Protodynastic Egyptian Starmaps
[Disclaimer: The contents of this post are merely the reflections of the author’s opinions an beliefs, the subject matter holds no scientific weight. The aim is to explore alternative views on history.]
Veneration of the seasons by stellar cults has been part of human history since time immemorial. These religious cults have always surrounded themselves in mystery providing exoteric believe systems for the profane while keeping esoteric understanding for themselves. Accepting that all religious systems are rooted in astronomy, for the sake of playful investigation, can guide us in interpreting historical artefacts.
At the end of the 4th Millennium BCE astronomy must have been very crude, with a focus only on the brightest and most recognizable parts of the sky. It is logical to assume that the majestic Milky Way must have gathered the ancient’s attention.
It is logical to assume that the majestic Milky Way must have gathered the ancient’s attention.
If day and night are equally divided then the midnight midheaven will equal the eastern horizon at sunset which is the case when the Sun passes the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. In ancient history the constellation Taurus, which sits on the border of the Milky Way, occupied an equinoctial point, therefore it rose with the sun during the spring and was in opposition to the sun during autumn. Logically this particular cross section was best observed in relation to the other constellations on the autumnal midnights.
Pharaoh Den’s portrayal of “The Smiting of the Enemy” on the MacGregor-Label (c. 2970 BCE) bears similarities to the midnight skies of that period which was discussed in the previous post[1].
Close inspection of the pharaoh’s regalia displays the Egyptian’s understanding of the polar axis; the head of a snake on Den’s crown points to the constellation Draco while the bull’s tail could refer to the bull’s tail on the opposite end of Taurus, which is Scorpio.
Scorpio and its neighboring constellation Sagittarius are both on the ecliptic and are part of the Milky Way. How does this section of the sky correlate to the archeological findings of that time? It is said that in the late 4th Millennium, in predynastic times, there lived a ‘Scorpion King’. This Scorpion King ruled over both Upper and Lower Egypt. Plaques and jars have been found which refer to his name along with rock carvings that depict scenes of his supposed victories.[2]
Below is a side by side comparisons between the Gebel Tjauti Tableau found in the Theban Desert (c. 3200 BCE) and an upper view of the spring midnight sky.[3] Markings have been included to illustrate how the tableau can be interpreted as a star map.
The carvings are lined up to follow the Milky Way. Horus birds signify axes, they read like punctuations in order to alert the reader. Knowing a signs position relative to the midheaven allows us to recover the ‘time of writing’. The carving displays the birth of Horus by Hathor, the Egyptian cow goddess, between the constellation of Sagittarius and Scorpio, in the direction of the galactic center.[4]
Side note: In the days of ancient Egypt Scorpio’s heliacal rising would have been in the month of September, presently that would translate to late December, around Christmas time. The Milky Way resembles a great river in the heavens, Moses was given to a river and so was Sargon of Akkad. This story has been told in many instances and in a myriad of variations throughout human history.
A graffito from Gebel Sheikh Suleiman in Lower Nubia, in the Sudan’s northern border shows a scorpion with a prisoner into its claws; two archers are turned towards the captive and the scorpion (c. 3200–3000 BCE).[5] The image below has been mirrored horizontally, the left archer has been adjusted vertically.
The intentions of the artists are unclear, but it is highly probable that the Gebel Tjauti Tableau and the Gebel Sheikh Suleiman rock carving reflect the night’s sky during their time, and not a conclusion of temporal tribal conflicts, this has become plain to see.
Above is an image of the actual upper sky during the night of the vernal equinox. Antares (Alpha Scorpii) aligns quite perfectly with the midnight meridian.
The ancient Egyptians were drawn to, and heavily inspired by the stars as early as predynastic times. Scribbles could have evolved into symbols for writing and religious concepts for Egyptian believe structures. Believe structures that may well have formed the basis for Judeo-Christian theology.
By Orestes_3113
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References
[1] Early Egyptian Astronomy — https://medium.com/@Orestes_3113/early-egyptian-astronomy-fc3217511fff
[2] Scorpion King — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion_I
[3] Gebel Tjauti Tableau — https://curiosmos.com/before-the-pharaohs-ancient-egypt-was-ruled-by-a-scorpion-king-reveals-ancient-text/
[4] Hathor births Horus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hathor
[5] Scorpion I — http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/egypt/GebelShSuleiman-2nd.jpg
