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Berossus (/bəˈrɒsəs/) orBerosus (/bəˈroʊsəs/;Ancient Greek:Βηρωσσός,romanized: Bērōssos; possibly derived fromLate Babylonian Akkadian:𒁹𒀭𒂗𒉺𒇻𒋙𒉡,romanized: Bēl-reʾû-šunu,lit. 'Bel is his shepherd')[1][2] was an early-3rd-century BCEHellenistic-eraBabylonian writer, a priest of BelMarduk[3] andastronomer who wrote in theKoine Greek language.
His original works, including theBabyloniaca (Ancient Greek:Βαβυλωνιακά), have been lost but fragmentarily survive in some quotations, especially in the writings of the fourth-century CE Christian writerEusebius.[4]
Berossus has recently been identified with Bēl-reʾû-šunu, a high priest of theEsagila Temple mentioned in a document from 258 BCE.[5]
The name "Berossus" likely originates from a theophoric name whose first component wasBel, meaning "Lord," which was a common title forMarduk. The original name was either either Bēl-rē’ûšunu, meaning "the god Bel is their shepherd," or Bēl-uṣuršu, meaning "O Bel watch over him!"[6]
Using ancient Babylonian records and texts that are nowlost, Berossus published theBabyloniaca (hereafter,History of Babylonia) in three books some time around 290–278 BCE, by the patronage[7] of theMacedonian/Seleucid kingAntiochus I Soter (during the third year of his reign, according toDiodorus Siculus[8][9][failed verification]). Certainastrological fragments recorded byPliny the Elder,Censorinus,Flavius Josephus, andMarcus Vitruvius Pollio are also attributed to Berossus, but are of unknown provenance, or indeed are uncertain as to where they might fit into hisHistory.Vitruvius credits him with the invention of the semi-circularsundial hollowed out of a cubical block.[10] A statue of him was erected inAthens, perhaps attesting to his fame and scholarship as historian and astronomer-astrologer.
A separate work,Procreatio, is attributed to him by the Latin commentaries onAratus,Commentariorum in Aratum Reliquiae, but there is no proof of this connection. However, a direct citation (name and title) is rare in antiquity, and it may have referred to Book 1 of hisHistory.
He was born during or beforeAlexander the Great's reign over Babylon (330–323 BCE), with the earliest date suggested as 340 BCE. According to Vitruvius's workde Architectura, he relocated eventually to the island ofKos off the coast of Asia Minor and established a school of astronomy there[11] by the patronage of the king of Egypt. However, scholars have questioned whether it would have been possible to work under the Seleucids and then relocate to a region experiencingPtolemaic control late in life. It is not known when he died.
Versions at several removes of the remains of Berossos' lostBabyloniaca are given by two later Greekepitomes that were used by the ChristianEusebius of Caesarea for hisChronological Canons, the Greek manuscripts of which have beenlost, but which can be largely recovered by the Latin translation and continuation ofJerome and a survivingArmenian translation.[12][13] The reasons why Berossus wrote theHistory have not survived, though contemporaneous Greek historians generally did give reasons for the publication of their own histories. It is suggested that it was commissioned by Antiochus I, perhaps desiring a history of one of his newly acquired lands, or by the Great Temple priests, seeking justification for the worship ofMarduk in Seleucid lands. Pure history writingper se was not a Babylonian concern, andJosephus testifies to Berossus' reputation as anastrologer.[14] The excerpts quoted recount mythology and history that relate toOld Testament concerns. As historian and archaeologistW.G. Lambert observes: "Of course Berossus may have written other works which are not quoted by Josephus and Eusebius because they lacked any Biblical interest".[14] Lambert finds some statements in the Latin writers so clearly erroneous that it renders doubtful whether the writers had first-hand knowledge of Berossus' text.
The Armenian translations of Eusebius and Syncellus' transmissions (Chronicon andEcloga Chronographica, respectively) both record Berossus' use of "public records" and it is possible that Berossus catalogued his sources. This did not make him reliable, only that he was careful with the sources and his access to priestly and sacred records allowed him to do what other Babylonians could not. What we have of ancientMesopotamianmyth is somewhat comparable with Berossus, though the exact integrity with which he transmitted his sources is unknown because much of the literature of Mesopotamia has not survived. What is clear is that the form of writing he used was dissimilar to actual Babylonian literature, writing as he did in Greek.
