Phorēdas the Indian (Φορηδὰς ὁ Ἰνδὸς) is an astrologer who wrote a work on the astrological meaning of Jupiter when it is located in each of the 12 signs of the zodiac.   This author is briefly mentioned in a Byzantine summary with no additional details about his astrological work.  The Greek text was published in CCAG 8, part 3, pgs. 91-92.  This brief paragraph where Phorēdas is mentioned in the CCAG was translated into English by Robert Schmidt in The Astrological Record of the Early Sages in Greek, pg. 22.   Schmidt says that he is the only Indian author that he is aware of who is mentioned within the context of the early Hellenistic tradition of astrology.  (Schmidt, The Astrological Record, pg. 22, fn. 2.)  Pingree expressed skepticism over the veracity of passage, although he acknowledged that it was possible that Phorēdas represented an actual Sanskrit name that was simply undocumented. (Pingree, The Indian and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and Astrological Texts, pgs. 169-170.)

Bibliography

  • Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum Graecorum, vol 8, Codicum Parisinorum, part 3, ed. Boudreaux, Brussels, 1912.
  • The Astrological Record of the Early Sages in Greek, trans. Robert Schmidt, ed. Robert Hand, The Golden Hind Press, Berkeley Springs, WV, 1995.
  • David Pingree, “The Indian and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and Astrological Texts,” Viator, Volume 7, 1976, 141-196.

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Article Information

  • Author: Chris Brennan
  • Originally published: July 2, 2011 |   Last updated: July 2, 2011
  • Cite this article: Chris Brennan, “Phoredas the Indian”, The Hellenistic Astrology Website, June 28, 2011, https://www.hellenisticastrology.com/astrologers/phoredas-the-indian/