Any scholar interested in dreams will be in Oberhelman's debt. His lucid translation and helpful annotations have brought Achmet away from the private preserve of Byzantinists and into the academic mainstream. His thoughtful introduction not only persuasively argues for Achmet's relevance, but provides a modern, theoretically sophisticated introduction to the study of dreams in their historical context. The side connections that he draws between cultures, time periods, and methodologies of study should provide a valuable stimulus for future work; and, as a valuable bonus, this material could fit very well into the classroom (C. Robert Phillips, III).
Achmet is an observer of culture as he analyzes hundreds of dreams in context of gender, politics, socioeconomic class, psychological and physical state, cultural upbringing and religion.
Author(s): Steven M. Oberhelman
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Year: 1991
Language: English
Pages: 314
City: Lubbock, TX
PREFACE 7
ONE: The Oneirocriticon of Achmet
I. The Author 11
II. The Text 14
III. Achmet's Sources 15
A. Arabic Material 15
B. Artemidorus 18
C. Byzantine Sources 19
TWO: Dreams in Greek Thought Before Achmet
I. The Pre-Byzantine Background 23
A. The Literary and Philosophical Tradition 23
B. Medical Writers on Dreams 32
C. Dreams in Incubation 36
D. Popular Dream-Interpretation 38
II. Dreams and Christianity 41
A. Dreams and the Old Testament 41
B. Dreams in the Canonical New Testament 44
C. Dreams in Noncanonical Christian Literature 46
D. Dreams in the Christian World until A.D. 400 49
III. Dreams in Early and Middle Byzantium 53
THREE: Dream-Interpretation and the Oneirocriticon of Achmet
I. Achmet's Theories on Dreams and Dream-Interpretation 65
II. Achmet and Modern Psychoanalysis, Cross-Cultural Studies, and Historical Sociology 73
A. Achmet and Freudian Psychoanalysis 74
B. Cross-Cultural Studies of Dreams 76
C. Historical Sociology 78
FOUR: The Oneirocriticon: a Translation 85
FIVE: Commentary to the Dream-Book 247
Appendix I: Chapter Titles of Achmet's Oneirocriticon 277
Appendix II: Contents of the Kitábu ’1 Tâbír Attributed to Ibn Sháhín 285
Appendix III: Comparison of the Dream-Symbols in Achmet and Artemidorus 289
Works Cited 297
Index: Words in Achmet's Dreams 307
