TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Figures ................................................................................................... iii

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
1: Pingrees introduction and edition ......................................................... 2
2: Editorial conventions ............................................................................... 7
3: What is distinctive in Hephaistion? ........................................................ 8
4: Questions (horary), thought-interpretation, and inceptions .............. 9
5: Useful and important terms in Hephaistion Book III ...................... 17
6: Table of planetary names ....................................................................... 27
7: Greek-English glossary........................................................................... 28
BOOK III: ON INCEPTIONS ........................................................... 33
Proem .............................................................................................................. 33
Chapter III.1: On fitting signs, and the observation of the Moon for
the inception ............................................................................................. 34
Chapter III.2: Necessary ways to examine general inceptions............... 36
Chapter III.3: How one must understand the nativities and inceptions
of irrational people .................................................................................. 38
Chapter III.4: How someone can know beforehand the inquiries of
those wishing to investigate [a matter], from the inception.............. 39
Chapter III.5: On universal inceptions and observations ...................... 48
Chapter III.6: On ineffective & effective days, [and reading entrails] . 58
Chapter III.7: About foundations, buildings, and foundation festivals62
Chapter III.8: The manner it is required to make an oath ..................... 68
Chapter III.9: On marriage .......................................................................... 69
Chapter III.10: On coming together .......................................................... 75
Chapter III.11: On separations [of spouses]............................................. 76
Chapter III.12: On the removal of fetuses ............................................... 77
Chapter III.13: On those who attempt to procure abortion ................. 77
Chapter III.14: On farming ......................................................................... 78
Chapter III.15: On the digging-up of wells and ponds........................... 78
Chapter III.16: On purchases of different kinds ..................................... 79
Chapter III.17: On ship-building [and purchasing] ................................. 82
Chapter III.18: On the purchase of horses ............................................... 83
Chapter III.19: On the purchase of cattle ................................................. 83
Chapter III.20: On the way one should meet with the ruler or king .... 84
Chapter III.21: On the freeing [of slaves] ................................................. 85
ii HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

Chapter III.22: On games and public spectacles ..................................... 88

Chapter III.23: On effective hours and dreams ....................................... 88
Chapter III.24: On which days of the Moon the dreams are true ........ 89
Chapter III.25: On a request for favors..................................................... 90
Chapter III.26: On proposals and treaties ................................................ 90
Chapter III.27: On letters ............................................................................ 91
Chapter III.28: On loans .............................................................................. 92
Chapter III.29: On sureties .......................................................................... 93
Chapter III.30: On being abroad ................................................................ 94
Chapter III.31: On being sick ...................................................................103
Chapter III.32: On surgery ........................................................................105
Chapter III.33: On diseases .......................................................................106
Chapter III.34: On vomiting and purgation ...........................................106
Chapter III.35: On the use of new implements .....................................107
Chapter III.36: On dinners ........................................................................107
Chapter III.37: On [courts of] judgment, the judge, victory, defeat ...109
Chapter III.38: Another manner of inquiry [about court cases] .........110
Chapter III.39: On those who are banished or flee from the country,
and on child exposure ...........................................................................115
Chapter III.40: On the imprisoned ..........................................................115
Chapter III.41: On livelihood and possessions ......................................118
Chapter III.42: On the matter of loss, and whether what has been lost
will be found ...........................................................................................119
Chapter III.43: What is the thing lost [or stolen]? .................................123
Chapter III.44: Who is the thief? ..............................................................124
Chapter III.45: On the appearance of the thief .....................................125
Chapter III.46: In which way is it lost? ....................................................129
Chapter III.47: On runaways.....................................................................129
Appendix A: On easy & painful delivery .................................................... 142
Appendix B: On [the disposition of property by] a will, and otherwise. 143
Appendix C: On the handing down of the arts .......................................... 146
Appendix D: Dorotheus Excerpts .................................................................. 147
Appendix E: Dorotheus Fragments ................................................................ 157
Appendix F: Hephaistion III Carmen Correspondence .......................... 167
GLOSSARY ........................................................................................ 170
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................. 191
 INTRODUCTION
I am pleased to introduce Book III of Hephaistion of Thebess Aposteles-
matics, or Outcomes (see below), an important (albeit late) ancient compilation
on elections (or inceptions), event charts, and inquiries of many types. It is
the first installment in my new Hellenistic series in astrology, which will in-
clude works by major and minor authors, including Theophilus, Valens,
Manetho, Firmicus Maternus, and many more. It will be translated primarily
by Eduardo Gramaglia, and published concurrently with a new Arabic series,
translated by me from Arabic into Englishagain, with many major and
minor authors.
Book III of the Apotelesmatica is the only part not already translated by
Robert Schmidt for his Project Hindsight: Books I-II are on basic concepts
in astrology, mundane techniques, and nativities.1 As Book III is the first in
this Hellenistic series, it gives me the opportunity to explain some vocabulary
and our own approach to the (largely) Greek material, especially in relation to
the large body of work already translated and discussed by Schmidt in his
own books and audio workshops.
Before beginning, let us address the title of the work itself, an Anglicized
form of the Greek (Apotelesmatika).2 The core of the word is the verb tele,
which means to fulfill, bring to an end, finish, and also to perform sacred
rites, initiate into the Mysteries. The prefix apo (from, away from) yields
apotelesma, which denotes some kind of full completion, finished product, or
simply the result of some process or event. Thus, apotelesmatics or
apotelesmatica means referring to final results. Astrologically, this came to
mean either the effects of the planets in human life, or the astrological prac-
tice of interpreting outcomes from a chart. For example, Valens refers to an
apotelesmatographia,3 literally the writing of the final effects, but referring
specifically to the natal chart: either the drawn-out chart itself or the interpre-
tation made from its features. In sum, apotelesmatics is the study of
outcomes based on astrological configurations (whether natal configurations
or others), apart from any special theory as to whether the stars cause or only
indicate those outcomes.

