Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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On the translation of the calendar The manuscript upon which modern critical editions of the De ostentis are based is the codex Caseolinus, dated to the late 9th-early 10th c. CE. The manuscript was discovered in 1784/5 near Constantinople and subsequently found its way first to Paris, a gift presented to the French ambassador Villoison.1 Upon the death of its final possessor, G.A. de Choiseul-Goffier, from whom the manuscript took its original name, it passed into the Royal Library in Paris, where C.B. Hase had access to it under its new designation, Regius Parisinus supplementi Greci 257 [C]. Hase describes the poor condition of the ms., the script in particular, and notes that the more recent mss., Venetus Marcianus 324 [V] and Regius Parisinus 2381 [R], are superior (v-viii). For the text of the brontoscopic calendar ascribed to Nigidius, he also relied upon a version published by Janus Rutgersius (Johan Rutgers, 1589-1625) as part of an edition of the fragments of Nigidius Figulus.2 Though Rutgers’ text contains numerous errors (mendose admodum), Hase still found it useful on occasion in correcting the Caseolinus (xii). Wachsmuth, when he collated the manuscripts, discovered that the manuscript published by Rutgers was descended from Vaticanus Palatinus 312 [P], and thus it was useful in correcting and supplementing the calendar ascribed to Nigidius. (xvii). Wachsmuth’s 1897 text is thus an improvement on earlier editions, and includes additional phrases from the textual tradition to which Hase did not have access. Moreover, Hase was conservative in the text he printed, even when he recognized the transmitted text was clearly wrong, and thus a translator would needs to take into account Hase’s notes as well as Wachsmuth’s own conjectures (which are not always to be accepted). Turfa cites Bekker’s 1837
1 2
For a history of the text, see Wachsmuth 1897, vi-xx, drawing on and adding to Hase’s preface (1823, iii-xiv). Variarum lectionum libri sex (Leiden, 1618), 4.247-260.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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edition as the basis for her translation, though this is in fact Hase’s text, including his prefatory material and Latin translation. For the critical apparatus, Bekker made a selection Hase’s marginal notes to the text and his longer Animadversiones, published as part of the 1823 edition (pp. 291-329). All translation is a thankless task, and I have not attempted to offer any window onto the original. In fact, rather than repeat the frequent verbs of the apodosis “it threatens” or “it means,” I have rendered with a simple noun “an omen of” or “a sign of.” I have, however, used different phrases to correspond to the different Greek verbs. While I hope to improve on previous translations in correcting errors and omissions, and on occasion offering new readings, I do so in full recognition that while there are many wrong translations, there is no right one, and any student of the calendar, even those with Latin and Greek, is urged to consult all the translations possible in order to develop the fullest possible sense of the calendar. The calendar is an exercise in tedium, and many difficulties and ambiguities remain; other readers in comparing translations may find a better solutions than I or others have so far offered. I have appended notes to indicate unusual or troublesome points, and to explain my decisions as necessary. I have also on occasion indicated alternatives in order not to give the impression of finality to then translation here. John of Lydus, On portents, c. 27-38 Daily guide to thunder observations, localized following the lunar month, according to the Roman Figulus. A literal translation from the books of Tages. If, as is clear, ancient writers included the moon in all their teachings on portents (omens of both thunder and lightning3 are, in fact, listed in accordance with the moon), it would then be proper
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Note the distinction between thunder and lightning, especially in regards to the calendar’s place in the disciplina Etrusca.
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to select the moon’s domicile4 so that we will undertake the observation of thunder beginning with Cancer, then proceeding from there day by day from the new moon, following the lunar calendar. On the basis of this observation, the Etruscans handed down the observations for the areas over which thunder sounds.5
June Lunar Day 1:6 If there is thunder, the harvest will be abundant, with the exception of barley. People will be stricken with serious diseases. 2: If there is thunder, delivery will be rather easy women in labor, but flocks7 will perish; fish, however, will be abundant. 3: If there is thunder, there will be an extremely dry summer, causing not only the dry crops, but also the moist ones, to wither as they ripen.8 4: If there is thunder, the air will be cloudy and humid, causing crops to perish from the putrefying damp. 5: If there is thunder, a bad omen for the countryside, and the troops stationed over the districts or towns will be thrown into disorder. 6: If there is thunder, a pest harmful to the crops will be born inside them9 when they are ready for harvest. 7: If there is thunder, there will be an outbreak of diseases, but not many will be die from them. Dry crops will do well, but moist crops will wither. 8: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rains and loss of grain. 9: If there is thunder, flocks will perish from an attack of wolves. 10: If there is thunder, there will be much death, but prosperity nonetheless. 4
Turfa (2012) translates as “phase” of the moon, while other translators believe it is the position of the moon in relation to the zodiac (Hase: lunae stationem; D-M: domicilio lunare). The Greek οἶκον (lit. “house”) in astrological contexts usually refers to the “domicile” of a planet (cf. LSJ s.v. I.5), and the domicile of the moon is Cancer, the zodiac sign with which the calendar begins. 5 Despite the two references to the “localization” of the lunar observations, the calendar shows little regard for direction or place. 6 See the note ad loc. in Turfa (2006) for the meaning “start with the first full moon in Cancer.” 7 θρέμματα can refer in general to newborn animals, but the calendar uses the term elsewhere with the specific and common meaning of “cattle” (see, e.g., June 9). 8 “Dry crops” are grains and cereals, while “moist crops” usually means wine and olives (and may include other crops from trees as well). 9 Turfa’s translation “sunk deep into” is based on a misreading of the verb ἐντεχθήσεται as if from ἐντήκω rather than ἐντίκτω.
