[531] The Archæology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, p. 111 (London, 1908).
[532] Entitled Der babylonische Ursprung der ägyptischen Kultur (1892).
[533] Pliny, speaking of Belus, says: “Inventor hic fuit sideralis scientiæ, Naturalis Historiæ,” Lib. VI. Cap. 30.
[534] Astrology and Religion among the Greeks and Romans, p. 8 (New York, 1912).
[535] See especially Astronomisches aus Babylon, oder das Wissen der Chaldäer uber den gestirnten Himmel (by J. Epping, in collaboration with J. Straszmaier, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1889); Die Babylonische Mondrechnung (by F. Kugler, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1900).
[536] Cf. Dumont op. cit., p. 60.
[537] A comparison of the lunar periods as given by Babylonian and by modern astronomers will show how exact were the calculations of the observers of ancient Chaldea.
Periods as calculated by Babylonian astronomers:
| Mean sidereal month | 27 days, | 7 hours, | 43’ 14″ |
| Mean synodic month | 29 days, | 12 hours, | 44’ 31.3″ |
| Mean draconitic month | 27 days, | 5 hours, | 5’ 35.8″ |
| Mean anomalistic month | 27 days, | 13 hours, | 18’ 34.9″ |
Periods as calculated by modern astronomers: