Ptolemy and Firmacus in the Defense of Astrology

In episode 401 Dr. Benjamin Dykes joins the podcast to talk about his new translation of the astrological work of the 4th century astrologer Firmicus Maternus. Firmicus was a lawyer and astrologer from the 4th century who wrote one of the longest surviving texts on astrology that has survived from antiquity, which is titled Mathesis. Firmicus' work is unique because it was written in Latin, and it preserves a lot of material from earlier Greek sources that did not survive into modern times, such as the works of Asclepius or Nechepso and Petosiris. The text also contains huge amounts of delineation material, where Firmicus explains how to interpret different placements in a person's birth chart. During the course of the interview we discuss Firmicus' life and work, Ben's motivation for translating this book, and some of the interesting features of the Mathesis. You can get a copy of Ben's new translation of Firmicus here: Firmicus Maternus Mathesis This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps 00:00:00 A new translation of the Mathesis 00:09:52 The life and dating of Firmicus Maternus 00:19:50 Firmicus' philosophy and religious views 00:30:40 Later conversion to Christianity 00:37:00 Mathesis as the first comprehensive astrological text in Latin 00:57:00 Mitigating conditions 01:10:00 Firmicus views on fate 01:31:28 The Thema Mundi 01:38:33 Firmicus using whole sign and equal houses together 01:49:29 Firmicus' emphasis on the Moon 01:55:47 Apotelesmata and chart synthesis 01:59:35 Lots as houses/places 02:08:08 Fixed stars 02:13:32 Popularity of Firmicus in later tradition 02:17:53 Ben's upcoming projects 02:19:14 Patrons and sponsors Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on Firmicus Maternus on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNf5JVNMZI - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 401 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3: