by Aymen Ibrahem
aymoib@mailer.scu.eun.eg
by Aymen Ibrahem
aymoib@mailer.scu.eun.eg
ABSTRACT
The author has shown that the annular solar eclipse of 08/23/1464 BC was
the oldest recorded eclipse in history (Ibrahem, 2000). The author shows
that the eclipse of 08/15/1352 BC was recorded in the 'Hymn to Aten'. The
author shows that the same eclipse was recorded in the Memphite tomb of
Pharaoh Horeemheb (1327-1295 BC). The eclipse is thus the second oldest
inscribed eclipse record in history.SUMMARY
Atenism, the cult of the Aten (the Sun's disc), received a powerful
boost when it was adopted by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1356-1340 BC), who changed
his name to Akhenaten (Servant of Aten) in Year 5 of his reign.The author has speculated that a total eclipse of the Sun could have
been the impulsive power behind this revolution, and actually has shown that
the site of the city of Akhetaten was chosen according to the solar eclipse of
08/15/-1351 (-1351=1352 BC).The author has further shown that the meaning of the name of the city
of Akhetaten is the 'Eclipse of Aten', not 'The Horizon of Aten' as
egyptologists have always believed.The eclipse has even enabled the author to prove and date the debated
co-regency between Pharaoh Akhenten and his father Pharaoh Amenhotep III
(1386-1349 BC) and give 1352 BC as Year 4 of King Akhenaten's reign.Also, the author has shown in his studies of the Egyptian obelisks,
Sun-temples, and Cosmogony, that the term 'horizon of heaven' refers to
eclipses of the Sun and not the horizon.The egyptologists have always thought that The Great Hymn to the Aten
describes the daily rising and setting of the Sun. In this study, the author
shows that this was a serious confusion, and actually the Hymn to the Aten was
inspired by and describes the total solar eclipse of 08/15/-1351.Below, the author introduces a comparison between parts of the
translation made by the pioneering Egyptian egyptologist Prof. Dr. Seleem
Hassan and his own translation with remarks as further explanations:1.The Spectacular Totality
Dr. Hassan's Translation: (source: Hassan, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt,
volume 5)Your appearance is so charming in the horizon of heaven, O Living Aten,
Beginner of Life.Aymen Ibrahem's translation:
Your appearance through totality is so charming, O Living Aten,
Beginner of Life.Remarks:
The view of the Sun through totality is spectacular of course! The King enjoyed
watching totality and was most influenced by the eclipse.2.Dooms Day!
Dr. Hassan:When you set in the western horizon of heaven,
The Earth is dark like death,
Men sleep in doors in the manner of the dead,
Their heads swathed, their noses stopped,
No eye can see its fellow,
Their possessions might be stolen, even if under their heads, and they
would be unaware of it.Aymen Ibrahem:
When you disappear in the sky (through totality of an eclipse),
The world gets so dark,
People lie like dead bodies, with their heads swathed and hardly breath
(because of fear).
Their possessions might be stolen, even if under their heads,
and they would not realize that (because of fear).Remarks:
1.When the dark New Moon consumed their Suprem God, the Sun, the people got so
afraid and must have thought it was Dooms Day!
2.Normally people sleep without covering thier heads, and breath well! This is
a clear indication that the Hymn does not refer to the daily sunset!
3.The Earth does not sharply get dark after sunset, however, night comes
suddenly - in the day - through totality, when the Moon blocks sunlight!
4.The "western horizon of the sky" and the "eastern horizon of the sky" refer to
the disappearance and reappearance of the Sun through totality, respectively.3.The Behavior of Animals
Dr. Hassan:
Every lion gets out of its den,
All snakes bite;
Darkness prevails, world is silent,
As their Creator rests in his horizon.Aymen Ibrahem:
Every lion gets out of its den,
All snakes bite;
Darkness prevails, world is silent,
As thier Creator (the Sun) rests in his horizon (totality).Remarks:
1.This part of the Hymn describes the behavior of animals during eclipses which
behave as if night were coming (near totality), e.g., some birds sleep and
mosquitoes emerge.
3.The Sun Reappears
Dr. Hassan:
When you shine as Aten of the daytime;
As you dispel the dark,
As you beam your rays,
The Two Lands are in a festival,
Men get up and stand upon their feet,
When you wake them up;
Bodies cleansed, clothed,
Thier arms adore your appearance,
The whole world gets back to work.
All cattle are at peace in their meadows.
Trees and herbs grow green,
Birds fly from their nests,
Their wings [unfold] in praise of your soul.Remarks by Aymen Ibrahem:
1.When the Sun starts to reappear after totality, the people (in ancient Egypt)
feel that danger passed away, and they make great festivals as they survived
the cosmic catastrophe (the solar eclipse).2.They praise the appearance of their god.
3.The birds fly from their nests in the early morning, not in the daytime, i.e.,
near totality they thought that night was coming and went to sleep, and when
totality passed, they flew happily again. This is one more indication that
the Hymn describes a total solar eclipse.PHARAOH HOREMHEB AND THE ECLIPSE
One extended hymn to the Sun (as Atum-Re-Horakhty) in the Memphite tomb
of Pharaoh Horemheb (1327-1295 BC) clearly seems to have been inspired by the
solar eclipse of 08/15/-1351. It indicates the return to the old religion after
the death of King Akhenaten. The hymn is:Adoration of Re, pacifying him when he shines forth . . .
Hail to you, the luminous, the sharp, Atum-Horakhty,
as you are risen in the horizon of the sky, praises to you are in every
mouth, the perfect, the young one in the Aten within the arm of your
mother Hathor.(Source: Stephen Quirke, Ancient Egyptian Religion, p.45, British Museum Press)
According to the author's interpretation of the Hymn to the Aten, it seems clear
that the hymn describes the reappearance of the Sun after totality (horizon of
the Sky), in which the Sun looks powerful and luminous, unlike its appearance
near the horizon in the early morning. "Hail to you" refers to its
disappearance behind the Moon's disc. It describes also, the feelings of the
people at the end of the eclipse.ATEN IS THE CHROMOSPHERE?
In the art of Amarna, the Aten has been represented as a red-raying Sun
disc. I believe the red colour had been depicted from the chromosphere, which
is visible only during total eclipses. In some other paintings, the Aten is
two concentric circles beaming Sun rays. We might speculate that Aten is the
outer ring and Re is the disc itself. This could explain phrases such as:"The Young One in the Aten"
Thus, probably, the Aten is the solar chromosphere and Re is the photosphere.
(For the details of the chronology used in this study, refer to the author's
article 'The Philosopher Pharaoh and the Total Solar Eclipse.)