Through the Eras

PhilosophyASTROLOGYINFLUENCE OF STARS. The ancient Greeks andRomans believed that the Egyptians invented astrology.Astrology is the divination of the supposed influences ofthe stars and planets on human activity and events onearth by their positions and aspects. Though the Egyptiansindeed studied the stars, the belief that the starsinfluenced events on earth was probably a later developmentand not a major part of Egyptian philosophy.Yet it is clear that at varying points in Egyptian history,they did believe in power of the stars in terms of protectionand future knowledge. It was Greek and Romaninterpretations of these beliefs that created the field ofmodern-day astrology.KNOWLEDGE OF STARS. In Pyramid Text 1583, datingto the Old Kingdom (2675–2170 B.C.E.), the kingafter his death becomes a star in the sky among the gods.Yet this set of spells for a royal funeral stresses the roleof the daytime sky and the sun over the stars in the royalafterlife. As Egyptian thought about the afterlife developed,the sun took the most prominent place and wasthe only celestial body found in the next world. Thesun’s journey at night lighted the next world, accordingto Egyptian belief. Yet the Egyptians surely took someinterest in the nighttime sky, especially to calculate thecalendar and help measure time. During the First IntermediatePeriod (2130–2008 B.C.E.) and the MiddleKingdom (2008–1630 B.C.E.) some coffins include starcharts that the Egyptians used to calculate the dates forcelebrating holidays. In the New Kingdom (1539–1075B.C.E.), star ceilings were painted in some tombs andtemples. Senenmut, a high official in the reign of Hatshepsut(1478–1458 B.C.E.), had the Egyptian constellationspainted on the ceiling of his tomb. TheRamesseum, a temple built by Ramesses II (1279–1213B.C.E.) for his continued worship after his death, portraysthe god Thoth at the center of the star ceiling. Thestars’ role in establishing the calendar led to Thoth’sdepiction here. Thoth was the god responsible for bothtime and for fixing the calendar. There are also scatteredreferences in the New Kingdom to worshipping stars. Inthe Book of the Dead Chapter 135, an illustration showsthe deceased praying before a blue nighttime sky filledwith stars. The same scene is included on the walls atthe tomb of Senedjem in Deir el-Medina (reign ofRamesses II, 1292–1213 B.C.E.). A stele in a museum inHanover, Germany, shows Thoth as the moon god worshippedwith two goddesses with stars on their heads.The text speaks of the moon and the stars of the sky.Yet none of these texts mention any influence the starscould have on life on earth. The planets had names formulatedwith the name of the god Horus. Yet even thesenames only appear in lists and never seem to play a rolein religion.DECANS. The decans were 36 stars whose risingmarked a night hour equivalent to forty minutes on themodern clock. Every ten days a different star marked thebeginning of the night. The principal star was Sirius, alreadyan important marker for the beginning of the NewYear. All the decans disappear from the sky for seventydays then first return to view just before sunrise. This iscalled a star’s helical rising. Each star’s rising pinpointedthe start of a new ten-day week on the civil calendar.Three of these weeks formed one month. After the starreappeared, it joined the others that were visible. At anyone time there were eighteen visible stars. They werespaced in eighteen one-hour intervals across the sky. Thissystem created a clock consisting of eighteen hours atnight equivalent to the modern 12 hours. This systemdeveloped during the Middle Kingdom. Because the decansdisappeared and reappeared on a regular basis, theEgyptians identified them as symbols of death and regeneration.In the New Kingdom, the king’s funeral templesincluded lists of the decans. Some officials’ tombsin the Ramesside Period (1292–1075 B.C.E.) includedthe decans on the ceiling. In the tomb of Ramesses VI(1145–1137 B.C.E.) the decans are represented worshippingthe regenerating sun. Yet in the Twenty-firstDynasty (1075–945 B.C.E.) some officials believed itnecessary to wear amulets to protect them from dangerscaused by the decans. These amulets seem to representa sudden change in attitude toward the stars.PROTECTORS. The Egyptians recognized that adangerous power could be either a threat or a protector.Though the Twenty-first Dynasty amulets suggest thedecans are a threat to people, by the reign of OsorkonII (874–835/30 B.C.E.) there is evidence that the decans’power had been harnessed to protect the king. Two armbandsfrom Osorkon II’s tomb depict the decans withthe gods Osiris, Horus, Thoth, Isis, and Nephthys. Thedecans are snakes with lion’s heads who now protect theking. This is due to the belief that the goddess Sakhmethad control of the decans in this period. Sakhmet was alion-headed goddess responsible for sending illness topeople but also capable of curing illness. Thus Sakhmetalso has a clear connection with fate, as is further supportedby the inscriptions on the armbands. The decansalso appear on protective amulets and necklaces in thisperiod. By wearing this jewelry, a person could claimtheir protection.EXPANDING INFLUENCE. By the reign of Darius I(524–486 B.C.E.), the decans appear on the temple of198 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)