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11: If there is thunder, a scorching heat that will be harmless, and political affairs will be harmonious. 12: If there is thunder, the same as the previous day. 13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the fall of a ruler. 14: If there is thunder, the air will be scorching hot, but an abundance crops and plenty of fish, especially from the river.10 Physically at least, people will grow very weak. 15: If there is thunder, birds will cause damage to the summer harvest, and fish will die. 16: If there is thunder, it is an omen not only of a shortage of food supplies, but also of war, and a prosperous man will be utterly ruined.11 17: If there is thunder, there will be intense heat and an infestation of mice, mole-rats, and locusts. For the people it brings prosperity along with killings. 18: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the ruin of the crops. 19: If there is thunder, pests that harm the crops will die off. 20: If there is thunder, it is an omen of discord for the people. 21: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a decrease in wine, but an increase in other crops and an abundance of fish. 22: If there is thunder, the heat will be destructive. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign of peace and deliverance from evils and elimination of disease. 24: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity. 25: If there is thunder, there will be wars and countless evils. 10
A diastole between εὔροια (abundant flow) and ποταμῶν (rivers) has led to a suspcion of textual problems. Hase (1837, 314) notes the Rutgersius ms. places the diastole after ποταμῶν (rivers); an editor of Nigidius Figulus, proposed εὔροια τῶν ποταμίων (“well-flowing rivers and abundance fish from the river”). See the app. crit. in Wachsmuth, p. 64, who prints the text as transmitted (εὐφορία δὲ τῶν καρπῶν καὶ εὔροια τῶν ποταμίων οὔχ ἥκιστα ἰχθύων), which I have followed. 11 The verb, here translated “be ruined” is based on a form ἀφανισθήσεται (< ἀφανίζω), a conjecture by Hercher; a related form, ἀφανισμόν, occurs at June 22. See also De ost. 55: ἀφανισμοὶ οἴκων. Manuscripts have ἀφανεῖται (C) or ἀναφανεῖται (P). For other possibilities, see Turfa, who translates the manuscript reading, “disappear from public life,” and also D-M, who render “soppresso.”
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26: If there is thunder, winter will be harmful to the crops. 27: If there is thunder, there will be danger for the commanders from the soldiers. 28: If there is thunder, there will be abundant crops. 29: If there is thunder, the affairs of the royal city will improve.12 30: If there is thunder, for a short time there will be much death.