1 In the future we hope to translate these as well, with all of Hephaistion to be published
in a single volume.
2 This comment was largely written by Gramaglia.
3 See for example Valenss Anth. II, Introduction, which Schmidt translates as effect-

description.
2 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

1: Pingrees introduction and edition

Let me introduce Hephaistion himself and his work; probably the best
way to do this is simply to translate some of Pingrees own Latin introduc-
tion to his critical edition of Hephaistion (1973, pp. vff.), which we used for
this translation. Following this, I will introduce some of our editorial devices,
some vocabulary, glossaries, and so on.

Hephaistio was born in Thebes, Egypt,4 at midday on the 30th day

of the month of Aethyr in the 97th year from Diocletian (November
26, 380), conceived by his mother (as he himself reckoned it) at the
second hour of the night on the 26th/27th of the month of Mecheir
(February 20, 380). About his life no other record comes forth, but we
know that he dedicated three books of Apotelesmatics, composed for his
friend Athanasius, around 415. There are those who, being misled by
the words With God placed at the beginning of the work, believe that
he was a Christian: but the Byzantine librarians often ornamented as-
trological works with such words, lest they be thought irreligious for
writing down suspicious pagan works.
The three books of Hephaistios Apotelesmatics are comprised of
three astrological categories: of which the first hands down to us the
elements of this knowledge, especially excerpted from the work of
Ptolemy, and from the writings of the ancient Egyptians which were
derived from the Babylonian teaching of the Chaldeans; the second
presents the study of nativities (particularly drawn from Ptolemy and
Dorotheus); the third makes us more certain about elections, being es-
pecially taken from the fifth book of Dorotheus.

4 Modern Luxor, Egypt.

 INTRODUCTION 3

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Figure 1: Hephaistions nativity (tropical, modern calculation)

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B 03z r 03'
05z r 32'
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Figure 2: Hephaistions nativity

(Fagan-Bradley sidereal, modern calculation)
4 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

Hephaistio added little of his own, but he compiled, abridged,

[and] mutilated the works of others, just as he preserved some things
from the lost writings of the astrologers. We do not know for sure
whether in fact he composed the book of astrological definitions On the
Dispositions of the Heavens5 (which is sometimes attributed to him in the
manuscripts), but for certain we must deny that he was the author of
the chapter On Treasure (furnished only with the name, by Hephaistio
in codex U). Therefore, the remaining things edited here seem to be all
of the genuine writings of Hephaistio. However, the witnesses of three
books are weak, and so we should hope that stronger ones will be
found.6
Hephaistio seems to have written out the majority of the text of
Ptolemys Apotelesmatics, but we find the excerpts to be abridged here
and there: see for example II.15.18. And who would affirm for certain
whether Hephaistio himself has compressed the text, or he used a co-
dex of Ptolemy which was already defective? But one may compare
Hephaistios readings with those of the codices of Ptolemy. Therefore,
although we will enlarge our arguments about the Ptolemaic text in
greater detail in another place, here we must explain certain judgments
about the codex as read by Hephaistio, in a summary way7
Hephaistio even excerpted the majority of the work of Doro-
theusfive books of a poem on astrology, I sayeither retained in
verse or rendered as prose. The hexameters of Dorotheus have per-
ished most unhappily, except for those which Hephaistio preserves,
and very few othersbut by most benevolent Fortune, an Arabic
translation by Umar bin al-Farrukhn [al-Tabar] made in about 800
from the Pahlavi recension, has survived. We are now preparing an edi-
tion of the Arabic translation from two codices: Constantinople Yeni
Cami 784, and Berlin or. Oct. 2663.8 When the excerpts of Hephaistio
are compared with the Arabic text, it is clear that he or the copyist has

