How to Read an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The exact origin of the aboriginal Egyptian calendar is unknown, but it is estimated to accept started around 5,000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians used a lunar calendar exclusively until they adopted their solar agenda.

The lunar calendar was and so used for their religious festivals and rituals, but for their daily lives, the ancient Egyptians used a solar agenda which contained 365 days per year. Each year was comprised of 3, four-month seasons, which were named later meaning events related to their agrarian lifestyle.

Times of the Egyptian Agenda

The Egyptian calendar was broken downwardly as follows:

• 1 calendar week was 10 days.
• 3 weeks was 1 month.
• Four months was i season.
• Three seasons and five holy days was i year.

Depiction of an Egyptian hieroglyphic calendar

The first season - was called Akhet, which means alluvion or inundation. Information technology included the months of Tekh, Menhet, Hwt-Hrw, and Ka-Hr-Ka.

The 2d flavour - was called Proyet, which means emergence. Its months were Sf-Bdt, Redh Wer, Redh Neds, and Renwet.

The third season - was called Shomu, which ways low water. The names of its months were Hnsw, Hnt-Htj, Ipt-Hmt, and Wep-Renpet.

Each month consisted of three 10-day periods called decades or decans. Although the months were individually named, they were commonly referred to by the name of the festivals they represented. The final two days of each decade were considered holidays and the Egyptians didn't work.

A month was thirty days long on the Egyptian solar agenda. Since this didn't account for all the days in the year, the Egyptians added an intercalary month that occurred outside of the regular agenda year.

The intercalary calendar month was five days long, which meant that the Egyptian solar calendar lost nearly ane-fourth of a day every twelvemonth relative to the actual solar twelvemonth. The 5 intercalary days were used to celebrate the gods' birthdays and the Egyptians weren't expected to work during this time.

© Robert Young - Agenda at Kom Ombo

Decans are groups of stars in ancient Egyptian astronomy that were used to tell fourth dimension at night. The rising of each group indicated a new sidereal twenty-four hours. At that place were 36 groups, or decans, of stars. Each decan consisted of ten days, which yielded a 360-day year.

Names of the decans are known but their locations and their relationship to modern constellations are unknown. A sidereal solar day is divers as the time taken for 1 rotation of the globe relative to the stars. It's approximately four minutes shorter than a solar twenty-four hours.

The Canopus Decree, issued by Ptolemy III, provided for a sixth epagomenal day every fourth year in club to correct this discrepancy. All the same, the priests and the population in general resisted this alter and it was eventually abandoned until Augustus established the Coptic calendar in 25 BC.

© globetrotter_rodrigo - Egyptian Calendar

Dates for common people were written with the number of the calendar month in the flavour first. Adjacent would be the name of the season, then the number of the mean solar day relative to the calendar month, and so the year and the ruler. The rise of a new ruler restarted the year count.

Occasionally, the twelvemonth count began with the first full year of the new ruler but would include the time before that with a notation to differentiate between the two time periods.

Information technology was important to maintain accuracy between the solar calendar year and the actual solar year and then that the heliacal ascension of Sirius would occur properly. The heliacal ascent would occur when Sirius was briefly visible on the horizon immediately before sunrise.

Sirius was vitally important to the Egyptians considering it was the basis of their faith.

Before the introduction of astrology, aboriginal Egyptians used the solar calendar exclusively, marker their days and years by stellar events. The heliacal rising of Sirius for case, was the showtime of the Nile flooding, which occurred every year at Cairo. After the introduction of astrology, the rise of the decans and the stellar occurrences indicated the onset of diseases and the timing for their cures.

Sirius (lesser) equally viewed from the Hubble telescope

Importance of Sirius

In addition to being the brightest star in the heaven, Sirius was of import to the ancient Egyptians for other reasons. Information technology was considered to exist the power backside the sun. The sun kept the physical trunk alive and Sirius kept the spiritual trunk alive.

Sirius was associated with Isis, the mother goddess of the earth, who is part of the trinity of Egyptian mythology. The Smashing Pyramid of Giza is said to be built in alignment with Sirius.

Facts About the Egyptian Solar Agenda

• The old Egyptian calendar was used into the middle ages considering its days and months remained consistent. This facilitated their calculations.
• A day for the Egyptians started at sunrise, while many surrounding cultures started their twenty-four hours at sunset.
• Egyptians initially used sundials, hourglasses, and obelisks to tell fourth dimension during the day and the stars to tell time at dark. The introduction of water clocks enabled them to tell time more than accurately.
• A civil lunar year, not tied to Sirius, was added every four years to account for the extra twenty-four hour period needed to residuum the solar agenda to the Egyptian calendar. This was known equally the wandering yr, or annus vagus.
• July 19th was the Egyptian new year. That was the date that Sirius reappeared on the eastern horizon after a 70-day absence, and the date the Nile began to flood.
• Some historians believe that Sirius was the star that the wise men followed en road to the birthplace of the infant Jesus.

• Daily Life in Aboriginal Egypt
• Aboriginal Egyptian Hieroglyphics
• Ancient Arab republic of egypt Warfare
• Medicine in Ancient Egypt

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Source: https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egyptian-calendar.html

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