July 1: If there is thunder on the first day of the lunar month, crops will be abundant, but there will be a plague among the flocks. 2: If there is thunder, good for autumn. 3: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a severe storm.13 4: If there is thunder, there will be violent storms in the sky,14 which will cause poverty. 5: If there is thunder, there will be an abundance of grain, but the downfall of good ruler. 6: If there is thunder, it is an omen of fatal diseases to those with the status of slaves. 7: If there is thunder, there will be heavy rains that harm the grain fields. 8: If there is thunder, it is a sign of peace for the state, but disease for the cattle and the outbreak of a dry cough. 9: If there is thunder, it is a sign of getting to see entertaining spectacles15 and the arrival of many goods. 12
Lydus uses the phrase “queenly city” elsewhere to mean simply “capital” in reference to Sardis in the De mensibus (3.14: τῆς Λυδῶν βασιλίδος πόλεως, with the specification of the whose capital it is). The phrase is commonly used alone to indicate either Rome or Constantinople. See Sophocles (1887) s.v. βασιλίς. The phrase occurs no earlier than Justin Martyr (2nd c. CE). 13 χειμών can mean “winter” (see June 26) or “storm.” Other translators have “winter” here, but the absence of an article (which appears in June 26) and the adjective βαρύς, a frequent descriptor of bad weather, have led me to adopt “storm.” 14 Storms were classified as atmospheric (ἀέριος) or terrestrial (ἐπιγεῖος). ταραχαί is common in prophetic texts, including the others found in the De ostentis. 15 ἐποψία θεῶν has been translated variously, but in each case containing a reference to gods (Hase: “Deorum immortalium praesentiam”; Domenici-Moderna: “gli déi vigileranno”; Turfa: “a vision of the gods”). However, θεῶν is almost certainly from θέα instead of θεός, and thus refers to spectacles such as games and theatrical performances. θέαι in the sense of circus games or theater performances occurs earlier in the De ostentis (c. 15), in
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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10: If there is thunder, the river water will be salubrious. 11: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heat and violent rain and a shortage of grain. 12: If there is thunder, there will be an unexpected coolness in the summer, on account of which food supplies will perish. 13: If there is thunder, extremely harmful reptiles16 will appear. 14: If there is thunder, it is a warning that power over all will come to one man, and he will be extremely unjust in his dealings. 15: If there is thunder, there will be dissension among the people and a grain shortage. 16: If there is thunder, let the king of the east expect war, and disease caused by a parching heat. 17: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a great ruler’s accession to the throne. 18: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a lack of crops caused by heavy rains. 19: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war and death of powerful men; but the grain harvest will be abundant. 20: If there is thunder, it is an omen of pestilential drought. 21: If there is thunder, there will be dissension among the subject peoples, but not for a long time. 22: If there is thunder, it is a sign of good outcomes for public affairs, but diseases of the head for the slaves. 23: If there is thunder, the discord among the people will come to an end. 24: If there is thunder, it is a sign of the ill-fortuned rule of a powerful man. 25: If there is thunder, distress for the youth and the crops with them, and it will be a season of disease.
the treatise on comets attributed to Campestris. In that prophecy, which is similar to the one here, the destruction of the Persians and the elimination of the Persian king will bring an abundance of goods to the Roman state: θέαι τε ἄφθονοι καὶ δωρεαὶ φιλότιμοι καὶ ἱππικοὶ ἀγῶνες σπουδαιότεροι μετὰ ψυχαγογίας τοῦ πληθοῦς (“unstinting spectacles and lavish gifts and spectacular horse races along with amusements for the people”). 16 ἑρπετά may refer in general to animals that go on all fours, more specifically to reptiles, and even more specifically to snakes.
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26: If there is thunder, after great abundance there will be a shortage. 27: If there is thunder, it is an omen of boils upon the body. 28: If there is thunder, there will be a water shortage and an infestation of harmful reptiles. 29: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a bountiful season. 30: If there is thunder, because of their madness men will succumb to the worst defeat.
August 1: If there is thunder, political affairs will improve somewhat, and there will be prosperity. 2: If there is thunder, it is an omen of disease along with a lack of food supplies. 3: If there is thunder, it is an omen of trials and scandals for the people. 4: If there is thunder, there will be a scarcity of sustenance for humans as well as animals. 5: If there is thunder, it is a sign of wiser women. 6: If there is thunder, there will be an abundance of honey, and a lack of water and other sustenance. 7: If there is thunder, it is a sign violent winds together with disease. 8: If there is thunder, it is an omen of disease, without danger, for quadrupeds. 9: If there is thunder, a promise of good health to people, for the most part. 10: If there is thunder,17 an omen of pain and suffering for the majority of the people. 11: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, but a dying off of snakes and harm to people. 12: If there is thunder, there will be a shortage of hay and silage, and suffering in the first age of life. 13: If there is thunder, there will be plague upon the bodies of both humans and animals.
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From this point, the conditional protasis changes to the form ἐὰν βροντήσῃ to εἰ βροντήσῃ. Turfa (2012) alters her translation to reflect the change, but there is no distinction in meaning. See similar calendars in Lydus and elsewhere, where both forms interchange indiscriminately. However, the stark division between the two here, consistently maintained, is striking.
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Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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14: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war for the people, and a shortage of crops. 15: If there is thunder, things will get worse. 16: If there is thunder, a promise of lasting peace. 17: If there is thunder, the worse sort of men will grow sullen. 18: If there is thunder, it is an omen of civil war. 19: If there is thunder, the women and the slaves will dare murder. 20: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the destruction of cattle and social unrest. 21: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity along with dissension among the people. 22: If there is thunder, affairs will be fairly good throughout the entire year. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign that a lightning-bolt will strike and an omen of killings. 24: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the death of young nobles. 25: If there is thunder, a presage of a storm and a shortage of fruits. 26: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war. 27: If there is thunder, it is an omen of wars along with acts of treachery. 28: If there is thunder, it is a sign of abundant crops, but the loss of cattle. 29: If there is thunder, it is a sign of no change. 30: If there is thunder, it is an omen of disease for the city over which it breaks out.