Book 1 fragments are preserved in Eusebius and Syncellus above, one of the main sources for knowledge aboutancient near eastern cosmology inlate antiquity due to its description of the Babyloniancreation account and establishment of order, including the defeat of Thalatth (Tiamat) by Bel (Marduk). According to him, all knowledge was revealed to humans by the sea monsterOannes after the Creation, and so Verbrugghe and Wickersham (2000:17) have suggested that this is where the astrological fragments discussed above would fit, if at all.
Book 2 describes the history of the Babylonian kings fromAlulim down toNabonassar (747–734 BC). Eusebius reports that Apollodorus reports that Berossus recounts 432,000 years from the first king Aloros (Alulim) to the tenth king Xisouthros and the BabylonianFlood. From Berossus' genealogy, it is clear that he had access to king-lists in compiling this section ofHistory, particularly in the kings before the Flood, and from the 7th century BC with Senakheirimos (Sennacherib, who ruled both Assyria and Babylon). His account of the Flood (preserved in Syncellus) is extremely similar to versions of theEpic of Gilgamesh that we have presently. However, inGilgamesh, the main protagonist is Utnapishtim, while for Berossus, Xisouthros is probably a Greek transliteration of Ziusudra, the protagonist of the Sumerian version of the Flood.
Perhaps what Berossus omits to mention is also noteworthy. Much information onSargon (c. 2300 BC) would have been available during his time (e.g., a birth legend preserved at El-Amarna and in anAssyrian fragment from 8th century BC, and two Neo-Babylonian fragments), but these were not mentioned. Similarly, the great Babylonian kingHammurabi (ca. 1750 BC) merits only passing mention. He did, however, mention that the queenSemiramis (probably Sammuramat, wife of Samshi-Adad V, 824–811 BC) was Assyrian. Perhaps it was in response to Greek writers mythologising her to the point where she was described as the founder of Babylon, daughter of theSyrian goddessDerketo, and married to Ninus (the legendary founder of Nineveh, according to Greek authors).
Book 3 relates the history of Babylon from Nabonassar to Antiochus I (presumably). Again, it is likely that he used king-lists, though it is not known which ones he used. The Mesopotamian documents known asKing-List A (one copy from the 6th or 5th centuries BC) andChronicle 1 (3 copies with one confidently dated to 500 BC) are usually suggested as the ones he used, due to the synchronicity between those and hisHistory (though there are some differences). A large part of his history around the time of Naboukhodonosoros (Nebuchadnezzar II, 604–562 BC) and Nabonnedos (Nabonidus, 556–539 BC) survives. Here we see his interpretation of history for the first time, moralising about the success and failure of kings based on their moral conduct. This is similar to another Babylonian history,Chronicle of Nabonidus (as well as to theHebrew Bible), and differs from therationalistic accounts of other Greek historians likeThucydides.
At the time of the Jewish historianJosephus (1st century AD), the historical records contained in Berossus' third book of his Chaldaic History were still extant and were used by Josephus in citing the regnal years of six Babylonian kings.[15] Josephus' record of regnal years for these kings is also corroborated byPtolemy of Alexandria in hisCanon, excepting for the fact that the king that reigned between Neglissar and Nabonnedus is omitted by Ptolemy.
Berossus' work was not popular during the Hellenistic period. The usual account of Mesopotamian history wasCtesias of Cnidus'sPersica, while most of the value of Berossus was considered to be his astrological writings. Mostpagan writers probably never read theHistory directly, and seem to have been dependent onPosidonius of Apamea (135–50 BC), who cited Berossos in his works. While Poseidonius's accounts have not survived, the writings of these tertiary sources do: Vitruvius Pollio (a contemporary ofCaesar Augustus),Pliny the Elder (d. 79 AD), andSeneca the Younger (d. 65 AD). Seven later pagan writers probably transmitted Berossus via Poseidonius through an additional intermediary. They were Aetius (1st or 2nd century AD), Cleomedes (second half of 2nd century AD),Pausanias (c. 150 AD), Athenaeus (c. 200 AD), Censorinus (3rd century AD), and an anonymous Latin commentator on the Greek poemPhaenomena by Aratus of Soloi (ca. 315–240/39 BC).
