Our signs of the Zodiac are of Babylonian origin.  They were passed on to the Greeks by the Phoenicians and Hittites.  “There was a time “, says Professor Sayce, “when the Hittites were profoundly affected by Babylonian civilization, religion, and art....”  They “carried the time-worn civilizations of Babylonia and Egypt to the furthest boundary of Egypt, and there handed them over to the West in the grey dawn of European history....  Greek traditions affirmed that the rulers of Mykenae had come from Lydia, bringing with them the civilization and treasures of Asia Minor.  The tradition has been confirmed by modern research.  While certain elements belonging to the prehistoric culture of Greece, as revealed at Mykenae and elsewhere, were derived from Egypt and Phoenicia, there are others which point to Asia Minor as their source.  And the culture of Asia Minor was Hittite."[324]

The early Babylonian astronomers did not know, of course, that the earth revolved round the sun.  They believed that the sun travelled across the heavens flying like a bird or sailing like a boat.[325] In studying its movements they observed that it always travelled from west to east along a broad path, swinging from side to side of it in the course of the year.  This path is the Zodiac—­the celestial “circle of necessity”.  The middle line of the sun’s path is the Ecliptic.  The Babylonian scientists divided the Ecliptic into twelve equal parts, and grouped in each part the stars which formed their constellations; these are also called “Signs of the Zodiac”.  Each month had thus its sign or constellation.

The names borne at the present day by the signs of the Zodiac are easily remembered even by children, who are encouraged to repeat the following familiar lines: 

    The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins,
    And next the Crab, the Lion shines. 
        The Virgin and the Scales;
    The Scorpion, Archer, and Sea goat,
    The man that holds the water pot,
        And Fish with glitt’ring[326] tails.

The table on p. 308 shows that our signs are derived from ancient Babylonia.

The celestial regions were also divided into three or more parts.  Three “fields” were allotted to the ancient triad formed by Ea, Anu, and Bel.  The zodiacal “path” ran through these “fields”.  Ea’s field was in the west, and was associated with Amurru, the land of the Amorites; Anu’s field was in the south, and was associated with Elam; and Bel’s central “field” was associated with the land of Akkad.  When the rulers of Akkad called themselves “kings of the four quarters”, the reference was to the countries associated with the three divine fields and to Gutium[327](east = our north-east).  Was Gutium associated with demons, as in Scandinavia the north-east was associated with the giants against whom Thor waged war?