DAY TWO: Scientific Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East

Note: We are now fully booked for this event and are only accepting names for the wait-list.

The international research collaborative Scientific Papyri from Ancient Egypt (SPAE) is pleased to host its second annual conference at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU. This interdisciplinary conference aims to bring together scholars working in the history of science and medicine of ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Near East. The leading sciences in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world were medicine and divination, above all astrology, and astronomy. Ancient medical texts reveal early conceptions of human physiology and pathology and provide information about methods of diagnosis and prognosis of patients, critical commentaries on transmitted medicaments and treatment methods, as well as early attempts at systematized botanical classification. From ancient astronomy and astrology developed the early calendrical and time-keeping systems that influenced those still in use today. Astrology was importantly used in the science of divination, which included the art of predicting the future through interpretation of the position of the heavenly bodies, interpretation of dreams, and interpretation of various other phenomena. Today, such practices are considered pseudo-science, but they were taken extremely seriously by the ancients.

While the cross-cultural transmission of scientific knowledge in the ancient world has been increasingly recognized in scholarship, much work remains to be done in terms of fostering interdisciplinary research. This conference aims to bring leading specialists in these fields together to facilitate discussions across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

For program and abstracts, please visit our website: http://scientific-papyri-from-ancient-egypt.org

PROGRAM - DAY 2 - SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
9:30AM-5:00PM

Session 1
Chair: Luigi Prada, University of Oxford

9:30-10:30am: KEYNOTE: Kim Ryholt, Københavns Universitet
Manuals on Sothis Divination from the Tebtunis Temple Library

10:30-11:00am: Coffee Break

Session 2
Chair: Alexander Jones, ISAW

11:00-11:30am: Marina Escolano-Poveda, University of Liverpool
Astronomica Montserratensia: P. Monts.Roca inv. 314 and the Transmission of Mesopotamian Astronomy to the Graeco-Roman World Through Egypt

11:30am-12:00pm: Lingxin Zhang, Johns Hopkins University
The Astrological Features in the Women’s Astrological Manuals

12:00-1:00pm: Lunch Break

Session 3
Chair: Richard Jasnow, Johns Hopkins University

1:00-1:45pm: Luigi Prada, University of Oxford
Dreaming Physiology: Health, Illness, and Sexuality through the Lens of Ancient Egyptian Oneiromancy

1:45-2:15pm: Calloway Scott, University of Cincinnati
Dream-Science, Medicine, and the Organization of Knowledge in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica

2:15-2:45pm: Francesca Minen, Warburg Institute, University of London
Signs of Sickness and Health in Ancient Mesopotamia. For a Comparative Study of Terrestrial Omens and Medical Texts from the World of Cuneiform Culture

2:45-3:15pm: Coffee Break

Session 4
Chair: Fredrik Hagen, Københavns Universitet

3:15-4:00pm: Barbara Böck, Spanish National Research Council
The Body in the Ancient Babylonian Mind

4:00-4:30pm: Sofie Schiødt, Københavns Universitet
Contending with Swellings in New Kingdom Egypt

4:30-5:00pm: Jonny Russell, Universiteit Leiden
Investigations into Theoretical Paradigms of Egyptian and Mesopotamian Healing: A Progress Report

The conference is co-sponsored by ISAW, the NYU Center for Ancient Studies, the NYU Department of Classics, the NYU Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the NYU Society for Ancient Studies.

Registration is required at isaw.nyu.edu/rsvp

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

Please note that separate registration is required for Day 1 (September 19th) and Day 2 (September 20th).

ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.