5 Peri ts ouranias diatheses.

6 This may be an ironic reference to Deut. 17.6-7 or 19.15, in which two or three witnesses
are enough to ensure conviction.
7 I omit here some technical discussions of the codicesbut will include it in the com-

plete Hephaistion volume. I also omit a table showing the correspondences between
Hephaistion and Ptolemy in Books I-II.
8 This was published in 1976: see Dorotheus in the Bibliography.
 INTRODUCTION 5

neither written out the complete chapters, nor preserved the order of
sentences unchanged.
However, here it seems useful to us to note the inscriptions of the
chapters of the Arabic translation of Dorotheus, and the chapters of
Hephaistio derived from them:9

Hephaistion Dorotheus
III.1 V.1: Introduction
III.1 V.2: On the straight and slanted signs
III.1 V.3: On the solsticial signs
III.1 V.4: On the signs of two bodies
III.1 V.5: On the corruption of the Moon
III.7 V.6: On those who wish to build
III.9 V.16: On marriage and sexual intercourse
III.11 V.17: On a womans departure
III.12 V.18: On miscarriage/abortion
III.16 V.9: On trade
III.16 V.10: On buying land
III.16 V.11: On buying slaves
III.16 V.43: On the ascent and descent of the Moon
III.17 V.23: On the buying and construction of ships
III.19 V.12: On buying flock-animals
III.21 V.13: On the manumission of a slave
III.25 V.14: On seeking a gift
III.27 V.15: On letters
III.28 V.20: On debt
III.30 V.21: On journeys
III.30 V.22: On returning
III.30 V.25: On putting a ship into water
III.31 V.29: On the infirm
III.31 V.31: On the condition of an infirm person
III.32 V.39: On cutting and phlebotomy
III.32 V.40: On cutting an impediment of the eye
III.38 V.33: On those in litigation

9 I include only the relevant parts of the table referring to Book III; see also Appendix F.
6 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

III.40 V.27: On those who are put in prison

III.41 V.32: On the condition of a boy and his wealth
III.42-46 V.35: On something looted or lost, if it would be
gotten back
III.47 V.36: On fugitives
App. II V.42: On a will

For his edition of Hephaistion, Pingree relied on three primary codices

(along with some minor ones) and four Epitomes. The primary codices were
as follows:

A (Paris Gr. 2841), of the 13th Century. It is incomplete, and from it

are based two other minor manuscripts, a (Paris Gr. 2415) and N
(Madrid BN I 1525).
P (Paris Gr. 2417), also from the 13th Century. It preserves the ma-
jority of Hephaistion, and from it come P2 and p.
L (Laurentianus 28, 34), from the 11th Century and therefore the
oldest.

As for the Epitomes (which Pingree printed in their entirety in his Vol-
ume II), Pingree argued that they derive from other Greek manuscripts
which were at the same level of transmission and authority as Ps and As
sources (see his p. xxi).
Now, from these passages and tables above we can see that the work of
Dorotheus10 was crucial for the composition of Hephaistions Book III, not
to mention Book IIs treatment of nativities. Hephaistions work is an im-
portant check on Umars Arabic of the Pahlavi version of Dorotheus (late
700s AD), as well as the parallel passages found in Arabic works of people
like Mshallh, Sahl ibn Bishr, al-Khayyt, and compilations by al-Rijl and
al-Imrn.11 This is especially due to the fact that he preserves many original
Greek verses from Dorotheus. As such, Book III acts as an important first
step in producing a reconstructed Dorotheus, which I am currently working
on and hope to publish in a few years.

