Ancient Egyptian Lunar Calendar
Ancient Egyptian Lunar Calendar is a historical calendar of ancient egypt de:Mondkalender (Altes Ägypten)
Lunar calendar[edit]
The Egyptians appear to have used a purely lunar calendar prior to the establishment of the solar civil calendar[1][2] in which each month began on the morning when the waning crescent moon could no longer be seen.[3] Until the closing of Egypt's polytheist temples under the Byzantines, the lunar calendar continued to be used as the liturgical year of various cults.[2] The lunar calendar divided the month into four weeks, reflecting each quarter of the lunar phases.[4] Because the exact time of morning considered to begin the Egyptian day remains uncertain[5] and there is no evidence that any method other than observation was used to determine the beginnings of the lunar months prior to the 4th century BC,[6] there is no sure way to reconstruct exact dates in the lunar calendar from its known dates.[5] The difference between beginning the day at the first light of dawn or at sunrise accounts for an 11–14 year shift in dated observations of the lunar cycle.[7] It remains unknown how the Egyptians dealt with obscurement by clouds when they occurred and the best current algorithms have been shown to differ from actual observation of the waning crescent moon in about one-in-five cases.[5]
Parker and others have argued for its development into an observational and then calculated lunisolar calendar[8] which used a 30 day intercalary month every two to three years to accommodate the lunar year's loss of about 11 days a year relative to the solar year and to maintain the placement of the heliacal rising of Sirius within its twelfth month.[9] No evidence for such a month, however, exists in the present historical record.[10]
| <hiero>N11:N14-N35-R8-O6</hiero> |
| Temple Month Ꜣbd n ḥwt-nṯr[11] in hieroglyphs |
|---|
A second lunar calendar is attested by a demotic astronomical papyrus[12] dating to sometime after 144 AD which outlines a lunisolar calendar operating in accordance with the Egyptian civil calendar according to a 25 year cycle.[13] The calendar seems to show its month beginning with the first visibility of the waxing crescent moon, but Parker displayed an error in the cycle of about a day in 500 years,[14] using it to show the cycle was developed to correspond with the new moon around 357 BC.[15] This date places it prior to the Ptolemaic period and within the native Egyptian Dynasty XXX. Egypt's 1st Persian occupation, however, seems likely to have been its inspiration.[16] This lunisolar calendar's calculations apparently continued to be used without correction into the Roman period, even when they no longer precisely matched the observable lunar phases.[17]
The days of the lunar month — known to the Egyptians as a "temple month"[11] — were individually named and celebrated as stages in the life of the moon god, variously Thoth in the Middle Kingdom or Khonsu in the Ptolemaic era: "He ... is conceived ... on Psḏntyw; he is born on Ꜣbd; he grows old after Smdt".[18]
| Day | Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Egyptian | Meaning (if known) | ||