September 1: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity along with political harmony. 2: If there is thunder, there will be dissension among the people. 3: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rains and war. 4: If there is thunder, it is a sign of the downfall of a powerful man and preparation for war.
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5: If there is thunder, it is a sign of an abundance of barley and a decline in grain. 6: If there is thunder, women will have more power than they should. 7: If there is thunder, it is an omen of disease and death for slaves. 8: If there is thunder, it is a message that the most powerful in the state make unjust plans, but they will fail in their aims. 9: If there is thunder, it is an omen that a pestilent wind will blow. 10: If there is thunder, there will be strife between the region in which it sounds and another, not without cause. 11: If there is thunder, the subjects of the nobles will seek a change in the government. 12: If there is thunder, a presage that harvest time will be rainy and there will be a famine. 13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a serious famine. 14: If there is thunder, it is an omen of disease. 15: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rains, yet still an abundant harvest. 16: If there is thunder, there will be much sowing, but there will be no harvest. 17: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a shortage of necessities. 18: If there is thunder, it is a sign of famine along with wars. 19: If there is thunder, the fruit-tree crop will be successful, but there will be diseases and popular factionalism. 20: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a well-known man’s death and war. 21: If there is thunder, it is an omen of distress and financial loss for the people. 22: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity, but a difficult and wet winter. 23: If there is thunder, a prediction that there will grain shortage during the winter.18
18
I have adopted Wachsmuth’s tentative emendation of σίτου (grain) for ἔτους (year); cf. June 15: τοῦ σίτου ἔνδεια.
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24: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a water shortage. There will be an abundance of treefruits, but in the fall they will be destroyed by wind-storms. 25: If there is thunder, a tyrant will arise out of political discord, and he will die, but the powerful will submit to his unbearable punishments. 26: If there is thunder, the evil ruler will fall by the will of god. 27: If there is thunder, the powerful create discord among themselves and will discredit one another. 28: If there is thunder, there will be signs telling of great matters. Beware lest in some places it also rain fire.19 29: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a harmful drought. 30: If there is thunder, public affairs will go from worse to better.
October 1: If there is thunder, it is an omen of an evil tyrant in public affairs. 2: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, and elimination of field-mice. 3: If there is thunder, it is a sign of storms and violent winds, which will cause the destruction of trees. It will be a sign of terrible storms for the state. 4: If there is thunder, the worse will seize the goods of the better, but the weather will be salubrious. 5: If there is thunder, there will be supplies of all necessities, except for grain. 6: If there is thunder, there will be the appearance of prosperity, but the harvest will diminish, and the next fall there will be no harvest. 7: If there is thunder, there will be an abundance of pulse,20 but there will be less wine.
19
Turfa makes a valiant attempt to translate the text of the transmitted manuscript, but no editor has accepted the text as transmitted, which ends ἐπομβρίσει ἰαχοῦ. Hase prints the transmitted text, but marks his Latin translation with an asterisk to indicate that the text is not sound; in his notes (p. 316), drawing in part upon the Rutgersius ms., he suggested the now accepted ἐπομβρήσῃ ἐνιαχοῦ. (ὁ ἀὴρ ἐπομβρήσῃ is a possibility; cf. c. 42: οὕτως ἐπομβρήσει ὁ ἀὴρ.) A rain of fire is biblical, not Roman: unusual rains—of stones, earth, milk, and blood—were common prodigies in Rome, but rains of fire are not mentioned in the Prodigiorum liber of Julius Obsequens (4th c. CE). Moreover, these unusual rains were themselves signs, not the consequence of one. c. 39-41 ἐπομβρίαν? 20 A type of bean.