10Hephaistion Book III also refers to Nicaeus Protagoras, Petosiris, and Manetho.
11For translations of many of these from Latin, see my Choices & Inceptions: Traditional
Electional Astrology (2012), available on my own site (www.bendykes.com).
 INTRODUCTION 7

As a contribution to that future project, I have also included Dorothean

Excerpts and Fragments in the Appendices, as well as a table (based on Pingree)
showing correspondences between Book III and the Arabic Dorotheus, as
well as some other works. These Excerpts and Fragments require some expla-
nation:

Excerpts refer to a list of 69 Greek passages of material by (or rather,

summarized from) Dorotheus, identified by Pingree within Vati-
canus Graecus 1056, ff. 238-41. Pingree and Charles Burnett printed
them as Appendix II of the Latin Book of Aristotle (1997), recently
translated by me into English as The Book of Aristotle, in my Persian
Nativities I (2009). Again, I have included the ones relevant to the
material in Hephaistions Book III.
Fragments are Greek and Latin passages explicitly mentioning or at-
tributed to Dorotheus, many of which can be directly correlated
with al-Tabars Arabic version of Dorotheus. These were originally
published in the Appendices of Pingrees 1976 translation of al-
Tabars version, and I have included the ones relevant to Book V
of Dorotheus. They often act as supplements to Hephaistions ver-
sions of the same passages.

2: Editorial conventions

As Eduardo Gramaglia and I worked with Pingrees critical edition, we

decided upon the following conventions for indicating his own changes as
well as our own ways of making the text clear:

( ) Rounded parentheses indicate our own way of indicating paren-

thetical comments and clarifications in the translation. Pingree did
sometimes add parentheses in this way to the Greek, but since we
did not always agree with them, they should all be considered our
own.
< > Pointed brackets indicate additions by Pingree in Greek, either
based on material from some of the Epitomes or other sources.
Sometimes these are only individual words (which we rarely com-
ment on), or even the chapter numbers; but some are substantive
8 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

sentences and passages. We indicate the sources for these longer

additions in the footnotes.
[ ] Square brackets are additions by us in order to make the English
presentation of the Greek clearer. For example, if the Greek speaks
of the Moon and Venus (both feminine), but then resorts to pro-
nouns (she) to discuss them further, we might replace she with
the name of the relevant planet in square brackets so as to help the
reader.

Footnotes. Footnotes which are only transliterations of a Greek word (with

suggested alternatives) are unattributed, as are all substantive comments and
explanations by Dykes. Commentary by Gramaglia is marked with (EG), and
where both Dykes and Gramaglia make comments, they are distinguished by
(BD) and (EG).
Sentence numbers. Finally, I have continued my decision (begun in my As-
trology of the World I) to number sentences in boldface within the text itself
(following Pingrees numbers) for easier reference. Thus, to refer to Book
III, Chapter 47, sentence 5, the convention is: III.47, 5.

3: What is distinctive in Hephaistion?

There are several special items of interest in Book III, which to our
knowledge are not at all, or hardly, represented elsewhere in Hellenistic as-
trology. Perhaps the most important is the matter of how Book III
illuminates the history of horary astrology, which I will address in the next
section. There are three other noteworthy topics:
Chapter III.6, 7-17: Animal sacrifices. In this chapter, Hephaistion presents a
couple of remarkable ways in which astrologers apparently usurped the tradi-
tional practice of the priestly reading of entrailsmade even more
interesting due to the fact that he was writing as late as the 5th Century AD.
First (8-10), since the Moon affects the internal composition of bodies, it is
important to elect a proper time (with proper sect conditions) for opening
the animalnot for a positive interpretation, but to make the entrails reada-
ble. Then (11-16), Hephaistion offers an angular template along with zodiacal
attributionsnot for reading the entrails themselves, but for reading the chart
of the sacrifice. In this way, the sacrifice and entrails become only the occa-
sion for performing an astrological interpretation of what they represent. One
may easily imagine that this was a stepping-stone for the later cessation of
 INTRODUCTION 9

haruspexy altogether, because once the divinational aspect is transferred over

to the chart, the angles (at least) can become a general template for the time
of any kind of sacrifice or offering. See also below, where Hephaistions Ch.
III.4 provides a generic template for interpreting thoughts and predicting
outcomes.
Chapter III.7, 13-17: Consecrating statues and other objects. In this chapter, He-
phaistion gives some general instructions for the creation and consecration
of statues and other objects, particularly when the Moon is in the sign rele-
vant to the divinity which is the object of the consecration.
Fifteenth-parts. Finally, in a few places Hephaistion divides the signs into
two halves of 15 apiece, with different electional interpretations for each
(although some of the signs are explicitly divided into decans or faces): Chs.
III.9, 7 and 12, and III.5, 62ff. Dividing the signs in half can also be seen in
Pingrees translation of the Yavanajtaka Ch. 1, 39 and Ch. 2, but in the for-
mer case the division pertains to the rulership of those parts, and in the latter
case the halves there are assigned anthropomorphic figures much like the
faces or decans arewithout any clear interpretive meaning.