| 1 | <hiero>N10-G4-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 2] | Psḏtyw[lower-alpha 3] | Literal meaning unknown but possibly related to the Ennead; the day of the New Moon. |
| 2 | <hiero>D1-N11:N14</hiero>[lower-alpha 4] | Tp Ꜣbd Ꜣbd |
"Beginning the Month" or "The Month"; the beginning of the Crescent Moon. |
| 3 | <hiero>F31-Q3:D21-W3</hiero> | Mspr | "Arrival" |
| 4 | <hiero>O1:D21-X1-S29-G17-W3</hiero> | Prt Sm | "The Going Forth of the Sm", a kind of priest |
| 5 | <hiero>Aa1:X1-D2:Z1-R2-W3</hiero> | I͗ḫt Ḥr Ḫꜣwt | "Offerings upon the Altar" |
| 6 | <hiero>S29-T22-N35:X1-Z2:Z2-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 5] | Snt | "The Sixth" |
| 7 | <hiero>D46:N35-M17-X1-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 6] | Dnı͗t | "Partial"; the first-quarter day. |
| 8 | <hiero>D1*D12:W3</hiero> | Tp | Unknown |
| 9 | <hiero>F19-Q3:W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 7] | Kꜣp | Unknown |
| 10 | <hiero>S29-M17-I9:D52-W3</hiero> | Sı͗f | Unknown |
| 11 | <hiero>F29-N8-Z2:W3</hiero> | Stt | Unknown |
| 12 | <hiero>N31:D53-N31:D53-W3</hiero> | Unknown | "Partial" the second-quarter day. |
| 13 | <hiero>D12-D12-U1-A59-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 8] | Mꜣꜣ Sṯy | Unknown |
| 14 | <hiero>S32-G1-Z7-W3</hiero> | Sı͗ꜣw | Unknown |
| 15 | <hiero>D1-N13</hiero>[lower-alpha 9] | Smdt Tp Smdt |
Literal meaning uncertain; the day of the Full Moon. |
| 16 | <hiero>F31-Q3:D21-Z1*Z1:W24-W3</hiero> | Mspr Sn Nw Ḥbs Tp[36] |
"Second Arrival" "Covering the Head" |
| 17 | <hiero>S32-G1-Z7-W3</hiero> | Sı͗ꜣw | Second Quarter Day |
| 18 | <hiero>M17-V28-N12-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 10] | I͗ꜥḥ | "Day of the Moon" |
| 19 | <hiero>F21-S43-S43-S43-I9:W3</hiero> | Sḏm Mdwf | Unknown |
| 20 | <hiero>U21:Q3-W3</hiero> | Stp | Unknown |
| 21 | <hiero>Aa20-D21:G43-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 11] | Ꜥprw | Unknown |
| 22 | <hiero>F22-M44-X1:W3</hiero> | Pḥ Spdt | Unknown |
| 23 | <hiero>D46:N35-M17-X1:V11-W3</hiero> | Dnı͗t | "Partial"; the third-quarter day. |
| 24 | <hiero>V31:N35-V28-G43-N2-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 12] | Knḥw | Unknown |
| 25 | <hiero>F29-N8-Z2:W3</hiero> | Stt | Unknown |
| 26 | <hiero>O1:D21-X1:W3</hiero> | Prt | "The Going Forth" |
| 27 | <hiero>G43-N37-D58-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 13] | Wšb | Unknown |
| 28 | <hiero>O23-W24*X1:N1-W3</hiero> | Ḥb Sd Nwt | "The Jubilee of Nut" |
| 29 | <hiero>P6-A47-W3</hiero> | Ꜥḥꜥ | Unknown |
| 30 | <hiero>O1:D21-X1:D54-O34:R12:X1*Z4-W3</hiero>[lower-alpha 14] | Prt Mn | "The Going Forth of Min" |
See Also[edit]
Notes[edit]
Notelist[edit]
- ↑ For further variations, see Brugsch.[19]
- ↑ Variant representations of the day of the new moon include <hiero>N10:N35-G4-W3</hiero>, <hiero>N10:N35-W3</hiero>,[20] <hiero>N9-G4-W3</hiero>,[21] <hiero>N9:N35-G4-W3:N5</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-G4-X4</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-W3</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-W3:N5</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-X1-G4-W3</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-X1:Z4-G4-W3:N5</hiero>, <hiero>N9:N35-X1:Z5-W3:N5</hiero>,[22] <hiero>Q3:O34-D46:N35-N10</hiero>,[23] <hiero>D1:Z1-N11:N14-W3</hiero>, and <hiero>D1:Z1-M6-X1:Z1</hiero>;[24] <hiero>D12*X1:N35-G4-W3</hiero>,[25] and <hiero>Z2:Z2:Z2-W3:N35</hiero> in the Middle Kingdom; and <hiero>Z2:Z2:Z2-W24:X1-G4-W3:N5</hiero> in later inscriptions.[26]
