http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file
For complete access to all the files of this collection
	see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php 
==========================================================
In the MUL.APIN solar calendar the equinoxes are placed on the 15th day of
the months I and VII and the solstices on the 15th day of the months IV
and X, whereas in Euctemon's solar calendar the equinoxes are located on
the first day of the months I and VII and the solstices on the first day
of the months IV and X. This is a new principle in relation to the
Babylonian solar calendar. This new calendar principle introduced by
Euctemon is mirrored in the definition of the tropical zodiac, in which
the vernal and autumnal points are placed at 0° Aries and 0° Libra and the
summer and winter solstitial points are located at 0° Cancer and 0°
Capricorn.

The Definition of the Babylonian Zodiac by Robert Powell Robert Powell was
awarded a PhD at the Polish Academy of Science (Institute for the History
of Science) in Warsaw on December 20th, 2004. This is a summary of his PhD
thesis, entitled "The Definition of the Babylonian Zodiac and the
Influence of Babylonian Astronomy on the Subsequent Defining of the
Zodiac".

The sidereal zodiac and the tropical zodiac both comprise the same
ecliptic coordinate system of twelve signs, each 30° long. However,
whereas the sidereal zodiac is defined in relation to the stars, the
tropical zodiac is defined in relation to the vernal point, which is
equated with 0° Aries as the zero point of the tropical zodiac. Note that
if there was a perfect correspondence between MUL.APIN's solar calendar
and the zodiac (see footnote 1), the vernal point would have to be located
at 15° Aries, since Aries as the first sign of the zodiac corresponds to
month I and in the Babylonian solar calendar the vernal equinox was placed
on the 15th day of month I (as with Eudoxus' definition, see footnote 2).

However, in System A of Babylonian astronomy the vernal point was located
at 10° Aries and in System B at 8° Aries. From this some researchers
concluded that the Babylonians already knew about the slow movement of the
vernal point ("precession of the equinoxes") backwards through the
constellations - one sign (30°) in 2160 years, i.e. 1° in 72 years - and
that they observed the position of the vernal point in the constellation
of Aries and thus determined its location at that time to be 10° Aries
(System A) or 8° Aries (System B).