Franz Cumont was one of the preeminent classical scholars of his day, and his investigations into the history of religion had a dramatic impact upon the fields of archaeology, comparative mythology, and anthropology. This 1912 volume collects the influential series of lectures he delivered across the United States highlighting one aspect of his groundbreaking studies of ancient worship: the reverence of the stars. He discusses... . the origins of astrology in ancient Babylonia . why ancient scientists believed the stars were divine . how astrology influenced Greek and Roman paganism . astrology as the official religion of the Roman Empire . and more.