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8: If there is thunder, an earthquake accompanied by a loud noise should be expected. 9: If there is thunder, it is an omen of death to wild animals. 10: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a praiseworthy man’s death. 11: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a change in the winds that is beneficial for plants. 12: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, but an outburst of lightning strikes. 13: If there is thunder, business transactions will be good, and in addition, there will be prosperity; the one who oppresses the state will not grow any stronger. 14: If there is thunder, it is an omen of war and the loss of grazing herds. 15: If there is thunder, there will be a scarcity when a hot and arid wind blows upon the crops. 16: If there is thunder, people will become so frail that they will seem unrecognizable. 17: If there is thunder, success for the wealthy man and the nobility. 18: If there is thunder, it is a sign of an abundance imported from elsewhere. 19: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a ruler’s downfall or the expulsion of a king, and for the people a sign of discord and prosperity. 20: If there is thunder, it is an omen of strange ulcerations, and for the majority of people extreme misfortune arising out of discord. 21: If there is thunder, there will be coughing diseases and illnesses of the chest. 22: If there is thunder, it is an omen of distress to the people and various diseases. 23: If there is thunder, the people will unexpectedly be gladdened. 24: If there is thunder, the people will prevail because of discord among the rulers. 25: If there is thunder, grave fears arise from the misfortunes. 26: If there is thunder, wild animals will grow in number and at the same time will go hungry. 27: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rains. 28: If there is thunder, there will be a shortage of necessities.
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29: If there is thunder, the year will pestilential. 30: If there is thunder, it is a sign not only of prosperity, but also of a decrease in enemies, and harmony in political affairs.
November 1: If there is thunder, it is a sign of discord for the city. 2: If there is thunder, a prediction of prosperity. 3: If there is thunder, circumstances arise that lead to the weaker overcoming the stronger. 4: If there is thunder, the grain crop will be better. 5: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a disturbance in public affairs, disease for herd animals.21 6: If there is thunder, worms will cause damage to the grain crop. 7: If there is thunder, diseases for the people and animals in the west. 8: If there is thunder, it is necessary to refrain from22 gluttony on account of the threat of disease. 9: If there is thunder, the common people will be impaled upon stakes, yet there will be an abundance of daily provisions. 10: If there is thunder, the wicked plans of those in power will come to an end, and a burning wind will damage the trees. 11: If there is thunder, let the people give thanks to God, for a wind will blow from the east.
21
The transmitted text reads αἰσθητοῖς τε καὶ ἀλόγοις; translators have translated if this were the usual pairing of humans and beasts, the λογικοί καὶ ἄλογοι (see Aug. 4, 13, 28) or only a few lines later in the prophecy of Nov. 7, ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἄλογοι. Wachsmuth suggested emending αἰσθητοῖς to ἀνθρώποις for this reason. However, αἰσθητός and ἄλογος do occur together to describe the irrational sense-perceptive part of the tripartite soul (the others being the nutritive and the rational). See, e.g., Ptolemy’s description of the qualities of the soul (Tetr. 3.14.1: αἱ δὲ περὶ τὸ αἰσθητικὸν καὶ ἄλογον [sc. ψυχικαὶ ποιότητες] ἀπὸ τοῦ σωματωδεστέρου τῶν φώτων, τουτέστι τῆς σελήνης (“the perceptive and irrational qualities of the soul from the more corporeal of lights, that is, the moon.”) For the phrase used in reference to animals, see Ps.-Justin Martyr, Fragment 5.13: αἰσθητικὰ ἄλογα, οἷά εἰσι τὰ κτήνη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες (“perceiving irrational animals, such as herd animals, birds, and fish”). The text of Lydus might better read αἰσθητοῖς, but the change is not necessary for the sense. 22 The transmitted text reads ἀδδηφαγίας ἔσεσθαι δεῖ, which is an awkward call for gluttony to stave off disease. Hase’s proposed changes—εἴργεσθαι and ἀπέχεσθαι (“refrain from”)—produce the expected sense (p. 317C). Domenici-Moderna 2007 attempt to translate the text as transmitted, but ἀδδηφαγίας is almost certainly genitive singular, not accusative plural.
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12: If there is thunder, people will have more dreams.23 13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a season that will be profitable, but pestilential, and slaves suffer from intestinal worms. 14: If there is thunder, reptiles will cause the people some harm. 15: If there is thunder, fish will be very plentiful, animals that live in the water suffer a plague, and the public affairs will from that time will improve. 16: If there is thunder, there will be locusts and an outbreak of field-mice, danger to the king, and an abundance of food. 17: If there is thunder, it is a sign of abundant grazing for the herds. 18: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war and for the city-dwellers suffering. 19: If there is thunder, good deeds by women.24 20: If there is thunder, it is a sign of famine not lasting a long time. 21: If there is thunder, the mice will die off, and there will be an abundance not only of grain, but also of fodder, and plenty of fish. 22: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a prosperous year. 23: If there is thunder, a pestilential wind will blow. 24: If there is thunder, a fort advantageous for the state will end up in the hands of the enemy. 25: If there is thunder, there will be a dangerous war. [And a pestilential wind will blow.]25 26: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a civil war, and many will fall. [And there will be rains that bring disease.]26 27: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the same things.27 23
Hase (1823) mistranslates insomnia. Other translators render as “prosperity for the women” vel sim. (“propserità per le donne”; “mulierum prosperitates”); however, the calendar always expresses this relationship with a dative, whereas here there is a genitive, which I have translated as a subjective genitive. 25 The codex Caseolinus does not contain this second phrase, and thus it does not appear either in Hase or Bekker. Wachsmuth himself added the phrase based on the appearance of ἄνεμον νοσώδει ποιήσει in P. 26 Again, Wachsmuth adds the phrase based on P. 27 As on November 26. 24
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28: If there is thunder, many of the assembly28 will perish from despair. 29: If there is thunder, the worse sort will fare better, and the coming harvest will perish. 30: If there is thunder, people will live a life more pleasing to god; evils will be accordingly commensurate.
