins. These two sets of planets were personified by various groups of people from around the world, and woven into myth as the main characters of many stories. From the very outset, these five planets were thought to be involved in a celestial scenario of divine kingship of the sky and the gods, as well as the divine origin of human beings. The Big Three also contributed to the structure of society through clan division. The astronomical event known scientifically as the precession of the equinoxes was interpreted by the mythopoets as a succession of World Ages, each of which was ruled by a different king of the gods. This idea of world time led directly to the advent of the calendar as the expression of this succession. The grand myth of the World Ages was eventually transformed into epic and legend, in which traces of the myth can be discovered, using the techniques of critical hermeneutics in general and comparative mythology in particular. The dissertation discusses these astronomical underpinnings as they are expressed, in particular, in Egyptian mythos, in the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, in the Celtic legends compiled in the Mabinogi, and in the Mesoamerican mythos of the Mayan people as this is recorded in the Popol Vuh. Although some argument to this effect was proposed in the text Hamlet's Mill, no one to date has proposed the global distribution of this motif, nor offered so comprehensive an analysis of these archaeoastronomical influences in world narrative. Hence, this dissertation advances theories and evidence that are not only original in their orientation, but groundbreaking in their content.]

Lundwall, John (2006). "Taurus Oedipus and the Riddling Sphinx: A New Interpretation." [Note: Wildly speculative and uses several dated and unreliable sources. Published on the internet at Cosmos and Logos.]

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Some articles by Robert Brown Junior.

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1885). "The Zodiacal Crab." (The Academy, February 21, Number 668, Pages 135-136). [Note: No material by Robert Brown is reliable. However, his mistaken ideas still continue to influence some people who write on the origin of the constellations.]

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1886). "The Names of the Great Syrian Goddess." (The Academy, April 10, Number 727, Page 257).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1886 - June, 1887). "On Euphratean Names of the Constellation Ursa Major." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 9, Pages 127-130). [Note: This is a communication to the Society.]

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1887). "The Babylonian Zodiac." (The Academy, January 29, Number 769, Page 73). [This is a letter which appears in the Correspondence section.]

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1887). "Etruscan Divinity-Names." (The Academy, November 12, Number 810, Pages 323-324).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1888 - June, 1889). "Names of Stars in Babylonian." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 11, Pages 145-151). [Note: This is a communication to the Society.]

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1889 - June, 1890). "Remarks on the Tablet of the Thirty Stars. Part I." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 12, Pages 137-152).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1889 - June, 1890). "Remarks on the Tablet of the Thirty Stars. Part II." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 12, Pages 180-206).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1890 - June, 1891). "Remarks on the Euphratean Astronomical Names of the Signs of the Zodiac." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 13, Pages 246-271).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1890). "The Zodiacal Crab." (The Academy, December 6, Number 970, Pages 532-533).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1891 - June 1892). "Euphratean Stellar Researches [Part I]." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 14, Pages 280-304).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1892). "The Milky Way in Euphratean Stellar Mythology." (The Academy, January 9, Number 1027, Page 43).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1892 - June, 1893). "Euphratean Stellar Researches [Part II]." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 15, Pages 317-342).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (November, 1892 - June, 1893). "Euphratean Stellar Researches. Part III." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 15, Pages 456-470).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1894). "The Dawn of Astronomy." (The Academy, March 31, Number 1143, Pages 271-272). [Note: An article book-review of The Dawn of Astronomy by J. Norman Lockyer.]

Brown, Junior., Robert, (1894). "The Connexion between Babylonian and Greek Astronomy." (The Academy, November 10, Number 1175, Pages 379-380).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (January - December, 1895). "Euphratean Stellar Researches. Part IV." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 17, Pages 16-36).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (January - December, 1895). "Euphratean Stellar Researches. Part V." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 17, Pages 284-303).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (January - December, 1895). "Euphratean Stellar Researches. [Part VI]." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 18, Pages 25-44).

Brown, Junior., Robert, (January - December, 1902). "Note on the Heavenly Body MUL . MUL." (Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 24, Pages 126-129). [Note: This is a communication to the Society.]

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An Annotated Bibliography Of

Studies of Occidental Constellations and

Star Names to the Classical Period