The dawn of astronomy: A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient EgyptiansLockyer, Norman, Sir
Religion
The dawn of astronomy: A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient Egyptians
Lockyer, Norman, Sir
Astronomy, Egyptian; Sun -- Mythology; Sun worship; Temples -- Egypt
1728
B.C.
Thoth ┐
Phaophi ├ [Hieroglyph]
Athyr │
Choiach ┘
Tybi ┐
Menchir ├ [Hieroglyph]
Phamenoth │
Pharmuti ┘
Pachons ┐
Payni ├ [Hieroglyph]
Epiphi │
Mesori ┘
show what might also have happened about 618 B.C. if a reformer
of the calendar (and one especially of conservative tendencies)
appeared upon the scene, who believed that the ancient sign for the
inundation-tetramene was the water sign, and that the ancient name was
Thoth. Finding the cycle beginning in 1728 B.C. with the signs as shown
above--
B.C.
618
Thoth ┐
Phaophi ├ [Hieroglyph]
Athyr │
Choiach ┘
Tybi ┐
Menchir ├ [Hieroglyph]
Phamenoth │
Pharmuti ┘
Pachons ┐
Payni ├ [Hieroglyph]
Epiphi │
Mesori ┘
when starting fresh, he would seize the opportunity of effecting a
change, not only by dealing with a tetramene, but he would change the
names of the tetramenes allocated to the signs; as Krall remarks, it
was almost merely a question of a change of the sign! It really was
more, because the new tetramene began with the flood.
Assuming this, we can see exactly what was done in 238 B.C., _i.e._,
about 380 years later. We have seen that the 380 years is made up of
5 Epacts
30 Mesori
30 Epiphi
30 Payni
──
95 × 4 = 380
--the heliacal rising of Sirius occurring on 1 Payni, having swept
backwards along the months in the manner already explained. We had, to
continue the diagrammatic treatment--
B.C.
238
Pachons ┐
Payni ├ [Hieroglyph]
Epiphi │
Mesori ┘
Thoth ┐
Phaophi ├ [Hieroglyph]
Athyr │
Choiach ┘
&c.
To sum up, so far as we have gone, we have the three inscriptions
at Philæ, Elephantine and the still more ancient one of Pepi (?),
indicating on the simple system we have suggested beginnings of Sothic
cycles on the 1st Thoth about the years
270 ┐
1728 ├ B.C.
3192 ┘
On the other hand, we have the decree of Canopus, giving us by exactly
the same system a local revision of the calendar about 600 B.C. I
say _about_ 600 B.C. because it must be remembered that a difference
of 2½ days in the phenomena observed will make a difference of 10
years in the date, and we do not know in what part of the valley the
revision took place, and therefore at what precise time in relation to
the heliacal rising the Nile-rise was observed.
Whenever presumably it took place, New Year's Day was reckoned by the
Flood, and the rising of Sirius followed nearly, if not quite, a month
afterwards. The equivalent of the old 1st Thoth was therefore 1 Payni.
In months, then, the old 1st Thoth was separated from the new one (= 1
Payni) by three months (Payni, Mesori, Epiphi) and the Epacts.
In this way, we can exactly account for the difference of 409 years
referred to above as the dates assigned by Censorinus and myself for
the beginning of the Sirius cycle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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