- ↑ In later sources, Psḏntyw.[20]
- ↑ Variant representations of the day of the first crescent moon include <hiero>N11:N14</hiero>, <hiero>N11:N14-D46:W3</hiero>,[20] <hiero>D1:Z1-N11:N14-W3</hiero>,[24] <hiero>D1-N11-N5</hiero> (properly N11A with the moon turned 90° clockwise),[27] and <hiero>D1:Q3-M17-M17-M17-G1-D46:X1-N5-Z1:Z1:Z1</hiero>.[28]
- ↑ Variant representations of the 6th day of the lunar month include <hiero>Z2:Z2-N35:X1-W3</hiero>,[25] <hiero>S29-T22-N35:X1-Z2:Z2-X2*W22:X6</hiero>, <hiero>S29-T22-N35:X1-Z2:Z2-X2*W22:Z8</hiero>,[29] <hiero>T22-N35:X1-X2*W22:X4-Z1:Z1:Z1</hiero>,[30] <hiero>Z2:Z2:N35-X1:W3</hiero>, <hiero>Z2:Z2:N35:X1-W4</hiero>, and <hiero>Z1-Z1-Z1-Z1-Z1-Z1-N35:X1-W4</hiero>.[31]
- ↑ Variant representations of the 1st-quarter day include <hiero>D46:N35-M17-X1:V11-W3:N5</hiero> and <hiero>D46:N35-M17-X1-W3:N5</hiero>.[32]
- ↑ Properly, the first sign is not an animal jawbone <hiero>F19</hiero> but the rarer, similar-looking figure of a lion's forepaw <hiero>F118B</hiero>.[20]
- ↑ Properly, the two circles <hiero>D12</hiero> are shrunk and placed within the curve of the sickle <hiero>U1</hiero>, forming <hiero>U43</hiero>.[33] The male figure should be man sowing seeds <hiero>A60</hiero>, which includes a curve of dots coming from the man's hand.[34]
- ↑ Variant representations of the day of the full moon include <hiero>N13-X1:W3</hiero>, <hiero>N13-V20:Z1*Z1*Z1*Z1*Z1-N35:X1-W3</hiero>,[20] <hiero>D1-N13-W3</hiero>, <hiero>D1-N33:V20-Z1:Z9</hiero>, [27] <hiero>N13</hiero>, and <hiero>N13-N35:X1-W3</hiero>.[35]
- ↑ Properly, N12\t1 or N12A, with the crescent moon <hiero>N12</hiero> turned 90° clockwise.
- ↑ Variant representations of the 21st day of the lunar month include <hiero>Aa20-D21-G43-W3</hiero> and <hiero>Aa20-D21:W3</hiero>.[37]
- ↑ Variant representations of the 24th day of the lunar month include <hiero>V31:N35-V28-G43-N2</hiero>.[38]
- ↑ Variant representations of the 27th day of the lunar month include <hiero>Z7-D310-W3</hiero>.[39] D310 is a foot <hiero>D58</hiero> crossed by a variant of pool <hiero>N37</hiero> with 2[40] or 3[39] diagonal strokes across it.
- ↑ Properly, the loaf <hiero>X1</hiero> and diagonal strokes <hiero>Z4</hiero> are shrunk and fit under the two sides of the standard <hiero>R12</hiero>.
References[edit]
- ↑ Parker (1950), pp. 30-32.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Høyrup, p. 13.
- ↑ Parker (1950), p. 23.
- ↑ Clagett (1995), p. 3–4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Schaefer (2000), p. 153–154.
- ↑ Parker (1950), p. 29.
- ↑ O'Mara (2003), p. 18.
- ↑ Parker (1950), pp. 13-29.
- ↑ Parker (1950), pp. 30–32.
- ↑ Tetley (2014), p. 153.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Parker (1950), p. 17.
- ↑ "Papyrus Carlsberg 9". The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection. Copenhagen, DK: University of Copenhagen. Retrieved 11 February 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ Parker (1950), pp. 13–23.
- ↑ Clagett (1995), p. 25.
- ↑ Clagett (1995), p. 26.
