The second contribution of Babylonia and Assyria to medicine--one that
affected mankind profoundly--relates to the supposed influence of the
heavenly bodies upon man's welfare. A belief that the stars in their
courses fought for or against him arose early in their civilizations,
and directly out of their studies on astrology and mathematics. The
Macrocosm, the heavens that "declare the glory of God," reflect, as in
a mirror, the Microcosm, the daily life of man on earth. The first step
was the identification of the sun, moon and stars with the gods of
the pantheon. Assyrian astronomical observations show an extraordinary
development of practical knowledge. The movements of the sun and moon
and of the planets were studied; the Assyrians knew the precession of
the equinoxes and many of the fundamental laws of astronomy, and the
modern nomenclature dates from their findings. In their days the signs
of the zodiac corresponded practically with the twelve constellations
whose names they still bear, each division being represented by the
symbol of some god, as the Scorpion, the Ram, the Twins, etc. "Changes
in the heavens . . . portended changes on earth. The Biblical expression
'hosts of heaven' for the starry universe admirably reflects the
conception held by the Babylonian astrologers.
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