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
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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:
