ghtly in the
Babylonian phase the time was considered auspicious to wage war in the
west. Great importance was attached to eclipses, which were
fortunately recorded, with the result that the ancient astronomers
were ultimately enabled to forecast them.

The destinies of the various states in the four quarters were
similarly influenced by the planets. When Venus, for instance, rose
brightly in the field of Anu, it was a "prosperor" for Elam; if it
were dim it foretold misfortune. Much importance was also attached to
the positions occupied by the constellations when the planets were
propitious or otherwise; no king would venture forth on an expedition
under a "yoke of inauspicious stars".

Biblical references to the stars make mention of well-known Babylonian
constellations:

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the
bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth (? the Zodiac) in
his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest
thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof
in the earth? _Job_, xxxviii, 31-33. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion,
and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. _Job_, ix, 9. Seek
him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow
of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night.
_Amos_, v, 8.

The so-called science of astrology, which had origin in ancient
Babylonia and spread eastward and west, is not yet extinct, and has
its believers even in our own country at the present day, although
they are not nearly so numerous as when Shakespeare made Malvolio
read:

In my stars I am above thee; but be not afraid of greatness: some
are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness
thrust upon 'em. Thy Fates open their hands....[353]

or when Byron wrote:

Ye stars! which are the poetry of heaven!
If in your bright leaves we would read the fate
Of men and empires--'t is to be forgiven
That in our aspirations to be great,
Our destinies o'erleap their mortal state
And claim a kindred with you....[354]

Our grave astronomers are no longer astrologers, but they still call
certain constellations by the names given them in Babylonia. Every
time we look at our watches we are reminded of the ancient
mathematicians who counted on their fingers and multiplied 10 by 6, to
give us minutes and seconds, and divided the day and the night i