Egyptian Astronomy

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Egyptian Astronomy
Matt Lindow Christopher Schwert
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Ancient Egypt was land rich in art and history,
people and places, myths and religions. For more
than five thousand years civilization flourished
allowing for the formation of a complex culture
and society. Scientific schools were established
in the fields of astronomy, literature,
philosophy, geometry, mathematics, physics, and
geography.
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Egyptian Sundial
Aristarchus of Samos invented this type of
sundial. It is in the form of a concave bowl, but
is not like the usual sundial because it is
hemispherical in shape, rather than circular.
It has a marker (gnomon) that keeps pace with
half of the diameter. By means of this marker the
position and height of the sun can be calculated
by observing the shadow of the marker and its
position on the lines marked on the bowl.
Aristarchus theorized that the Earth and
planets revolve around the Sun, which debunked
Aristot's principle that all objects revolve
around the Earth. Aristarchus did not hesitate
for one moment in accepting such an apparently
irrational hypothesis. In fact, it takes much
fantasizing to imagine the challenge of such a
hypothesis.
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Seated Statue of the God Thoth
The god of writing and wisdom was Thoth depicted
as a baboon. He was also identified with the moon
Iah, and was called "Lord of the Moon Eye." In
this role, he became the protector and savior of
the eyes. He was also the god of the calendar, as
it was easy to count the days by watching the
crescent moon in its nightly development. He
became the patron deity of scribes and physicians
and the assistant to Osiris in the court of
justice who read the verdict. On the head of
the baboon, personifying Thoth, are both the sun
disk and the crescent moon protected by the
cobra. The seated baboon is concealed up to the
knees in a cover without any details. From his
neck hangs a pectoral showing the Udjat eye of
protection between the two feathers of Maat the
goddess of justice below them is the sign
meaning "all." Details of the hands and feet are
carved with care.
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Copper Astrolabe
A copper astrolabe consisting of a round shaft
ends on the top with a pointed tip bordered by a
lobed frame. There is a metal ring at the top, by
means of which the astrolabe can be hung up.
The shaft is divided into equal portions, while
the frame bears numbers related to astronomy and
the stars. At the upper part of the astrolabe
shaft there is an additional geometrical
formation, made of brass. In the middle there is
a circle with a metal indicator. Drawings are
carved on parts of it that represent astrological
signs and constellations. The astrolabe shaft has
various geometrical parts. Muslems used the
astrolabe to find the direction of prayer (the
direction of Mecca) and its declination. It was
also used for the declination of countries, and
to estimate the height of the sun, the celestial
bodies and their declination and distance. They
also used it to measure the day and the night and
the number of hours in each.
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Clepsydra Egyptian Water Clock
This alabaster water clock of King Amenhotep the
Third has 12 carved columns of 11 false holes,
corresponding to the hours of the night. The
water flowed through a very small hole made in
the center of the bottom, emerging on the outside
under the figure of a seated baboon. To know the
time, one had to look inside the basin to observe
the water level and read the time according to
the nearest false hole. The outside surface of
this clepsydra, or water clock, is decorated with
figures and text that show symbols of certain
planets and constellations and give a list of the
protective spirits for each of the ten days of
the ancient Egyptian week. The middle register,
or section, is occupied by the circumpolar stars
under the aspects of various gods and animals.
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The Sphinx
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The End