Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica: Text, Translation, and Commentary DANIEL E. HARRIS-McCOYOXFORD "Dylon eer re terns aed wth he apron oon ‘yet by Rh iit any So ie Gren sn For KimPreface Artemidorus’ Oneirocritca has much to offer I is our sole witness to a once thriving body of literature providing technical instruction in the art of dream-interpretation. As such, itis one of the most important sources of information that we possess on ancient dreams, their meanings, and the process whereby meaning was extracted from them for prophetic purposes. It provides insight into both the historical practice of di and religion, as ‘well as the functicn of dreams and divination as themes in Greek and Latin, literature. Asan example of ancient scholarship, the Oneiracritca is of interest for its eclectic yet unified synthesis of a wide range of intellectual traditions. Its serial publication and the dramatically shifting organization of ts contents will have somethirg to contribute to what might be called the emerging field of the history of information science. The dream-interpretations themselves, which relate to a vast array of activities, events, and objects are a rich mine of information for scholars of all stripes and, in particular, the social historian, Finally, as an example of Greek imperial literature, the Oneirocritica reflects the complex position of Greek intellectuals writing against the political backdrop of the Roman Empire. ‘And yet the Oneirocritica has only one modern English translation and there has not been a general study of the text in English since Claes Blum's 1936 monograph, Studies in the Dream Book of Artemidorus, which has become rare and out of date, This does not mean, however, that scholarship ‘on the Oneirocritcs has languished, Formidable thinkers, classiists and non classicists alike, have tendered their thoughts on various aspects of the text. ur knowledge of divination, ancient scholarship, and the period in which Artemidorus was writing, commonly known as the Second Sophistic, has also improved dramatically in the past few decades, However, this information hhas not yet been synthesized to produce a better understanding of the Oneirocritiea as a whole. There are, moreover, deficiencies in the scholarship ‘on the text, which reflect broader tendencies in how classcists typically read, and do not read, technical and compilatory literature. Specifically judicious studies of their literary styl, intellectual positions, and, to an extent, their politics ar still lacking with obvious notable exceptions. This new presentation of Artemidorus’ Oncirocritica therefore seeks to accomplish three gcals: to tie together loose strands in the scholarship, to fill in gaps, and to encourage readers of the Oneiocritica to think about the text ‘more deeply, in innovative ways, and with afresh enthusiasm. To these ends, it offers a translation that seeks to capture accurately the full flavour of Artemidorus’ Greek, from the zesty verve of his prefaces to the formulaic and