4: Questions (horary), thought-interpretation, and inceptions

In my Choices & Inceptions (2012) I discussed the theory of elections at

length, as well as the fact that many Dorothean texts on elections and event
charts were later turned into a distinct branch of astrology called ques-
tionsalso known in English as horary, presumably because they deal
with pressing questions of the moment, of the hour. In this place I would
like to address the issue of how far back the practice of questions goes, in the
context of Hephaistion Book III. The origin of questions has been the sub-
ject of controversy, with some claiming it is one of the earliest practices, but
others claiming it was a later development.12 I addressed some of the litera-
ture on this in my translation of Hermann of Carinthias Search of the Heart
(2011), in which I also discussed thought-interpretation, the practice of
casting a chart to identify the clients concern astrologically before the con-
sultation properly begins. In general, thought-interpretation seems to have
been a preliminary to the question, i.e., interpreting broadly the topic of the
question, before it is verbally stated or before the exact question has been

12 See for example Brennan 2007.

10 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES: APOTELESMATICS BOOK III

narrowed down. In some cases, thought-interpretation moved directly into

predicting the outcome of the matter. (It can also be about guessing the ob-
ject held in a clients hand: see Search Appendices I-J.)
I should state my own approach to this matter. In a broad sense, I think
the issue of how far back horary goes is not the right question to ask, or
rather it is not the most interesting question. For to be sure, anyone who
consults an astrologer has a question in mind, about matters past, present, or
future. Now, I take it for granted that questions, elections, and event charts
(under certain conditions) are all valid, so the real issue is this. No ancient
Greek sources we know of have an explicitly developed branch called ques-
tions, but in the 8th Century, Arabic writers suddenly appeared with full-
blown manuals on the subject, with standard lists of typical questions and
procedures for answering them. So, what is the difference between Greek and Ara-
bic texts, and what could account for them?
First, we can say generally that later, medieval works on questions were ei-
ther reworked from Greek texts on elections and event charts, or were
modeled on them. For example, an election for the proper time to make a
business deal appears later as the question, Will a business deal be success-
ful? And other questions such as How long will the king reign? are often
modeled on elections for the event of acceding to the throne (see my transla-
tion of The Book of the Nine Judges for examples of this). Second, medieval
texts included techniques of thought-interpretation (and its outcomes), which
are already shown explicitly in older texts such as Hephaistion Book III and
the Yavanajataka.
But in order to ask more pointedly about horary questions in Hephaistion,
let us first look at instances of two sets of Greek terms in Book III. These
are important because the use of question, inquiry, and so on are repeat-
ed almost ritually at the beginning of each question in later Arabic and Latin
horary texts. If there were a smooth overlap or transition between Hephais-
tion and the explicit horary texts of the Middle Ages, we should expect to
find their technical use in Book III.
Punthanomai, peusis. These words mean to ask, inquire, and inquiry,
question, respectively: they are about getting information. Interestingly, the
derived noun peustria (not used in Hephaistion) specifically means a ritual
sacrifice for learning the will of the gods. They are used 9 times in Book III, as
follows:
62 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES

<Chapter III.7:> About foundations and buildings

and foundation festivals164

1 When anyone wishes to found a fortunate and enduring city165 (likewise

with the laying down of foundations for the building of ships, houses and
walls), watch for the Moon transiting in the royal triangle166 at the time, and
[at] the inception of the circumscription (that is to say, of the foundations);167
let her also be favorably testified to by all the stars: for if it so happens to be,
then disclose that the construction will be cared for and given heed by great
kings and rulers, and be the dwelling place of monarchs, and beloved by the
gods, remarkable, held in esteem, and long-lasting. 2 Should any of the stars
chance to be deprived of suitable testimony, it will be seen that there will be
need around the city at that time: for when Mars chances to be declining or
in aversion in the inception, there will be want of arms, and [the city] will be
weak in matters of war. In the same way, when Venus happens to be uncon-
nected, [the city] will be excluded from favors,168 luxurious living and
politeness, and from being loved as well. If the inception169 is not beheld by
Jupiter, [the city] will be exposed to harm, and will not partake in having at-
tention and solicitude by anybody. When Mercury is unconfigured, there will
be no practical wisdom and no exercise of reason170 in the city.
3 If171 it comes to pass that the star of Mars, or that of Jupiter, opposes

