The idea that the destiny of mankind is somehow linked to the stars goes back over 2500 years. A powerful force in the intellectual life of Greece and Rome, astrology was condemned to near-extinction by the rise of Christianity, but was reawakened in the Middle Ages and come to permeate philosophy, literature and art. Always liable to be debased and manipulated, the principles of astrology were nevertheless for many centuries an accepted facet of religious and scientific thought and daily life. This history of astrology ranges from earliest times to the present day. It looks at the interaction with the Church and political rulers, and the book includes a large cast of heroes and villains who used astrology to achieve their aims, with varying degrees of success. What emerges time and again is the long-term survival of astrological beliefs, despite the ongoing hostility of religious leaders.