Syllabus
1. An overview of material; chronological scope. Methodological possibility of the comparison of Greek and Hebrew dreaming.
2. Ancient dreams: the differences between dreaming in the ancient worlds and the modern approach to dreams (the realness of dreams, future-oriented approach).
3. Dream epiphanies of gods or other authoritative figures.
4. The arts of oniromancy (Joseph in Egypt, Daniel; Artemidorus).
5. Artemidorus´ taxonomy and method of interpretation (and comparison with Synesius).
6. The ´universal dimension´ in dreams Biblical and antique.
7. Double-dreams; dreams fictitious and factual.
8. Incubation, or sleeping in sacred places for advice or healing.
9. Where do dreams come from and how relevant is their origin? Typologies of dreams.
10. Continued. Nightmares.
11. The importance of the right identification of dream-types (Book of Numbers 12,1-3 and Galen).
12. A commentary on Matthew 1f. and the Book of Daniel.
Annotation
Dreams in Greco-Roman Culture and the Bible
During the one semester, two different religious and cultural milieus of dreaming, and writing about dreams will be treated, always with an eye on their embededness in their respective original languages. We will go through Greek (and partly also Latin) ways of dreaming by way of using some examples from the hundreds of preserved dreams throughout antiquity from its beginning (Homer) down to its end (5th cent. AD) and we will study every Biblical dream to be able to compare the two cultures, both very different from our own, from the perspective of dreaming. Ideally, the two wordls will represent mutual backgrounds or mirrors to show each others´ lineaments.