Battle Omens

When reading the liver, the omens presented are mainly bad luck, such as that of the downfall of the army or death of a diviner. It is of importance to notice that the signals that predict bad luck are more likely to occur that those which predict good luck. For example, when reading the liver, of all the examples Baharani gives, only “if the view is like a sceptor: the weapon of Sargon. (victory)” shows a good sign (187). The other ones such as “if the presence is seized tightly by red filaments” are more likely to occur, however, they fortell a misfortune, such as for the example given before, “the fall of my principle diviner in battle” (187).

Also for tertums, in which “chance occurances or terrestrial omens” predicted future events in battle, most of events have a bad result. The only example of a good result coming towards the army is “if a severed head laughs” (187). This is an impossible event, so by analyzing the other events, it can be shown that priests were wary about the answers they gave. Priests would most likely show that an event meant a bad telling, so the military would just avoid any situation that would occur, rather than tell of a good fortune.

Baharani states over and over again that reading omens and establishing a sense of the future were done with a sense of anxiety. This shows why the priests may show that bad results would occur more often than good results. However, they were saved by the kings blaming them for a misreading of omens by the justifying the gods for what occurs.