The Dream Book of Artemidorus I: Body, Love and Fortune

About this book

What does it mean to dream of long and beautiful hair, of losing a tooth, of a garland of roses or of a beautiful stranger? Artemidorus of Daldis had an answer for each, and he did not invent them, as he tells it: he bought every dream book he could find and for years listened to the soothsayers of the market-place in Greece, Asia and Italy, writing down which dreams came true and how. This is the first of three books that together translate his Oneirocritica in full, from the Greek text printed in Paris in 1603.

For Artemidorus a dream is never the same for everyone. Long, beautiful hair is good, especially for a woman, “for hair serves beauty”. The mouth is the house and the teeth are the people of the house: the upper ones the better members of the household, the lower ones the lesser. A garland of roses in its season is good for all, but it betrays those who wish to stay hidden, because of its scent. A dream of a beautiful woman who gives herself freely, dressed in costly garments, shows that something of no small account will be accomplished.

Book I covers chapters 1 to 85: what a dream is and how it speaks, the six elements of every dream, birth and children, the body from head to foot, crafts, games and the baths, food and wine, garlands, love and sleep.

Translated into modern English by BlusaBooks directly from the Greek text of the Paris edition of 1603 (N. Rigault; Duke University copy, archive.org); the Latin translation printed beside it served as an aid, and the text is in the public domain. The translation is complete except for a few dreams of forbidden sexual relations, which are omitted and marked in the text; the beliefs of the period are kept as written, and our explanations stand only in the notes at the foot of the page. No images of the printed edition are reproduced.

What is inside

• Artemidorus’ Book One, complete: 85 chapters on how dreams speak, birth and children, hair, teeth, hands, the body, feasts, garlands and love.
• One dream, many fates: read differently for the rich and the poor, a woman, a slave, a king.
• A foreword on Artemidorus and how to read his book.
• Notes on strange words, places and customs, at the foot of the page.
• A commentary in plain words: what the dreams promised, by wish (beauty, love, children, fortune).
• PDF, A5 page size (148 × 210 mm), 78 pages, readable on phone, tablet and computer.

Who it is for

Readers of dream dictionaries and dream journals, of ancient Greece and Rome, of occult and esoteric texts, and anyone who wants to know what the most complete ancient dream book says their own dreams foretell.

A historical source: the book gives an ancient Greek text and what historians know about it. It shares old knowledge and promises no results. What it says about illness is an ancient belief, not medical advice. Digital PDF, delivered for download after payment.