The Babylonians had a simple take on dreams.  When dreams were good, they were from the gods.  However when one had nightmares or bad dreams then these were generally interpreted as demonic.

The Romans however, took dreams a little more seriously than the Babylonians.  Dreams were subject to debate in the senate and were regarded as messages from the gods.  The dreams were then interpreted and these were used as “guides” as to how the state proceeds with certain laws, actions and even war.

The Greeks were even more meticulous than their Roman counterparts.  The Greeks would purify themselves for two days before sleeping in temples in order to receive messages from the gods.  They would fast, abstain from sex and eat no meat or fowl.  The potential dreamer would then sleep in the temple of the god which he wished to invoke.  They believed that Hypnos would then send his son Morpheus in order to warn or give prophecies to those who slept at his temples.

The Hebrews like most other cultures believed that dreams were messages from the gods.  However, the Hebrews were monotheistic and believed in only one god.  So when they dreamed, they believed that it was God who spoke to them.

Lots of the Bible characters that we know used dreams to guide them and rally the Hebrews.  Jacob for example dreamed of a very tall ladder which reached the heavens where God stood at the very top.  He was promised by God that Israel would forever belong to the Jewish people.  It is these types of dreams and prophecy that had a great impact on the Hebrew religion and culture.

The Assyrians saw dreams as omens.  In fact one of the earliest recorded dreams was written in a clay tablet that was found in Nineveh and dated back to the time of King Ashurbanipal.  It stated that when one keeps on dreaming about flying, then all he owns will be lost.   The Assyrians believed that bad dreams are a sign that something is wrong, and that whatever it is should be corrected.  They also believed that one should always follow the advice in their dreams.

Dream interpretation during ancient times was centered on the gods and omens.  This is because man even during his infancy, sought to better himself and sought guidance from higher powers.  The same is still true in our modern world.  Dreams are thought of by some people as signs, communications from our subconscious mind or even our “inner selves” seeking attention.  Man’s fascinations with dreams are still on going even with the varied explanations and studies as to why we dream in the first place.

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Oedipus was the son of King Larius and Queen Jocasta,  His parents consulted the  Oracle at Delphi before he was born.  After which, his parents gave him to a herdsman and instructed him to kill the baby.  The herdsman felt pity for the infant and gave him to another herdsman.   The second herdsman brought Oedipus to the king of Cornith, Polybus and his wife Merope.  The king and queen adopted Oedipus and raised him as their own son.  Many years later Oedipus was told by a drunk that he was adopted.  Polybus and Merope denied this and Oedipus instead went to an Oracle who told him that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother.  Oedipus, thinking that the Oracle meant Polybus and Merope, decided to leave Corinth for Thebes.

Before reaching Thebes, he encountered a cross-road where he encountered King Larius.  A confrontation ensued ending in Oedipus killing Larius.  Continuing his journey, he encountered the Sphinx which asked him a riddle to answer in order to pass.  She asked: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?”. Oedipus answered: “Man; as an infant, he crawls on all fours, as an adult, he walks on two legs and, in old age, he relies on a walking stick”.  Oedipus was the first to answer her question correctly and as a consequence the Sphinx threw herself to her death.  As a reward, the Thebans proclaimed Oedipus as their king and gave him the recently widowed Jocasta for his wife.

Oedipus and Jocasta had four children, two sons and two daughters.  When a plague struck Thebes, he sent Jocasta’s brother, Creon to consult the Oracle.  Creon returned with the news that the plague would only end if the murderer of King Larius was found and killed or exiled.  Oedipus eventually found out that it was he who killed King Larius and Jocasta also found out that she had married her own son.  As a result, she hanged herself in the palace.  When Oedipus found her dead, he gouged his own eyes and lived in exile.  Their children took over the ruling of Thebes but often disagreed and ended up killing each other.

Sigmund Freud named the Oedipus complex after the Greek mythology.  It is an unconscious desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex and eliminate the parent of the same sex.  Individuals who suffer from this neurosis are either “father fixated” or “mother fixated” and reveal this by choosing partners who resemble their parents as surrogates.

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The practice of interpreting healing dreams is not limited to the Ancient Greeks.  The Chinese and the Hindus also believe that dreams contain messages regarding our health.  The Chinese have identified certain symbols in dreams which they say identify which part of the body needs healing.   A bad dream generally means serious diseases or illnesses and normal dreams connote good health or recovery.

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