Artemidorus, Dream Exegesis, and the Case of the Interpolating Expert Dreamer

Hall, Claire

Abstract

This article makes the following case: according to Artemidorus of Daldis’ Oneirocriticon one main task of the dream interpreter is to identify, through knowledge of the dreamer, which components of a dream are internal in order to assess—as far as possible—the external components of a dream. I argue that very similar hermeneutic issues were being extensively theorised in Artemidorus’ period by Jewish and Christian writers who were concerned with the problem of prophetic interpolation: in particular, cases in the Bible in which prophecies do not come true. In making this comparison, I hope to clarify a number of features of Artemidorus’ hermeneutic, including the relationship between the origin and structure of dreams and the exegetical practice of the dream-interpreter.

Citation

Hall, C. (2023). Artemidorus, Dream Exegesis, and the Case of the Interpolating Expert Dreamer. Mnemosyne: A Journal of Classical Studies, 76(6), 1000-1025. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12347333

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 23, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-10
• Deposit Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Journal: Mnemosyne
• Print ISSN: 0026-7074
• Electronic ISSN: 1568-525X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 76
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1000-1025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12347333
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1181007