A New Demotic Horoscope from Medinet Habu

Abstract

The relatively small set of Demotic astrological texts from Medinet Habu may be increased by a newly identified horoscope recorded on an ostracon held at the Cairo Museum. Despite the lack of pertinent data in the official records, the origin of this sherd seems to be certain thanks to some telling palaeographical and textual indications. The date recorded on this potsherd indicates the late first century AD and refers explicitly to the Alexandrian calendar. With regard to the content, it preserves the general format and layout of the Demotic horoscopes on ostraca from Medinet Habu, albeit with some small differences in the type and arrangement of the data. This horoscope leaves out some astronomical data common to other Medinet Habu horoscopes which, along with some other Theban horoscopic ostraca, might confirm a trend among Theban astrologers going from more detailed and complicated compositions to less elaborate and more simplified ones.