Personal horoscopes were first developed in Babylon about 50 years before Alexander was born. A horoscope is a chart based on the position of the sun, moon, and planets at the time of a baby’s birth. The ancient astronomers believed that people’s personalities and actions were determined or influenced by the position of the heavens when they were born. It was common for ancient people to make important decisions based on their horoscopes. Many people throughout the world still believe in this practice,
Known as astrology. In some eastern countries, astrology is considered a science. In the West, while many people believe in astrology, it is not generally thought of as a science.
Signs and Omens
It is said that on the night Alexander cut the Gordian knot (see page 20), a violent storm came up and the skies shook with thunder and lightning. Seers interpreted the storm as a sign that Zeus was pleased with Alexander's accomplishment and would give his armies victory.
One of the most famous predictions concerns the founding of Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander poured peeled barley to mark out a plan for streets and the locations where he wanted certain buildings to be placed. Birds ate the barley, which Alexander at first saw as a bad omen. However, Aristander said it meant the city would attract a great number of settlers and that they would all be provided with sustenance.
After Alexander's murder of his friend Cleitus in a drunken rage (see page 41), soothsayers found omens that they believed had predicted this event. For one, when Cleitus entered the banquet hall, some sheep followed him in, which was later interpreted as a sign that the gods had intended him to become a sacrifice.
In the spring of 328 b. c.e., soldiers discovered two springs welling out of the ground by the side of the Oxus River, where the army had set up camp. One was water, the other was a liquid that the soldiers compared to olive oil. No one realized at the time that it was petroleum, the oily, flammable substance used today in making gasoline and other products. When Aristander was called on to interpret this omen, he said the spring was a sign that there would be hard labors ahead, followed by victory.
Interpreting celestial phenomena was one of many ways ancient people believed they could divine, or predict, the future. Another form of divination involved birds. Bird observers were common in Asia Minor, and predicted the future based on the behavior of birds, particularly fighting birds.
In Greece, predicting the future was also considered an important scientific pursuit. Divination involved various methods of understanding what the gods were communicating to humans. Ancient Greeks used dreams to make predictions and to provide clues as to what humans might have done to anger the gods. They depended on soothsayers, also known as seers, divinators, or prophets, to interpret signs and omens. The Greeks widely trusted these seers to accurately understand and interpret omens such as the weather, the flight of birds, and other phenomena that they believed revealed what the gods were thinking or planning.
One of Alexander’s most valued advisors was the seer Aristander.
Whenever something important was planned, or any time something strange happened or a new phenomenon was encountered, Aristander’s job was to interpret its meaning.
Before battles, Alexander sacrificed animals to the gods to enlist their support for the Macedonians.
Marks on the animal’s entrails
(internal organs) were believed to be omens that indicated how the battle would turn out. Special hooks were used to pull the flesh back from the organs so the marks could be revealed. Before the decisive Battle of Gaugamela, for example, Aristander predicted victory based on his examination of the entrails of a ram that had been sacrificed. This sign agreed with another omen-an eclipse of the moon that occurred shortly before the battle, which Aristander had interpreted to mean that the Macedonians would win at Gaugamela.
Military strategies were often based on the interpretation of omens. When an eagle landed on a rock near ships on the Phoenician coast, Ari-stander saw this as an omen that Alexander should look for victory on land instead of at sea. This proved to be a successful strategy.
Floating Bridges
Alexander's soldiers built floating bridges across Indian rivers. They did this by lashing boats together and putting planks of wood on top of them. They could then porter supplies and horses across them. This method of building bridges is still used in the Punjab.
Throughout Alexander’s campaigns, favorable omens gave him confidence that the gods were blessing his endeavors. But not all omens were encouraging. Some accounts of Alexander’s final entrance into Babylon, in 323 B. C.E., mention that a large number of ravens filled the skies. The birds were pecking each other and some fell dead at the feet of the returning king. Soothsayers, believing this to be a bad omen, advised him not to enter the city. Astronomers cautioned him that the stars also foretold trouble if he went ahead. Alexander did not heed their warnings. Instead, he marched triumphantly into the city. A few months later, in Babylon, he died.
World History