December 1: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity together with harmony. 2: If there is thunder, an abundance of fish and especially grain crops. 3: If there is thunder, people will consume the flocks because of a shortage of fish. 4: If there is thunder, winter will be harsh, but prosperity nonetheless. 5: If there is thunder, it is an omen of scabrous diseases. 6: If there is thunder, people will dream pious dreams, which will come to an evil end.29 7: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the same thing30 for everyone. 8: If there is thunder, a powerful south wind, from which there will be an abundant harvest, and destruction of flocks. 9: If there is thunder, there will be the downfall of a well-known man. 10: If there is thunder, it is an omen of death to people from disease, but the fish will increase. 11: If there is thunder, the summer solstice will be extremely hot, and an abundance imported from elsewhere. 12: If there is thunder, it is an omen of diseases from diarrhea. 28
The word may refer to the deliberative body of most any city, and is commonly used to refer to the Senate of Rome. 29 The Codex Caseolinus has ὁσίοις ὀνείροις (“pious dreams”), which Hase (and thus Bekker) print; the accusative is usual with this verb (cf. LXX Jl. 3.1), though the dative would not be impossible. Wachsmuth prints his own conjecture, ἀισίους ὀνείρους (“impious dreams”), apparently in the belief that pious dreams would not have bad ends. Turfa translates “visions of the faces of gods,” which seems to be derived from Hase’s Latin version (visa divina). Hercher conjectured θείους ὀνείρους (divine dreams), which only Liuzzi follows. Either the dreams or the men could be the antecedent of the relative clause. All translators seem to presume dreams will have a bad end, and translate the relative as an adversative (“but…”). 30 As on December 6.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of prosperity, and diseases. 14: If there is thunder, it is a sign of civil war together with prosperity. 15: If there is thunder, many will go to war, few will return. 16: If there is thunder, strange occurrences in the state. 17: If there is thunder, it is an omen that slender locusts will be born, yet still prosperity. 18: If there is thunder, there will be a grievous war. 19: If there is thunder, it is an omen of the declaration of war. 20: If there is thunder, a presage of a shortage of necessities. 21: If there is thunder, it is an omen that a warm and pestilent wind will blow. 22: If there is thunder, the summer will be hot and bountiful. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a plague for people, but harmless. 24: If there is thunder, it is an omen of civil wars for the city and death for wild animals. 25: If there is thunder, a military expedition heads to war, but it will be successful. 26: If there is thunder, it is an omen of diseases to the servants. 27: If there is thunder, the king will reward many. 28: If there is thunder, outbreak of locusts. 29: If there is thunder, it is a sign of good physical health for slaves. 30: If there is thunder, it is a sign of an uprising against the kingdom and likely war.
January 1: If there is thunder, a brisk wind will blow, but not dangerous. 2: If there is thunder, there will be an unexpected war.
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Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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3: If there is thunder, a warning to those at war of defeat after victory, but there will be prosperity. 4: If there is thunder, the people will unify for peace. 5: If there is thunder, it is a sign of health for the herds. 6: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a coughing disease, and means an abundance of fish and harvests. 7: If there is thunder, there will be a slave war and frequent plagues. 8: If there is thunder, the ruler of the state will be endangered by the people. 9: If there is thunder, the king from the east will be in danger. 10: If there is thunder, it is a sign of violent wind and abundance of grain, but the failure of the other crops. 11: If there is thunder, it is a sign of famine even for the brute animals. 12: If there is thunder, people will suffer diseases of the eye, but there will be abundant fodder and an increase in fish. 13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of diseases. 14: If there is thunder, it is an omen of dearth, and outbreak of flies, and death of quadrupeds. 15: If there is thunder, discord among the slaves and punishment for them and abundance of crops. 16: If there is thunder, the people will be thrown into disorder by the king. 17: If there is thunder, it is an omen of non-fatal diseases. 18: If there is thunder, undemocratic affairs will cause the people to revolt. 19: If there is thunder, both the king will prevail and the people will obtain a better position. 20: If there is thunder, prosperity will be imported, but a coughing plague will oppress the slaves. 21: If there is thunder, the king, after he has plotted against many will plan for an end. 22: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, but a great many mice and deer.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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23: If there is thunder, it means good order among the people. 24: If there is thunder, an indication of plague together with poverty. 25: If there is thunder, there will be a slave revolt. 26: If there is thunder, many will be eliminated by the ruler, and in the end also himself. 27: If there is thunder, it is a sign of non-fatal diseases. 28: If there is thunder, fish in the sea will increases, but flocks will perish. 29: If there is thunder, the atmospheric conditions will be famine and infectious for everyone. 30: If there is thunder, it is an omen of frequent death.
