The Dawn of Astronomy: A Study of Temple Worship and Mythology of the Ancient Egyptians

by J. Norman Lockyer, Giorgio de Santillana (Preface by)

Overview

A pioneer in the fields of astrophysics and astro-archeology, J. Norman Lockyer believed that ancient Egyptian monuments were constructed in strict relation to the stars. In this celebrated study, he explores the relationship between astronomy and architecture in the age of the pharaohs.
Lockyer addresses one of the many points already extensively investigated by Egyptologists: the chronology of the kings of Egypt. All experts are in accord regarding the identity of the first monarch, but they cannot agree upon the dates of his reign within a thousand years. The author contends that by applying a knowledge of astronomy to the actual site orientation of the region's pyramids and temples, accurate dating can be achieved. In order to accomplish this, Lockyer had to determine the level of the ancient Egyptian ideas of astronomy. Some of his inferences have been invalidated by subsequent scholarship, but many of his other conclusions stand firm and continue to provide sensational leads into contemporary understanding of archaic astronomy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486450124
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	04/28/2006
Series:	Dover Books on Astronomy Series
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

1. The Worship of the Sun and the Dawn
2. The First Glimpses of Egyptian Astronomy
3. The Astronomical Basis of the Egyptian Pantheon
4. The Two Horizons
5. The Yearly Path of the Sun-God
6. The Probable Hor-Shesu Worship
7. Methods of Determining the Orientation of Temples
8. The Earliest Solar Shrines in Egypt
9. Other Similar Shrines Elsewhere
10. The Solar Temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak
11. The Age of the Temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak
12. The Stars--Their Risings and Settings
13. The Egyptian Heavens--The Zodiacs of Denderah
14. The Circumpolar Constellations: The Myth of Horus
15. Temples Directed to the Stars
16. Further Inquiries with Regard to the Stellar Temples
17. The Building Inscriptions
18. The Star Temples at Karnak
19. The Personification of Stars--The Temple of Isis at Denderah
20. The Personification of Stars (continued)--The Temple of Hathor at Denderah
21. Star-Cults
22. Star-Cults (continued)--Amen-t and Khons
23. The Egyptian Year and the Nile
24. The Years of 360 and 365 Days
25. The Vague and the Sirian Years
26. The Sothic Cycle and the Use Made of It
27. The Calendar and Its Revision
28. The Fixed Year and Festival Calendars
29. The Mythology of Isis and Osiris
30. The Temple-Stars
31. The History of Sun-worship at Annu and Thebes
32. The Early Temple and Great Pyramid Builders
33. The Cult of North as Opposed to Southern Stars
34. The Origin of Egyptian Astronomy--The Northern Schools
35. The Origin of Egyptian Astronomy (continued)--The Thebes School
36. General Conclusions as to the North and South Races
37. The Egyptian and Babylonian Ecliptic Constellations
38. The Influence of Egypt upon Temple Orientation in Greece