Oneirocritica

Oneirocritica (Greek: Ονειροκριτικά) (The Interpretation of Dreams) is an ancient Greek treatise on dream interpretation written by Artemidorus in the 2nd century AD,^[1] and is the earliest extant Greek work on the subject, in five books, though in it Artemidorus mentions numerous other -- now lost -- works from which his own is at least partially derived, including the 1st century Oneirocritica by Artemon of Miletus.

The first three volumes were intended for the general public, providing an encyclopedic treatment of the subject matter of dreams, and the remaining two volumes were written for the private use of the author's son, a novice dream interpreter. Artemidorus inscribed the book "Artemidorus of Daldis", despite having been born in Ephesus, to commemorate the little-known birthplace of his mother in Lydia (3.66).

Artemidorus suggests that dreams are unique to the individual, and that a person's waking life will affect the symbols in his dreams. He shows awareness of the dreaming mind's capacity to use metaphors in its messages.

Michel Foucault, who discusses the Oneirocritica in The Care of the Self, the third volume of his The History of Sexuality (1976-1984), describes the text as a practical, experiential guide. According to Foucault, the work reveals culturally salient patterns relating to "the ethical experience of the aphrodisia."^[2]