- ↑ Høyrup, p. 14.
- ↑ Parker (1950), p. 27.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Parker (1950), pp. 11–12.
- ↑ Brugsch, Heinrich (1883). Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum. Leipzig, DE. pp. 46–48. Search this book on .
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 Parker (1950), p. 11.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1231.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1232.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1668.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Vygus (2015), p. 33.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Parker (1950), p. 12.
- ↑ Parker (1950), p. 13.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Vygus (2015), p. 27.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 28.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1885.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1997.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 2464.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 277.
- ↑ Everson (1999), p. 57.
- ↑ Everson (1999), p. 5.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 1235.
- ↑ Parker (1950), p. 18.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 917.
- ↑ Vygus (2015), p. 2294.
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 Vygus (2015), p. 2472.
- ↑ Everson (1999), p. 25.
Bibliography[edit]
- Clagett, Marshall (1995), Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, Vol. II: Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy, Memoirs of the APS, No. 214, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, ISBN 9780871692146.
- Everson, Michael (1999), Encoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs in Plane 1 of the UCS (PDF), Unicode.
- Forisek, Péter (2003), Censorinus and His Work De Die Natali (PDF), Debrecen: University of Debrecen. (Full Hungarian version.)
- Grafton, Anthony Thomas; et al. (1985), "Technical Chronology and Astrological History in Varro, Censorinus, and Others", The Classical Quarterly, Vol. XXXV, No. 2, pp. 454–465.
- Høyrup, Jens, "A Historian's History of Ancient Egyptian Science" (PDF), Physis, a review of Clagett's Ancient Egyptian Science, Vols. I & II.
- Jauhiainen, Heidi (2009), Do Not Celebrate Your Feast without Your Neighbors: A Study of References to Feasts and Festivals in Non-Literary Documents from Ramesside Period Deir el-Medina (PDF), Publications of the Institute for Asian and African Studies, No. 10, Helsinki: University of Helsinki.
- Krauss, Rolf; et al., eds. (2006), Ancient Egyptian Chronology, Handbook of Oriental Studies, Sect. 1, Vol. 83, Leiden: Brill.
- Luft, Ulrich (2006), "Absolute Chronology in Egypt in the First Quarter of the Second Millennium BC", Egypt and the Levant, Vol. XVI, Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, pp. 309–316.
- Neugebauer, Otto Eduard (1939), "Die Bedeutungslosigkeit der 'Sothisperiode' für die Älteste Ägyptische Chronologie", Acta Orientalia, No. 16, pp. 169 ff. Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
- O'Mara, Patrick F. (January 2003), "Censorinus, the Sothic Cycle, and Calendar Year One in Ancient Egypt: The Epistemological Problem", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. LXII, No. 1, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 17–26.
- Parker, Richard Anthony (1950), The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (PDF), Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, No. 26, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Schaefer, Bradley Elliott (2000), "The Heliacal Rise of Sirius and Ancient Egyptian Chronology", Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. XXXI, Pt. 2, 31, pp. 149–155, Bibcode:2000JHA....31..149S, doi:10.1177/002182860003100204 Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help). - Spalinger, Anthony (January 1995), "Some Remarks on the Epagomenal Days in Ancient Egypt", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 33–47.
- Tetley, M. Christine (2014), The Reconstructed Chronology of the Egyptian Kings, Vol. I, archived from the original on 2017-02-11, retrieved 2017-02-09 Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help). - Winlock, Herbert Eustis (1940), "The Origin of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, No. 83, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 447–464.
- Vygus, Mark (2015), Middle Egyptian Dictionary (PDF).
External links[edit]
- Detailed information about the Egyptian calendars, including lunar cycles
- Date Converter for Ancient Egypt
- Calendrica Includes the Egyptian civil calendar with years in Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era (year 1 = 747 BC) as well as the Coptic, Ethiopic, and French calendars.
- Civil, ver. 4.0, is a 25kB DOS program to convert dates in the Egyptian civil calendar to the Julian or Gregorian ones
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