Birth and diffusion of the Mesopotamian zodiac

The zodiac appeared in Mesopotamia before the medium of v^e  century BC. It did not emerge ex nihilo: its birth supposes a series of stages which were traversed since originel cosmogony in two different directions which finqlly converged to deliver this splendid cultural object. It indeed supposes, on one side, several revolutions in the manner of organizing the empirical data provided by the observation of the stars for establishing comput and, on the other side, in that to conceive the astral figures. Once formed, the zodiac was gradually spread on the scale of planet, and we will follow the ways of his diffusion to the crossroads which is the aramaic language.

This article shows a presentation  made in December 2007 by Roland Laffitte at the Société d’Etudes Euro-Asiatiques, and is in the course of publication in the  Revue de la Société d’Études Euro-Asiatiques.

Article on « Birth & Diffusion of  the Zodiac… » (in French)