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
When we come to examine these non-solar temples, the first question
is, Do they resemble the solar ones in construction? Are the
horizontal telescope conditions retained? The evidence on this point
is overwhelming. Take the Temple of Hathor at Denderah. It points very
far away from the sun; the sun's light could never have enfiladed it;
in many others pointing well to the north or south the axis extends
from the exterior pylon to the Sanctuary or Naos, which is found always
at the closed end of the temple; we have the same number of pylons,
gradually getting narrower and narrower as we get to the Naos, and in
some there is a gradual rise from the first exterior pylon to the part
which represents the section of the Naos, so that a beam of horizontal
light coming through the central door might enter it over the heads
of the people flocking into the outer courts of the temple, and pass
uninterruptedly into the Sanctuary.
In this way the Egyptians had, if they chose to use it, a most
admirable arrangement for observing, with considerable accuracy, either
the rising or the setting of any celestial body, whether it were sun or
star, and especially the possibility of observing a _cosmical_ rising,
as the eye was shielded from the sunrise light, and the place of rising
was completely indicated.
In these, as at Karnak, we have a collimating axis. We have the other
end of the temple blocked; we have these various diaphragms or pylons,
so that, practically, there is absolutely no question of principle of
construction involved in this temple that was not involved in the great
solar temple of Amen-Rā itself.
We made out that in the case of the temples devoted to sun-worship and
to the determination of the length of the year, there was very good
reason why all these attempts should be made to cut off the light, by
diaphragms and stone ceilings, because, among other things, one wanted
to find the precise point occupied by the sunbeam on the two or three
days near the winter or summer solstice in order to determine the exact
moment of the solstice.
But if a temple is not intended to observe the sun, why these
diaphragms? Why keep the astronomer, or the priest, so much in the
dark? There is a very good reason indeed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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