Artemidorus

Artemidorus of Daldis, also Artemidorus of Ephesus (Greek Ἀρτεμίδωρος ὁ Δαλδιανός Artemidoros ho Daldianós, latin Artemidorus Daldianus ), was an interpreter of dreams and fortune-tellers from the mid-2nd century. Artemidorus is the author of Oneirokritika (Greek " Interpretation of Dreams" ).

Life and work

Artemidorus was from Ephesus, but named themselves after the hometown of his mother, Daldis in Lydia, to stand out from the many other interpreters of dreams in Ephesus. Modern research distinguishes him as well as by the geographer Artemidorus of Ephesus. His life falls well in the years after the death of Domitian (96 AD) to the reign of Antoninus Pius ( 138-161 ), which is just as Hadrian mentioned by name in the factory. The often to read assumption Artemidorus was 180, towards the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius or at the beginning of the Commodus died, is a mere conjecture. Due to certain figures of thought and references in his dream interpretation ( eg the idea of ​​foreknowledge and personifications of stars, winds and clouds) is sometimes assumed that Artemidorus was a Stoic.

Artemidorus undertook by its own statements, several educational trips through Asia Minor and on the large islands of the Aegean; he visited Greece and even Italy. He practiced the interpretation of dreams and divination, a common in his time commercial, professional from. Artemidorus consulted on his journeys and soothsayers, the people pointed to markets their dreams to learn more this way about old dream dreams and their fulfillment. He had a son, as he was an interpreter of dreams. Educated and familiar with classical Greek literature, Artimidor boasts in his preface to the first book of his dream interpretation, that there is not a book about dream interpretation, which he had not acquired and studied. Artemidorus had one hand, the attempt to justify the interpretation of dreams under the influence of the empirical school on an empirical method (observation, tradition, analogy ), on the other hand, it indicates the god Apollo himself had inspired him in a dream to compose his dream book. In addition to the interpretation of dreams Artemidorus also wrote a manual bird's eye view, but that is completely lost.

His dream interpretation consists of five books. The first three books are (presumably Maximus of Tyre ) dedicated to a certain Cassius Maximus. Originally the work was probably applied to a collection of examples in two books. The books 1-3 first appeared and were intended for a wider audience. The books 4 and 5, however, Artemidorus allegedly wrote exclusively for his son, who was also a dream interpreters: This should, as the confident assertion of the text, keep this part of the work itself, thereby to be superior to all other interpreters of dreams. The fourth book is a defense of the interpretation of dreams against critics and also provides practical advice on the interpretation of dreams and discussions of theoretical problems of dream interpretation. In the fifth book Artemidorus tries to explain 95 concrete dreams and their significance for real life. Dreams and dream symbols are designed with more or less favorable omen for the dreamer as omens.

An example:

" Himself [ie to comb in a dream ] brings man and woman benefit; because the comb is equivalent to the all -conquering adversity time. The hair braiding is only women and those men of benefits that it otherwise [ie tend to do when awake ], all the other people it shows involvement in their financial obligations, high loan debt, sometimes to prison. "

The work of Artemidorus is now regarded as an interesting example of the ancient superstition. At the same time it is an early attempt to systematize the seemingly chaotic, meaningless and enigmatic dreams and to develop a quasi empirically supported technique of interpretation.

In addition, the dream book is a valuable historical source for the former way of life, social history and imagination of ancient people in the High Empire. The interest of the clientele of a Greek dream interpreter, appear from Artemidors interpretations is to open up, not a gain in self-knowledge, a therapy or an existential interpretation, but only the view of the future, which was mostly determined by material concerns: poverty or wealth, sickness or health, success or failure in professional work in competitions, in public life, marriage, and the blessing of children, weather and harvest, dangerous or happy trip etc. are the issues revolved around the text.

Until well into the 18th century, the dream book, which was translated into Latin humanism, was a popular and often cited work; only in the Enlightenment it lost popularity and was largely forgotten.

List of older authors and writings on dream

The older dream books on the Artemidorus was able to draw and with which he grappled are, we mostly not delivered and only as a title or fragmentarily known even by their mention in Artemidorus or by quotations in other authors.

• Antiphon of Athens
• Herophilus of Chalcedon
• Posidonius: treatise On the Prophesy Art in 5 books
• Aristandros of Telmessus in Caria
• Dementrios from Phalerum: treatise in five books
• Alexander Myndos ( 157-86 BC)
• Nikostratos of Ephesus
• Panyassis of Halicarnassus
• Apollodorus of Telmessus
• Phoebus of Anioacheia
• Dionysius of Heliopolis
• Geminus from Tyre: treatise in three books
• Artemon of Miletus: 22 books
• Aristotle: De SOMNO et vigilia, De insomnis (both obtained )

Editions and translations

Past issues

• Artemidori De Somniorum interpretatione Libri Quinque, De Insomniis, Quod Synesii Cuiusdam nomine circumfertur. Venice 1518
• Artemidori et Achmetis Sereimi F. Oneirocritica, Astrampsychi et Nicephori versus etiam Oneirocritica, Nicolai Rigaltii ad Artemidorum notae. Paris 1603
• JOHN G. Reiff: Artemidori Oneirocritica notis integris Nicolai Rigaltii et Ioannis Jacobi Reiskii suisque illustravit. Leipzig 1805
• Artemidori Daldiani Onirocriticon Libri V ex Recensione Ridolfi Hercheri. Leipzig 1864

Critical Edition

• Roger A. Pack (eds.): Artemidori Daldiani Onirocriticon libri V. Teubner, Leipzig 1963.

Reading volumes

• Karl Brackertz ( translator's ): Artemidorus of Dali: The Dream Book. Artemis, Zurich and Munich 1979, ISBN 3-7608-3661-5 (also called dtv Paperback, with notes and text critical apparatus )
• Friedrich Salomon Krauss ( translator's ): Dream Art. Revised: u afterword by Gerhard lion. Introduction by Fritz Jürss. Reclam, Leipzig, 1991, ISBN 3-379-00712-9.