Astronomy in Ancient Egypt

Astronomy in Ancient Egypt is an intriguing example of art, science and religion coming together. This fascinating ancient civilization left a lasting impression on its visitors with its depiction of heavenly bodies and the heavens. The art and the scientific discoveries made by the Egyptian astronomers formed part of the book called the Dendera Fragments (Book of the Moon). Most of the Egyptian temples were built around a large star called Sirius. The Egyptians had a definite belief in the cycle of the sun, and Sirius was considered to be a symbol of the sun, the brightest star in the skies.

Ancient Egyptian astronomy starts from prehistoric times, at the Predynastic period. In the earliest years of the Common Era, the Hittite government had built the great Pyramids of Giza and Cleopatra along the lines of the later Menes. The first astronomical records were found in the annals of Ptolemy, and it is believed that astronomy and mathematics were closely linked to religious rituals. The Hittites also developed writing systems based on astrology and navigation which can be seen in the writing of the papyrus and in their monuments. The rise of the great dynasties of Egypt can be linked to the rise of astronomy and astrology in the country.

The two most important of the ancient Egyptian pyramids were built by Amenhotru, and Menes. These two men combined their knowledge of navigation with mathematical calculations to design the massive structures. In addition to the large Pyramids they were followed by the smaller ones of Menes, whose calculation and astrological knowledge made his pyramid even more impressive.

Astronomy became a respected field in ancient Egypt, and any error was instantly accepted as a divine intervention. In fact, astronomy and mathematics became such an important part of ancient Egyptian culture that the people were almost totally uneducated about the sky and the stars. There are various mythological origins for the sky and the sun, and every mythological story involved the intervention of the gods. Astrology was almost entirely replaced by astrology, which was linked to the skies and the stars.

Astronomy became an important part of life under the four successive reigns of the Delta kings, all of whom were astronomers. The rule of Tuthmosis was followed by the short-lived Dynasty of Akhmets Bay and then the empire of Psalidis. Under the last Dynasty of Cleopatra, astronomy became even more important, and she always kept a personal astrologer who consulted the sky for her. This tradition still continued in ancient Egypt; the famous Rambler was an astrologer and he wrote numerous books on the subject.

A Greek traveler, whose name was Aristoxenus, wrote in his pseudo-discoveries that Egypt was the home of the stars. He distinguished the fixed stars from the moving stars and said that the fixed stars were the satellites of the heavenly bodies. This was the beginning of the modern era when astronomy became a respectable field. With the coming of Christianity, astronomy came into its own, and astronomy became a great professional subject. It was this Greek influence that made the Egyptians adopt a new system of zodiac signs, and it was also the Coptic Christians who adopted heliocentric solar navigation in Egypt. Later the Roman Catholic Church adopted the same system and the two joined together.