Claire Hall on Firmicus Maternus
Julius Firmicus Maternus (c. 300 – some time later than the 340’s) is a figure whom scholarship has had trouble categorising: the writer of our earliest proper astrological manual in Latin, and also the author of a hard-core Christian polemical work in which he attacks traditional religion, calls for the destruction of temples, and so forth.
Primary Sources
Eight Books on Mathematics (Matheseos Libri VIII), Vol. 1
This work stands as the most complete record of Roman astrology surviving from antiquity. Firmicus Maternus asserts that the movements of the planets dictate your appearance, social standing, and ultimate fate with absolute precision. He views the universe as a grand machine where human agency is me
Eight Books on Mathematics (Matheseos Libri VIII), Vol. 2
This text serves as both an ancient technical manual for astrologers and a cautionary tale regarding the corruption of historical records. Firmicus Maternus argues that human life is bound by the precise geometric dance of the planets. He links physical deformity, professional success, and even mora