Astrology and Religion in Late Antiquity

Abstract

This chapter considers the place of astrology within Roman laws and how it changed during Late Antiquity, and how astrology was viewed by the pagan, Christian, and Jewish faiths. It also considers Mathesis, a Latin handbook of astrology written by Firmicus Maternus during the fourth century, as an example of how an astrological author managed to navigate this set of challenges for the discipline. The place of astrology in Roman society became even more complicated with the arrival of each new religion, and particularly with the arrival of Christianity as a legal religion in the fourth century. The Theodosian Code maps out how the legality of astrology was affected throughout the fourth and into the fifth centuries. The legal status of astrology in the cultural life of the Roman empire fluctuated during the centuries, being dependent on social and political attitudes toward it.

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