Object of the Month

BKT IX 129 (P. 21225) The interpretation of horoscopes and the prediction of the future of the newborn were usually not recorded in writing. However, astrologers could consult handbooks, of which this Greek fragment is an example. In these treatises,… Read More→

P.Schubart 16 (P. 7508) Who would not like to know more about their own future and destiny? This was also the case in ancient times. Therefore, people used horoscopes. The papyri have left us with large numbers of original horoscopes…. Read More→

P. 6152 What did ancient Egyptian horoscopes look like? Was there a difference to Greek horoscopes? How did such a horoscope work? The Demotic ostracon published by Otto Neugebauer and Richard A. Parker in the end of the 1960s represents… Read More→

BKT X 29 (P. 11831) This small slip of papyrus, comfortably held in the palm of a hand, holds in its early date an outsize importance for the history of the astral sciences. It proves to preserve the earliest textual… Read More→

P. 8345 The papyrus presented here is the surviving fragment of what must once have been a complete astrologer’s manual: a handbook containing predictions based on the positions of astrologically significant constellations at the time of an individual’s birth. These… Read More→

P.Kramer 17 R (P. 13102 R) Ancient horoscopes from Egypt are most familiar on sheets of papyrus. These “original” horoscopes are attested in the hundreds in Greek and Egyptian in Roman times and complement the evidence from authors on astrology,… Read More→

BKT III, S. 30–31 (P. 9765) Valuable recipes are still written down today, so that they are not forgotten. This is all the more important when it comes to recipes for medicines. Even in ancient times, such recipes were written… Read More→

BKT IX 90 (P. 11754 + P. 21187) “Men are pigs” is a phrase often uttered by women when they have been treated disrespectfully by men, be it through infidelity, selfishness, ruthlessness or abusive behavior. This topic is very old… Read More→

BKT IX 16 (P. 21260 V) In European stories, the wolf is often portrayed as a predatory villain. For example, in “Little Red Riding Hood”, a fable by the Brothers Grimm, he deceives an innocent young girl in order to… Read More→

BGU III 726 (P. 7788) Buying at the right time has always been a good deal. This is true today and was also the case 1500 years ago. This also seems to be the case with a business deal that… Read More→