February 1: If there is thunder, it is an omen of war and the downfall of wealthy men. 2: If there is thunder, grain will grow scarce, wheat will increase, wild animals will grow more numerous, and people will waste away. 3: If there is thunder, there will be civil strife. 4: If there is thunder, people will be disturbed not only in their expressions, but also in their thoughts. 5: If there is thunder, there will be much harvest and destruction of humans. 6: If there is thunder, ruin of dry crops and especially of wheat. 7: If there is thunder, it is an omen of destruction not of long duration to people. 8: If there is thunder, something extremely important will happen to the state, and the fish will increase but wild beasts will decrease. 9: If there is thunder, wheat will decrease. 10: If there is thunder, wild beasts will harm people. 11: If there is thunder, healthy childbirth for women.
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Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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12: If there is thunder, it is an omen of frequent death and unusual winds. 13: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, but still political conflict. 14: If there is thunder, it is an omen the pool of children and a dangerous influx of snakes. 15: If there is thunder, the weather will bring plague, and an outbreak of locusts and mice. 16: If there is thunder, inequality for the people, and evil for the authorities from political dissension. 17: If there is thunder, the summer crop will be very abundant. 18: If there is thunder, it is an omen of a serious wind and for the slaves an outbreak of blisters. 19: If there is thunder, there will be a swarm of snakes and worms in addition to them. 20: If there is thunder, it is a sign of good weather. 21: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity. 22: If there is thunder, the air will be unhealthy, but not harmful. 23: If there is thunder, it is an omen of deformity for the people, and a destruction of birds. 24: If there is thunder, it is an omen of health for people, but destruction for fish and snakes. 25: If there is thunder, opposite to the luxurious. For there will be wars, and a serious storm. 26: If there is thunder, it is an omen of heat and drought and scabs for the slaves. 27: If there is thunder, it is a sign of discord among the people. 28: If there is thunder, a prophecy of prosperity, and a plague-bringing wind will blow. 29: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war and prosperity. 30: If there is thunder, it is a sign of good things after a long time of discord among the people.
March 1: If there is thunder, for the entire year there will be altercations and dissension. 2: If there is thunder, the looming threats will cease.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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3: If there is thunder, unhappiness with shortages for the affairs. 4: If there is thunder, there will be extremely abundant prosperity. 5: If there is thunder, the spring will be sunny and the summer will be fruitful. 6: If there is thunder, similar to the previous items. 7: If there is thunder, a severe wind will arise, but the ruler will set affairs in motion. 8: If there is thunder, it is a sign of showers. 9: If there is thunder, it is an omen of destruction of people, and birth of wild beasts. 10: If there is thunder, destruction for quadrupeds. 11: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rain and the birth of locusts. 12: If there is thunder, a ruler of the government or a general will be in danger, on account of which battles will break out, and wild beasts will attack people. 13: If there is thunder, there will be prosperity, wild beasts will perish and fish will increase; snakes will disturb houses, but they will not cause harm. 14: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity, it threatens death of humans and birth of wild animals. 15: If there is thunder, it is a sign of intense heat and drought and a swarm of flies and a great many fish. 16: If there is thunder, the year will be healthy, but a shortage of necessities. 17: If there is thunder, a strange event will befall the people, and frequent destruction for people, beasts, and quadrupeds. 18: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rains and disease and birth of locusts and barrenness at hand. 19: If there is thunder, a severe and fatal drought. 20: If there is thunder, people will live more easily and less destructively. 21: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity after wars and destructive droughts.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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22: If there is thunder, destruction of birds, increase of daily necessities. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign of conflicts. 24: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity. 25: If there is thunder, strange events will arise for the people. 26: If there is thunder, it is a sign of the capture of foreign slaves. 27: If there is thunder, it is a sign of additional prosperity. 28: If there is thunder, there will be an abundance of marine fish. 29: If there is thunder, women will acquire a greater reputation. 30: If there is thunder, some ruler of the kingdom will be powerful, on account of whom harmony.
