User:Immanuelle/Sopdet (constellation)
| Sopdet in hieroglyphs | |||||||||
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wenut-net-heru wnwt-nt-hrw Book of the Day | |||||||||
Sopdet Spd.t Die gefährliche Göttin[2] | |||||||||
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Sopdet was the ancient Egyptian name for a constellation and Decan. The constellation comprised parts of the astronomical constellation Canis Major and symbolized the deity Sopdet.
What is striking is the different spelling in hieroglyphs from the Middle Kingdom onwards, as the constellation Sopdet was depicted both with the typical t-ending and with Spd .
background
changeTemplate:HieroglyphenImTextThe constellation of Sopdet, according to the description in the Book of Nut, consisted of three stars, Seba-en-Sopdet ("Star of Sopdet"), and likely Wezen and Epsilon Canis Majoris. The depicted triangle
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was visible in the sky immediately after rising from the Duat. During the acronychical setting, however, the triangle lay "on its side."
The reasons for the different spelling regarding the t-ending remain unclear. A possible reason is a male-female meaning of the Sopdet as a decan star . [4] Following the astronomical conditions, the hieroglyphic writing was different: In the Middle Kingdom, the triangular hieroglyph M44 was still depicted upright, while in Greco-Roman times, due to the changed constellation, the sign M44 was tilted to the left on its tip.
In the decan lists of the Book of Nut, Sopdet represented the 35th decan on the body of Nut. The heliacal rising was scheduled for the 16th of Peret IV and was based on a decree issued under Senusret III (12th Dynasty) in his seventh year of reign. This scheduling is a part of ancient Egyptian astronomy where decans were used to mark time during the night, each decan rising consecutively on the horizon throughout the year.
Invisibility periods of Sirius
changeThe “70 Days embalming time ” occurred only within the era from the 1st. Dynasty until the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty in the Memphis region and the Nile Delta . Due to its own motion, Sirius was at most 10 hours observable. [5]
In Elephantine or Thebes, however, Sirius never stayed 70 days invisible. The Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom reveal that the Egyptians knew of Sirius's 70-day period of invisibility.
In the decan list of Sethos I, in connection with the heliacal rising at the time of Senusret III, the statement of “70 Days of Invisibility of the Decans”, although explicit reference was made to the dean Sopdet and not to the star Sirius.
| Periods of Invisibility of Sirius in Various Regions of Ancient Egypt (Gregorian calendar) | ||||||
| Year | Observation Location | Acronychal setting (First night hour) |
Heliacal rising (Twelfth night hour) |
Duration of Invisibility (Duat) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2769 BC | Memphis | 13th April (25th Schemu II) |
23rd June (5th Heriu-renpet) |
70 days | ||
| 2769 BC | Elephantine | 18th April (30th Schemu II) |
17th June (29th Schemu IV) |
59 days | ||
| 2137 BC | Memphis | 20th April (1st Achet IV) |
28th June (9th Peret II) |
68 days | ||
Dating of Sopdet (System of the Nut Book)
change| Dating of Sopdet in Memphis | ||||||
| Year | Acronychal culmination[6] | Acronychal setting[6] | Heliacal rising[6] | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2089 BC | 11th Achet I 19th to 20th January |
11th Achet IV 19th to 20th April |
21st Peret II 28th to 29th June |
Diagonal star clock | ||
| 1869 BC | 6th Achet III 20th to 21st January Altitude 35.5°[7] |
6th Peret II 20th to 21st April Visibility arc 8.6° |
16th Peret IV 29th to 30th June Visibility arc 8.8° |
Senusret III | ||
| 1537 BC | 29th Peret I 23rd to 24th January |
29th Peret IV 23rd to 24th April |
9th Schemu III 2nd to 3rd July |
Ebers Calendar | ||
| 1465 BC | 17th Peret II 24th to 25th January |
17th Schemu I 24th to 25th April |
27th Schemu III 3rd to 4th July |
Ramesside star clocks | ||
Astronomical data 28. Century BC (Memphis)
change- Wezen : Acronychic downfall on April 11th
- Sirius : Acronychic setting on 12. April, heliacal rising on 24 June (5th Heriu-renpet )
- Adhara : Acronychic downfall on April 10
- Constellation Sopdet: Acronymic setting on 10. April, heliacal rising on 24 June (5th Heriu-renpet)
See also
changeliterature
change- Christian Leitz : Ancient Egyptian star clocks. Peeters, Leuven 1995, ISBN 90-6831-669-9 .
- Otto Neugebauer, Richard-Anthony Parker : Egyptian Astronomical Texts III – Decans, Planets, Constellations and Zodiacs. Brown University Press, Rhode Island 1969.
- Alexandra von Lieven : Outline of the course of the stars – The so-called Nutbook. The Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Eastern Studies (u. a.), Copenhagen 2007, ISBN 978-87-635-0406-5 .
References
change- ↑ Rolf Krauss: Sothis- und Monddaten: Studien zur astronomischen und technischen Chronologie Altägyptens. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1985, S. 104.
- ↑ Alexandra von Lieven: Wein, Weib und Gesang — Rituale für die Gefährliche Göttin. In: Carola Metzner-Nebelsick: Rituale in der Vorgeschichte, Antike und Gegenwart – Studien zur Vorderasiatischen, Prähistorischen und Klassischen Archäologie, Ägyptologie, Alten Geschichte, Theologie und Religionswissenschaft; Interdisziplinäre Tagung vom 1.-2. Februar 2002 an der Freien Universität Berlin. Leidorf, Rahden 2003, ISBN 3-89646-434-5, S. 47.
- ↑ Heinrich Brugsch: Thesaurus inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum – Altägyptische Inschriften – (Reprint 1883). Akademie-Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1968, S. 86.
- ↑ Christian Leitz: Altägyptische Sternuhren. Peeters, Leuven 1995, S. 64.
- ↑ Aufgangsazimut (Heliakischer Aufgang): Sonne NO 55°, Sirius SO 115° (Differenz etwa 60°); Untergangsazimut (Akronychischer Untergang): Sonne NW 286°, Sirius SW 245° (Differenz etwa 41°).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The altitude data refer to the end of the respective night hour. Heliacal rising before sunrise, acronychal setting, and acronychal culmination after sunset.
- ↑ Actual culmination 40.7° about 2.25 hours after sunset.