164 Kathidrusis, a festival for the consecration or hallowing of statues or sacred images
(EG).
165 Polis.
166 That is, Aries-Leo-Sagittarius (the fiery triplicity).
167 This refers especially to the inscribing of the foundation-stone.
168 Charis. Or, grace.
169 This undoubtedly refers to the Ascendant of the inception chart.
170 Logos. In this context, Hephaistion probably means there will not be deliberate argu-

ments and reasoning used in governing the city, but rather emotion and irrationality.
171 Hephaistions instructions here are related to the idea that when the natal longevity

releaser is directed to its own square, the native will die or at least suffer a threat to life
(see Tet. III.11, p. 39, Schmidt translation). But sentences 3-4 are a bit ambiguous as to
what is being directed to what. The obvious scenario is the direction of the Moonwho
is being opposed by Marsto the square of that same Mars. But this could happen in two
ways: (1) Direct the Moon by ascensions to the zodiacal square of Mars; (2) direct the
Moon to the equatorial/ascensional square of Mars. The diagrams illustrate both possibilities,
in a chart with the latitude of Minneapolis, at 45 N (I use the ascensional times as given
in the Delphic Oracle software program). Let the Moon be at 15 Gemini, and Mars op-
posing her at 15 Sagittarius. Counting by ascensions from 0 Aries, the Moons position
corresponds to 50.275 ascensional times (AT), and Mars to 277.545 AT. (1) His zodiacal
square to 15 Virgo corresponds to 160.185 AT. The distance in AT from the Moon to
 APOTELESMATICS BOOK III: ON INCEPTIONS 63

the luminaries (that is to say, the Sun and Moon), the city will make an at-
tempt on war, and especially when the Moon comes near the square
according to the time of its interval with respect to rising172 (that is to say,
90 of the zodiac)but it comes to pass173 that not all the inhabitants will be
exposed to death, or carrying off booty, or slavery: therefore174 the prepara-
tions of the city, and its founding, do not all take their inception at one single
critical moment of time. 4 As in nativities, the side of the square imposes the
end of life: only then it is accustomed [to consider] that the times are com-
pleted, and the equipped city is utterly destroyed, at which point of time the
malefic stars altogether bring their rays more forcibly upon the square of the
Moon. For it so happens that the concurrence of the misfortune thus in-
creases in two ways: from the maltreatment of the square, and the fixing of
the position of the Moon.175 5 The same things would be fulfilled once the
rising of 180 is completed, or else up to the other square, or once the whole
circle is filled up.176 Moreover, if the squares chance to be unharmed by the
transit of the malefics and the second and third circle,177 then the lingering
occurrence of evils will only follow partially.

this square is 109.91, or 109.91 years. To find (2) his ascensional/equatorial square, we
subtract 90 from his times, and get 187.545 AT: this corresponds to 5 42 Libra. The
distance in AT from the Moon to this square is 137.27, or 137.27 years. This is supposed
to yield the time at which the city will suffer some destruction. Note that these are not the
results we would get by using Ptolemys own semi-proportional arc method of primary
directions.
172 Anaphora. This refers to ascensional times.
173 Or perhaps, may come to pass?
174 Ti. It seems to me that perhaps this should read as since or because; nevertheless

I do not fully understand what Hephaistion means.