April 1: If there is thunder, it is an omen of civil conflict and loss of property. 2: If there is thunder, it is a sign of justice, bearing goods to the good and evils to the evil. 3: If there is thunder, it is a sign of profits from foreign prosperity. 4: If there is thunder, it is an omen of anger of the powerful against the worthy. 5: If there is thunder, it is a sign of drought in the spring, the year will be healthy. 6: If there is thunder, civil wars will break out. 7: If there is thunder, it is a sign that all is good and abundant prosperity. 8: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a heavy rain that is unhealthy. 9: If there is thunder, it is a sign of victory for the kingdom and harmony for the rulers. 10: If there is thunder, there will be the advancement of good men. 11: If there is thunder, it is a sign of the same thing.
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Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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12: If there is thunder, it is a sign of rain and prosperity and the destruction of fish. 13: If there is thunder, it is an omen of death for men and fish. 14: If there is thunder, it is a sign of health and prosperity. 15: If there is thunder, it is a sign of famine. 16: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity, and an outbreak of flies in the country. 17: If there is thunder, it is a sign of an abundance of daily necessities. 18: If there is thunder, it is a sign of dissension and rash behavior among the men. 19: If there is thunder, a powerful man will be deprived of his political office along with his reputation. 20: If there is thunder, it is a sign of divine anger. 21: If there is thunder, it is a sign of good fortune for the crops, but war for the state. 22: If there is thunder, there will be destruction of flies. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a beneficial rain for sowing. 24: If there is thunder, there will be dissension among the rulers, and their plots will be revealed. 25: If there is thunder, peace throughout the year. 26: If there is thunder, it is a sign of great hope for the crops and a shortage of harvests. 27: If there is thunder, a strange portent will be seen. 28: If there is thunder, the people will be restrained by arms.31 29: If there is thunder, the west wind will be very strong. 30: If there is thunder, a deluge of a good events.
May 31
The verb, especially in the middle voice, has the sense of “girding for battle,” but the presence of the dative leads to a suspicion that future middle represents the future passive, as is common. Moreover, the translation with the passive better suits the tone of the calendar, in which the underclass is generally on the losing end.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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1: If there is thunder, it is a sign of exile and dishonor for the people. 2: If there is thunder, it is an omen of famine. 3: If there is thunder, it is a sign of prosperity of imports. 4: If there is thunder, temperate weather, and the harvests will be abundant. 5: If there is thunder, there will be the elimination of troubles from affairs, and grain will be more plentiful then barley. But the pulse will perish. 6: If there is thunder, it is a sign that the harvests will ripen quickly, but also perish. 7: If there is thunder, there will be an abundance of birds and fish. 8: If there is thunder, ill-omened for the people. 9: If there is thunder, it is a sign of plague, but only moderately dangerous. 10: If there is thunder, it is a sign of hail, heavy rain, and flooding rivers that are damaging, and a large number of lizards and snakes. 11: If there is thunder, expect prosperity over land and sea. 12: If there is thunder, there will be a loss of fish. 13: If there is thunder, it is a sign that the rivers will rise, and diseases for people. 14: If there is thunder, there will be war in the east and much destruction. 15: If there is thunder, a sign of prosperity. 16: If there is thunder, it is necessary to pray because of looming threats. 17: If there is thunder, it is a sign of rain. 18: If there is thunder, discord and from it war and shortage of provisions. 19: If there is thunder, through the goodwill of the people a man will be raise to the height of good fortune. 20: If there is thunder, prosperity for those in the east, but not so for those in the west. 21: If there is thunder, there is need of prayers on account of the looming threats.
Joseph McAlhany, “Made in Etruria?: The Brontoscopic Calendar Reconsidered” (DRAFT)
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22: If there is thunder, it is a sign of heavy rain and destruction of marine fish. 23: If there is thunder, it is a sign of a heavy rain that damages to the crops. 24: If there is thunder, great evils, and thus the subjects will lose their lives from despondency. 25: If there is thunder, expect a cessation and decrease of evils. 26: If there is thunder, good for those possessing farmland. 27: If there is thunder, there will be a portent from Zeus and a comet will burn bright. 28: If there is thunder, it will be just the same. 29: If there is thunder, it is a sign of war in the north, but not harmful to business. 30: If there is thunder, plants will be scattered by the wind. Nigidius judged this brontoscopic calendar was not universal, but applied to Rome alone.
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