The society based on omens

Signs were interpreted both very strictly and freely in the ancient Near East. It was strict in a sense that only certain people had the authority of giving explanations of the various phenomenon that occur in everyday life, including dreams, body signs, and the activities of all the other creatures in the nature. But it was also free in the sense that anything can indicate an omen from the gods, and it pretty much depends on the omen interpreter to explain what the sign foreshadows. This system seems really unreliable in every way. I have a few inquiries about the operation of this process.

First of all, how did the omen interpreters acquire the power that they had? Extispicy and hepatoscopy were really mysterious and serious matters back in the ancient Near East. The interpretation of signs was taken so seriously that many important decisions, politically and socially, were made based on it. Baharani did not exactly explain how people gained the status of being sign interpreters. I wonder if certain social status was required, since the general public put so much faith and belief in the very few individuals who held the power of virtually determining the fate of the country.

Moreover, since there existed definitely more than one omen interpreters, what happened when conflicts existed? Most likely people had different opinions on what certain omens meant, since there wasn’t anything like laws or rules to follow for interpretation. I wonder if there existed a status ladder for these omen interpreters, in which there was a go-to person when different interpretations existed. The interpretation process must have been really subtle and subject to change, since a slight variation can mean a big change. The most inscrutable puzzle seemed to be the analysis of human body parts. Body parts were ultimately controlled by human beings; so what if someone intentionally made a move to make an “omen?” It feels like there must have been many loopholes.

This, then, leads to my next point. It seems like the social importance of the omen interpreters made it possible for bribery to exist. Since many crucial decisions were made according to the interpretations of the signs, other figures could have bribed the omen interpreters according to their own will. This seems to imply a very unstable or corrupt society. But on the other hand, religion was considered so important and people had more respect as well as fear in the gods. So maybe their morals would prevent them from doing that. As Baharani has mentioned, the removal of a god statue was so disrespectful and powerful that wars were carried out with the intent of recovering or stealing a god statue from an enemy. After all, much of the social and cultural values were based on the gods and their religion.

But despite of all, the Near Eastern reliability on the interpretations of signs seems to be very inaccurate today. Maybe it’s because people back then didn’t have any better knowledge to operate the society; therefore, superstition acted as the supreme role.

p.s. sorry I forgot to submit this on time!