Classical sources of omens,
May 30, 2012 12:12 PM
What are the classical sources or compendiums of omens? Which books could I realistically find that list, for example, what a culture believes it means when a certain type of bird visits or what a rainbow means?
I'm looking at all cultures, all times periods. What I ultimately want to do is be able to compare and contrast how various cultures view similar phenomena.
I'm looking at all cultures, all times periods. What I ultimately want to do is be able to compare and contrast how various cultures view similar phenomena.
Artemidorus' Dream Book is a classic source. For some reason I am totally blanking on the ancient work that collects all the omens from Livy - I keep thinking it's by Pompeius Trogus, but it's not.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:47 PM on May 30, 2012
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:47 PM on May 30, 2012
The other day I stumbled on to the history of grimoires, which contain a great deal of ancient mediterranean lore, viewed through a darkages-to-medieval european lens.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 1:42 PM on May 30, 2012
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 1:42 PM on May 30, 2012
I have exactly the book for you: A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions. I have it and it's a lot of fun, though has no citations so that's irritating.
Some others:
Appalachian Folklore Omens, Signs, and Superstitions
Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions
There's a hundred-year-old series that makes for interesting reading: Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World. It's a 4-volume set; I haven't tried to find them all for you on Google Books or the Internet Archive but I suspect they're all there.
If you search on "omens" somewhere like Amazon you can find a lot of collections. Often they're by region. The big problem with these kinds of things is quality of the scholarship, but they're fun to read no matter what, and if you want to know more about any particular thing you can go to better sources on that specific topic. These are good overviews and good curiosity fodder.
posted by Miko at 2:28 PM on May 30, 2012
Some others:
Appalachian Folklore Omens, Signs, and Superstitions
Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions
There's a hundred-year-old series that makes for interesting reading: Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World. It's a 4-volume set; I haven't tried to find them all for you on Google Books or the Internet Archive but I suspect they're all there.
If you search on "omens" somewhere like Amazon you can find a lot of collections. Often they're by region. The big problem with these kinds of things is quality of the scholarship, but they're fun to read no matter what, and if you want to know more about any particular thing you can go to better sources on that specific topic. These are good overviews and good curiosity fodder.
posted by Miko at 2:28 PM on May 30, 2012
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posted by chrisulonic at 12:35 PM on May 30, 2012