Pliny the Elder (23 CE–79 CE) in his Natural History refers to the eclipse (Greek, ekleipsis, “abandonment, failing of power”) of the moon and the sun as “the most marvelous and indeed portentous occurrence in the whole of our observation of nature” (1944, II.VI.46). He notes how the sun and moon “retaliate on one another” as they cross paths, the rays of the sun being taken away by moon and earth (1944, II.VI.47). Pliny says that for a long time people in the ancient world have dreaded an eclipse as a portent of crime or death, and how the dying of the moon meant that “she was poisoned” (1944, II.viii.54). In his Tetrabiblos, the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus (ca. 100 CE–ca. 178 CE) refers to the eclipse as the first and most potent cause of the general conditions of countries or cities (Ptolmey, 1940: ii, 75). He interprets the meanings of the colors of eclipses or formations such as light rays (rabdōn) and halos. Black colors “signify the effects” (phanenta sēmantika) of the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Jung, C. G. (1963). Mysterium coniunctionis: An inquiry into the separation and synthesis of psychic opposites in alchemy (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Pliny. (1944). Natural history (H. Rackham, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ptolemy. (1940). Tetrabiblos (F. E. Robbins, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Pettis, J.B. (2010). Eclipses. In: Leeming, D.A., Madden, K., Marlan, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_194
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_194
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-71801-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-71802-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science