The Structure of Knowledge of the Universe
The Structure of Knowledge of the Universe
This chapter focuses on Babylonian omen lists. The omen was always part of a list that presented a series of individual cases. With its interest in every aspect of the universe, divination’s scope had no limits, and each ominous occurrence deserved its own entry in the texts. The chapter first offers a structural analysis of the syntagm and paradigm before discussing the similitudes that the various omen series pursued to build up a system of knowledge that was all-encompassing and fully interconnected. It then explains how the diviners established links between events observed in reality and the divinatory series. It also shows how hermeneutics provided the tools to interpret the gods’ messages, however truthful.
Keywords: Babylonian omen, universe, divination, syntagm, paradigm, similitudes, knowledge, hermeneutics, gods, truth
Princeton Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