175 This seems to mean the position of the Moon at the inception: in 3 it was assumed that

the Moons place was opposed by Mars or Jupiter. In my diagram, it would mean her
position at 15 Gemini.
176 In other words, if war does not come at the direction to the square, it may come at

180 (the position of the malefic itself), or at the time of the other square.
177 This could also be translated as, by the transit of the malefics and [by their] second

and third circle (or by the transit, and second and third circle of, the malefics). In ei-
ther event I am not sure what this means.
64 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES

J I
K 15 I U H
= 277.545 AT

L G

# 15 F
A = 160.185 AT F
15 C
= 50.275 AT
B R E
C D
Figure 14: Direction of the Moon to Marss zodiacal square
(Heph. III.7, 3-4)

J I
K 15 I U H
= 277.545 AT

L G
# 5 42 G
= 187.545 AT

A F
15 C
= 50.275 AT
B R E
C D
Figure 15: Direction of the Moon to Marss ascensional square
(Heph. III.7, 3-4)

6 Another kind of maltreatment is when the Moon happens to make a

subterraneous eclipse, and the inception and the preparation are in the midst
of the upcoming assembly,178 and the Moon at this time <is configured with

178 That is, the New Moon or conjunction of the Sun and Moon (EG).
 APOTELESMATICS BOOK III: ON INCEPTIONS 65

the malefics, or else at the time of> the Full Moon.179 7 For it comes to pass
that, according to such an inception, there is utter destruction by earth-
quakes, and very unremitting damage to the cities thus born: in the triplicity
of Aries, as it is fiery, [the destruction will come] from fire; in <that of> Tau-
rus, being earth-like, one must suppose harm or aid from earth and
agriculture, according to the boundaries180 of the configurations; in the tri-
plicity of Gemini, as it is airy by nature, [one must expect] aid or harm from
the air; in the [triplicity] of Cancer, as it is watery, aid or harm from waters. 8
The builders, and those who have taken upon themselves the care for the
preparation, will partake of the dignity and character, according to the nature
of the rulers.
9 Dorotheus, in his verses, exhorts thus about building:

10 On the other hand, whenever you would bring foundations, buildings, and works
to perfection,
additive in her phase, and to [her] numbers according to longitude,
let the Horned One be for you, advancing in latitude
towards the northern block of the belt,
while either Zeus or the Paphian are testifying by figure
or by being together;181 while the Shining One restrains the intent182
[when] looking on, the Impetuous One stirs the flames around.

[Tearing down buildings]

11 One must pull down walls when <the Moon> has descended from the
northern heights;183 one must remove184 a stone from foundations when [the

179 This sentence appears to be describing two different thoughts, but I think what He-

phaistion means is this: if the inception happens while (a) the Sun is being eclipsed in the
fourth, or (b) the Moon is being eclipsed, and she is in the fourth, while either of these
eclipses is being harmed by the malefics. According to this reading, the Moon will be in
the fourth in either case.
180 Horous. This seems to mean that the planetary lord of the bound in which the eclipse

happens, will further specify what kinds of beings will be affected.

181 That is, a bodily conjunction. But this might also simply include being in the same sign

as the Moon.
182 I take this to mean that when Saturn slows down the process and keeps it from mov-

ing forward.
183 Here and below, northern and southern must refer to ecliptical latitude, just as

with Dorotheus in the verses above.

184 Anenekteon, from anapher: bring up, raise up, lead up, carry back, restore (EG).
66 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES

Moon] is in the parts closest to the ground, namely, in the southern end. 12
<In all these cases, let the malefics be away, and the benefics ones give tes-
timony.>185

[Consecrating statues]

13 Within186 the shrine [of the temples],187 one must consecrate the stat-
ues prepared with the suitable image, also equally of wood,188 when the
Moon is full in phase,189 just as the wise Egyptians and the remaining an-
cients have handed down;190 the powers [of the images]191 thus perfected,
very godlike192 and infused with life, are brought to fulfillment from the
cosmic193 motion.194 14 Build and dedicate each of the sacred objects and
statues when the Moon is suitably posited in the triangle of Jupiter, and when
this star is in harmony with her, that is to say, in the same triangle; and let
also the Sun be configured similarly, and let Saturn chance to be posited alike
in the same triangle.195 15 With regard to the remaining stars, the statues and
sacred images are to be built this way: it is auspicious to prepare them when
they are still in their own exaltations and houses, and none of the malefic
stars is opposed.

185 Added by Pingree from two of the Epitomes.

186 For consecrating statues, my feeling is that Hephaistions source is using constellations
and not the tropical signs. For more on this, see Jimnez 2007.
187 Naos, or the innermost and most sacred sanctuary of the temples, where the statues

and images of the gods are kept (EG).

188 A rehearsal copy in wood (EG)?
189 Or, full in appearance (phasis): that is, a Full Moon.
190 See for example the references to consecrating statues in the Latin Asclepius (Copen-

haver, p. 81).
191 Autn. If this referred to the Egyptians, one would read: The powers of those thus

initiated into the Mysteries (another meaning for telesthentn) (EG).

