Astrology has played a major role in society since the beginning of civilization, and maybe even before that. Its influence can be seen in almost every part of the world. Astrology’s history is a long one, and common belief is that its origins lie with the Greeks. However, a closer look shows that the foundations for astrology were laid much earlier than that, and the Egyptians had much to do with this. The Egyptian influence will be discussed shortly; but first, it will be very helpful to describe the history of astrology up to the point that the Egyptians became involved.
The Sumerians, who settled in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC, mark the first example of a people who worshipped the sun, moon, and Venus. They considered these heavenly bodies gods, or the homes of gods. The moon god’s name was Nanna, the sun god was called Utu, and the god of Venus was named Inanna. These were not the only gods the Sumerians worshipped; in fact, other gods, especially those of creation, were more important in the Sumerian pantheon. The Akkandians, near Sumer, adopted the sun, moon and Venus gods, changing their names. This was common with the gods in ancient times: the gods were accepted by a society, but their names were changed, depending on who had conquered whom.
The priests of the time who communicated with the gods were the first rulers. Temple systems were created and staffs of as many as several hundred to several thousand people in various roles were "employed" to fulfill various needs of the priests. There were junior priests, counselors, musicians, potters, etc. Later, it became necessary to have military leaders and some of these became kings. These kings usually had in their company a seer, or "baru-priest." This person was an interpreter of the skies -- he would read the sky for warnings, which usually involved eclipses of the moon. It could be said that the "baru-priests" were the first actual astrologers. In order to be able to communicate with the gods, mounds were built which represented shrines. These, over time, grew to larger structures called "ziggurats." (Later, these ziggurats would be used to map the star formations and to watch the sky for omens.)
The Sumerians, who settled in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC, mark the first example of a people who worshipped the sun, moon, and Venus. They considered these heavenly bodies gods, or the homes of gods. The moon god’s name was Nanna, the sun god was called Utu, and the god of Venus was named Inanna. These were not the only gods the Sumerians worshipped; in fact, other gods, especially those of creation, were more important in the Sumerian pantheon. The Akkandians, near Sumer, adopted the sun, moon and Venus gods, changing their names. This was common with the gods in ancient times: the gods were accepted by a society, but their names were changed, depending on who had conquered whom.
The priests of the time who communicated with the gods were the first rulers. Temple systems were created and staffs of as many as several hundred to several thousand people in various roles were "employed" to fulfill various needs of the priests. There were junior priests, counselors, musicians, potters, etc. Later, it became necessary to have military leaders and some of these became kings. These kings usually had in their company a seer, or "baru-priest." This person was an interpreter of the skies -- he would read the sky for warnings, which usually involved eclipses of the moon. It could be said that the "baru-priests" were the first actual astrologers. In order to be able to communicate with the gods, mounds were built which represented shrines. These, over time, grew to larger structures called "ziggurats." (Later, these ziggurats would be used to map the star formations and to watch the sky for omens.)
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