The Dream Book of Artemidorus III: Dreams That Came True

About this book

A man dreamed that grains of wheat were in his cushion instead of wool, and that year his wife, who had never conceived, bore a son. Another dreamed that he dipped bread in honey and ate it; he turned to philosophy, gained wisdom and amassed a great deal of money. Alexander the Great, besieging Tyre, saw a satyr on his shield, and his seer read it as “Tyre is yours”. This is the third and last of three books that together translate the Oneirocritica of Artemidorus of Daldis in full, from the Greek text printed in Paris in 1603.

Here Artemidorus shows his workshop. Book Three, “The Lover of Truth”, gathers what the first two left out, from dice and theft to ants, the mole and the sundial. Book Four is a handbook written for his son: letters that are numbers, names whose letters add up to the same sum, riddles and wordplay, and the rule that the gods always speak the truth. Book Five is a collection of 95 dreams, each with what came of it.

Book III of this edition covers Artemidorus’ Books Three to Five: 67 + 86 chapters and 95 dreams that came true. A few dreams of forbidden sexual relations are omitted; each omission is marked in the text.

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’ Books Three to Five, complete: 67 + 86 chapters and 95 dreams that came true.
• Letters that are numbers, wordplay and riddles: how Artemidorus read a dream, step by step.
• 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 (wealth, a child, victory, hidden knowledge).
• PDF, A5 page size (148 × 210 mm), 109 pages, readable on phone, tablet and computer.

Who it is for

Readers of dream dictionaries and dream journals, of omens and prophetic dreams, of ancient Greece and Rome, and anyone who wants to see, dream by dream, how the ancients believed a dream comes true.

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.