Artemidorus
Encyclopedia
Artemidorus Daldianus or Ephesius was a professional diviner who lived in the 2nd century. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek
work the Oneirocritica
, (The Interpretation of Dreams).
, on the west coast of Asia Minor
, but was also called Daldianus, from his mother's native city, Daldis in Lycia
. He lived in the 2nd century.
According to Artemidorus, the material for his work was gathered during lengthy travels through Greece, Italy and Asia, from diviners of high and low station. Another major source were the writings of Artemidorus' predecessors, sixteen of whom he cites by name. It is clear he built on a rich written tradition, now otherwise lost. Artemidorus' method is, at root, analogical. He writes that dream interpretation is "nothing other than the juxtaposition of similarities" (2.25). But like other types of Greek divination, including astrology
, celestial divination and pallomancy
, Greek dream divination (Oneiromancy
) became exceedingly complex, a given dream subject to a number of interpretations depending on secondary considerations, such as the age, sex and status of the dreamer. At other times, subtle distinctions within the dream itself are significant. In a particularly memorable passage, Artemidorus expounds upon the meaning of dreams involving sex with one's mother:
There follows a lengthy and minute recitation of the divinatory significance of enjoying one's mother in various sexual positions.
The first three books of the Oneirocritica are dedicated to one Cassius Maximus and were intended to serve as a detailed introduction for both diviners and the general public. Books four and five were written for Artemidorus' son, also Artemidorus, to give him a leg-up on competitors, and Artemidorus cautions him about making copies.
According to the Suda
(Alpha 4025), Artemidorus also penned a Oiônoscopica (Interpretation of Birds) and a Chiroscopica (Palmistry), but neither has survived, and the authorship is discounted. In the Oneirocritica Artemidorus displays a hostile attitude to palmistry.
Among the authors Artemidorus cites are Antiphon (possibly the same as Antiphon the Sophist
), Aristander of Telmessus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Alexander of Myndus
in Caria, and Artemon of Miletus. The fragments of these authors, from Artemidorus and other sources, were collected by Del Corno in his Graecorum de re onirocritica scriptorum reliquiae (1969).
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
work the Oneirocritica
Oneirocritica
Oneirocritica is an ancient Greek treatise on dream interpretation written by Artemidorus in the 2nd century AD, and is the first extant Greek work on the subject, in five books...
, (The Interpretation of Dreams).
Life and work
Artemidorus was surnamed Ephesius, from EphesusEphesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
, on the west coast of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, but was also called Daldianus, from his mother's native city, Daldis in Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
. He lived in the 2nd century.
According to Artemidorus, the material for his work was gathered during lengthy travels through Greece, Italy and Asia, from diviners of high and low station. Another major source were the writings of Artemidorus' predecessors, sixteen of whom he cites by name. It is clear he built on a rich written tradition, now otherwise lost. Artemidorus' method is, at root, analogical. He writes that dream interpretation is "nothing other than the juxtaposition of similarities" (2.25). But like other types of Greek divination, including astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, celestial divination and pallomancy
Methods of divination
Innumerable methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names. During the Middle Ages, scholars coined terms for many of these methods — some of which had hitherto been unnamed — in Medieval Latin, very often utilizing the suffix...
, Greek dream divination (Oneiromancy
Oneiromancy
Oneiromancy is a form of divination based upon dreams; it is a system of dream interpretation that uses dreams to predict the future.-Ancient Egyptian:...
) became exceedingly complex, a given dream subject to a number of interpretations depending on secondary considerations, such as the age, sex and status of the dreamer. At other times, subtle distinctions within the dream itself are significant. In a particularly memorable passage, Artemidorus expounds upon the meaning of dreams involving sex with one's mother:
- "The case of one's mother is both complex and manifold and admits of many different interpretations—a thing not all dream interpreters have realized. The fact is that the mere act of intercourse by itself is not enough to show what is portended. Rather, the manner of the embraces and the various positions of the bodies indicate different outcomes." (Trans. Robert J. White)
There follows a lengthy and minute recitation of the divinatory significance of enjoying one's mother in various sexual positions.
The first three books of the Oneirocritica are dedicated to one Cassius Maximus and were intended to serve as a detailed introduction for both diviners and the general public. Books four and five were written for Artemidorus' son, also Artemidorus, to give him a leg-up on competitors, and Artemidorus cautions him about making copies.
According to the Suda
Suda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
(Alpha 4025), Artemidorus also penned a Oiônoscopica (Interpretation of Birds) and a Chiroscopica (Palmistry), but neither has survived, and the authorship is discounted. In the Oneirocritica Artemidorus displays a hostile attitude to palmistry.
Among the authors Artemidorus cites are Antiphon (possibly the same as Antiphon the Sophist
Antiphon (person)
Antiphon the Sophist lived in Athens probably in the last two decades of the 5th century BC. There is an ongoing controversy over whether he is one and the same with Antiphon of the Athenian deme Rhamnus in Attica , the earliest of the ten Attic orators...
), Aristander of Telmessus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Alexander of Myndus
Alexander of Myndus
Alexander of Myndus in Caria was an ancient Greek writer who some believe lived during the 1st century AD but this date is uncertain. He wrote on diverse topics, including zoology and divination...
in Caria, and Artemon of Miletus. The fragments of these authors, from Artemidorus and other sources, were collected by Del Corno in his Graecorum de re onirocritica scriptorum reliquiae (1969).
Editions and translations
- The definitive edition of the Greek text is by Roger Pack, Artemidori Daldiani Onirocriticon Libri V (Teubner 1963)
- A medieval Arabic version was made of the first three books (i.e., the "public" books) in 877 by Hunayn ibn IshaqHunayn ibn IshaqHunayn ibn Ishaq was a famous and influential Assyrian Nestorian Christian scholar, physician, and scientist, known for his work in translating Greek scientific and medical works into Arabic and Syriac during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate.Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive...
, and published by Toufic Fahd with a French translation in 1964 under the title Le livre des songes [par] Artémidore d'Éphèse - The most recent English translation is by R.J. White, The Interpretation of Dreams (2nd Edition, 1990, Torrance, CA: Original Books).
- The most recent Italian translation is by Dario Del Corno, Libro dei sogni (1974)
- The most recent French translation is by A. J. Festugière, Clef des Songes (1975)
- The "fragments" of other Greco-Roman oneirocritic authors were compiled by Dario Del Corno in his Graecorum de re Onirocritica Scriptorum Reliquiae (1969), with commentary in Italian. As many of the fragments are preserved by Artemidorus, Del Corno's work is also a partial commentary to the Oneirocritica.
- There is also a Dutch translation, by Simone Mooij-Valk, called Droomboek (2003)
External links
- Wiki Classical Dictionary: Artemidorus, incorporating entry from Charles Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography… (1867)
- Suda Online: Artemidorus
- Ancient Divination and Astrology on the Web, Dream interpretation resources