192 A tentative translation of thedesterai, a comparative adjective (EG).
193 Kosmiks.
194 The last part of this sentence sounds rather poetic and may be based on Dorotheus or

some other poetic sourceperhaps an Egyptian one?

195 Based on the next sentence, Hephaistion seems to be speaking here of consecrating

statues to the Sun and Moon themselves. In that case, he seems to mean that for the
Moon, both she and Jupiter should be in the fiery triplicity; but for the Sun, he and Saturn
should both be in the fiery triplicity. I say the fiery triplicity, because Hephaistion
speaks both of the Moon being in the triangle of Jupiter, and that he should be in the
same triangle as herwhich suggests that they should both be in fiery signs, since that is
the very triplicity which Jupiter rules. Both Saturn and Jupiter (who are trining the lumi-
naries here) rule the fiery triplicity, a fitting one for consecrating statues to the luminaries.
 APOTELESMATICS BOOK III: ON INCEPTIONS 109

<Chapter III.37:> On [courts of] judgment, the judge,

victory, and defeat428

1 One must consider the courts of judgment and the bringing of charges
[against someone] this way: by distributing the Hour-marker to the accuser,
the Midheaven to the judge, the setting to the accused, the underground to
the judgment and the result of the matter.

Judge

10 9
11 8
Accused
12 7
1 6
Accuser
2 5
3 4

Result

Figure 29: Angles for legal accusations (Heph. III.37, 1)

2 And if a tropical sign marks the Hour, the matter will not come to an
end; if a bicorporeal sign, the one accusing will change his mind; if a solid
sign, there will be delays, and the one pursuing the case will be implacable. 3
When it is also seen by Mars, bold, insolent, and relentless; if the place were
testified to by Saturn, it would show a crafty and toilsome old age; in an as-
sembly with Mercury, it means payment <in> silver coins to introduce the
accusation, and even forgery; similarly also the star of Mercury with Mars. 4
Jupiter would show someone held in esteem, and Venus, of noble birth;
Mars, daring and well-born; Mercury, spirited429 and busy about many

428 Both this chapter and the next seem to be about event charts rather than elections,

since normally the feuding parties do not have a choice of court dates. On the other hand,
they could refer to the chosen moment when someone makes the accusation or files
charges/the lawsuit. If the client were the accused, then the time of the chart would be
the event chart for that filing or accusation.
429 Gorgon: vigorous, spirited, vehement, fierce, grim, terrible.
110 HEPHAISTION OF THEBES

things.430
5 These things one must suppose about the judges, in proportion to the
signs and stars which lie on the Midheaven: for if there are benefics in that
place, the judge will handle the matter with justice; if malefics, wrongly. 6 In
the same way, if the sign is tropical it will be successful for the one selected
to arbitrate to pronounce the judgment anew;431 and if the Sun and the
Moon are there, they will make everything manifest, along with the judge
being held in honor and well-born.
7 When the benefics happen to be on the setting [pivot], one must fore-
cast victory to the accused.
8 The place which is underground anticipates the result: when the malef-
ics are under the earth, the sentence will be unjustly given against the
accused; when the benefics are there, justly.

<Chapter III.38:> Another manner of inquiry [about court cases]

1 Apart from that of the four pivots, there is yet another way to under-
stand the subject of the courts of judgment, [and it is] as follows. 2 The
Moon increasing [in light] is taken for the pursuer, the Sun for the accused
and indebted; on the other hand, when the Moon is decreasing she is the
indebted, the Sun taking up the rank of pursuer. 3 In fact, having observed
which one is best placed (as regards place, bound, testimony from benefics,
and the hemisphere above earth), in this way, from the reckoning and weigh-
ing of the greatest, we deliberately choose the one who will prevail, the full
Moon being understood as great sedition, strife and destruction.
4 There is another way of considering the same things, and it is as follows.
5 He who denounces the matter must by needs be the flowing away of the
Moon; the matter, the Moon herself; the connection, the accused; and from
the bounds and the stars are revealed the things surrounding the matter.
6 The same line of thought and manner as those about journeys and emi-
gration will be useful here.
7 We would more manifestly and unfailingly learn about the courts of
judgment, and of what sort the accuser and the accused are, and even the
judgment and the result of the matter, from the four pivots, as has been said

430 Polupragmn.
431 This sounds as though the arbitrator or judge will not be consistent.