Jewish and Christian references to Berossus probably had a different source, eitherAlexander Polyhistor (c. 65 BC) orJuba II of Mauretania (c. 50 BC–20 AD). Polyhistor's numerous works included a history of Assyria and Babylonia, while Juba wroteOn the Assyrians, both using Berossus as their primary sources. Josephus' records of Berossus include some of the only extant narrative material, but he is probably dependent on Alexander Polyhistor,[citation needed] even if he did give the impression that he had direct access to Berossus. The fragments of theBabylonaica found in three Christian writers' works are probably dependent on Alexander or Juba (or both). They areTatianus of Syria (2nd century AD),Theophilus Bishop of Antioch (180 AD), andTitus Flavius Clemens (c. 200 AD).
Like Poseidonius', neither Alexander's nor Juba's works have survived. However, the material in Berossus was recorded byAbydenus (c. 200 BC) andSextus Julius Africanus (early 3rd century AD). Both their works are also lost, possibly considered too long, butEusebius Bishop of Caesaria (c. 260–340 AD), in his work theChronicon, preserved some of their accounts. The Greek text of theChronicon is also now lost to us but there is an ancientArmenian translation (500–800 AD) of it,[18] and portions are quoted inGeorgius Syncellus'sEcloga Chronographica (c. 800–810 AD). Nothing of Berossus survives inJerome's Latin translation of Eusebius. Eusebius' other mentions of Berossus inPraeparatio Evangelica are derived from Josephus, Tatianus, and another inconsequential source (the last cite contains only, "Berossus the Babylonian recorded Naboukhodonosoros in his history").
Christian writers after Eusebius are probably reliant on him, but include Pseudo-Justinus (3rd–5th century),Hesychius of Alexandria (5th century),Agathias (536–582),Moses of Chorene (8th century), an unknown geographer of unknown date, and theSuda (Byzantine dictionary from the 10th century). Thus, what little of Berossus remains is very fragmentary and indirect. The most direct source of material on Berossus is Josephus, received from Alexander Polyhistor. Most of the names in his king-lists and most of the potential narrative content have been lost or completely mangled as a result. Only Eusebius and Josephus preserve narrative material, and both had agendas. Eusebius was looking to construct a consistent chronology across different cultures,[18][non-primary source needed] while Josephus was attempting to refute the charges that there was a civilization older than that of the Jews.[citation needed] However, the ten ante-diluvian kings were preserved by Christian apologists interested in how the long lifespans of the kings were similar to the long lifespans of the ante-diluvian ancestors in the story ofGenesis.
In later centuries, Berossus was remembered as a great astronomer, prophet, sage, and historiographer. For example,Pliny the Elder reports that a statue of Berossus was put up by the inhabitants ofAthens due to the accuracy of his future-predictions. Another figure,Pausanias, says that Berossus was the father of theHebrew Sibyl.[19]
In an isolated report fromVitruvius, it is claimed that Berossus founded a school of astronomy at the Island ofKos, although this is typically dismissed as a later invention. Some historians have suggested that the tale originated to provide a story that creates continuity betweenBabylonian andGreek astronomy.[20]
In 1498,Annius of Viterbo claimed to have discovered lost books of Berossus. These were in fact an elaborateforgery.[21] However, they greatly[22] influenced Renaissance ways of thinking about population and migration, because Annius provided a list of kings fromJaphet onwards, filling a historical gap following the Biblical account of the Flood. Annius also introduced characters from classical sources into the biblical framework, publishing his account asCommentaria super opera diversorum auctorum de antiquitatibus loquentium (Commentaries on the Works of Various Authors Discussing Antiquity). One consequence was sophisticated theories aboutCeltic races withDruid priests in Western Europe.[23]
