aymoib@mailer.scu.eun.eg
Aymen Ibrahem
ABSTRACT1 The author shows that a hymn to Re describes an ancient Egyptian total solar eclipse.
2 The author proves that the two legendary mountains Bachu (mountain of sunrise), and Manu (mountain of sunset), were inspired by the curvature of the dark New Moon which seems as if it were consuming the Sun through a solar eclipse.
3. The author introduces a new definition of the pylons of the Egyptian temples as a representation of the 'Horizon of Heaven' (eclipse).
4. The author gives evidence that the name of the Sphinx of Giza could be translated as 'Hor in the Eclipse', and not only 'Hor in the Horizon'.
(Special note from eclipse-chasers.com webmaster: Figures referenced in the following article will be inserted when they are made available.)
SUMMARY
THE SYMBOL AKHET
The symbol akhet (fig (1)) is the hieroglyph for 'horizon'. It is
driven from akh 'to glorify'; akhet was the place of glorification where
the Sun sets' and also a circumlocution for tomb (Mark Lehner, The
Complete Pyramids, p. 130, The American University in Cairo Press, 1997).According to the pioneering Egyptologist Adolf Erman, the ancient
Egyptians defined the akhet as 'an isle in the water of the sky', then
identified the akhet as the two places in which the Sun rises and sets,
and hence the Egyptologists used to interpret the akhet as the 'horizon'.
We shall see shortly that both pictures were depicted from solar eclipses.
The ancient Egyptian texts frequently mentioned a horizon in the
sky on which the Sun rises and sets (Ibrahem 2000). The author has shown
that the terms "horizon of heaven" and "horizon of god" mean 'eclipse'
(in his study 'The Power Stations of Queen Hatshepsut'). Here is a
summary of his proof:In a total solar eclipse, the Sun gradually disappears behind the
dark disc of the Moon. The sky becomes dark and even the stars appear, for
a few minutes when the Sun is totally blocked by the Moon. Then, the Sun
gradually reappears and daylight returns to normal level. Therefore, a
solar eclipse is practically a HORIZON in the sky, on which the Sun sets
(disappears) and rises (reappear), with a brief night (totlaity) in
between.
The ancient Egyptian texts frequently mentioned a horizon in the
sky on which the Sun rises and sets. This is clear in the following texts:1.A text that describes a pair of obelisks erected by Queen Hatshepsut
(1479-1458 BC), which were covered much with electrum (an alloy of
silver and gold):
"Their rays flood the two Lands with light when the Sun disc rises
between them as its appearance on the horizon of heaven."(Source: Labib Habachi, The Egyptian Obelisks, p. 63, The American
Univeristy in Cairo Press, 1988.)This shows that the obelisks were erected to light the Two Lands (Upper
and Lower Egypt), when it gets dark through a solar eclipse, by forming
an artficial image of the parially eclipsed Sun on the obelisk's
pyramidion) (Ibrahem 2000). There are similar contemporary projects that
aim to light the polar regions in the winter by putting mirrors in orbit
around the Earth. The ancient Egyptians surpassed those projects by 4,600
years or even more (Ibrahem 2000). (For more details reveiw the author's
paper 'The Power Stations of Queen Hatshepsut').
2.A text that describes the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III
(1386-1349 BC) as:"It looks like the horizon in heaven when Re shines on it."
(Source: Seleem Hassan, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Vol. V, p.67.)
3.A text that describes a temple erected by Pharaoh Ramesses III (1185-
1145 BC):"Like the hrizon of heaven which is in the blue dome."
(Source: Seleem Hassan, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Vol. VII,
p. 370.)4.From the shorter 'Hymn to Aten':
"when you set in the western horizon of the sky they sleep in the
manner of the dead, their heads swathed, their noses stopped
until you shine forth on the eastern horizon of the sky . . ."(Source: Stephen Quirke, Ancient Egyptian Religion, p.42, British Museum
Press, 1992.)Text 2 and text 3 show that the ancient Egyptians were impressed by the
spectacular view of the totally eclipsed Sun. Text 4 shows, however, that
they also feared eclipses very much, to them, it it was somehting like
Dooms Day! Certainly the "western horizon of the sky" and the "eastern
horizon of the sky" refer to the disappearance and reappearance of the Sun
around totality, respectively.
The author has further translated the name of the city of
Akhetaten as 'The Eclipse of Aten', and the name of the Great Pyramid as
'The Eclipse of Khufu' (Review the author's papers 'The Philosopher
Pharaoh and the Total Solar Eclipse'). Earleir translations made by
Egyptologists were: 'The Horizon of Aten' and the 'Horizon of Khufu' or
'Khufu who Dominates the Horizon', and 'Khufu who Belongs to the Horizon',
I find them meaningless. We will see shortly that the right translation
of the name of the mighty Sphinx of Giza is 'Hor in the Eclipse', not
'Hor in the Horizon'. The author also has shown that the Hymn to the Aten'
was inspired by and describes the total solar eclipse of 08/15/1352 BC,
not the daily rising and setting of the Sun as the Egyptologists have
always thought.
MOUNTAINS IN THE SKY
In fig (1) we see the Sun between two mountains: Bachu from which
the Sun rises and Manu behind which the Sun sets. Are there really such
mountains on the horizon? Certianly not! But why did the ancient Egyptians
believe in their existence? I believe a hymn to the Sun may help us to
understand. I believe the following hymn describes a total solar eclipse:"Thou risest in heaven's horizon, and thy disc is adored when
it resth upon the mountain to give life unto the world."(Sourse: W. Budge, Egyptian Religion, p. 148, University Books, NY, 1959)
Heaven's horizon means eclipse as we saw earlier. My interpretation of the
hymn is:The Sun was totally eclipsed. Then it started to reappear. The
curvature of the dark disc of the New Moon seemed like a mountain peak
(fig (2)) on which the Sun seemed to rest after the eclipse ends (fig
(3)).This is a clear evidence that the mountains of the symbol akhet
were inspired by the passage of the dark New Moon across the Sun's
disc. The curvature of the Mon is reversed after totality, giving the
impression that there are two mountains in the sky behind which the Sun
moves through an eclipse (fig (4)). In a similar way, we can conceive
why was the akhet thought to be an island in the sky.The hymn also confirms my earlier results that Re (the Egyptian
Sun god) was borne in a solar eclipse (Review the author's papers
'Egyptian Cosmology', Parts I and II, in which the author shows that the
ancient Egyptians believed the Universe was created in a solar eclipse).THE OCCURRENCE OF ECLIPSES NEAR THE HORIZON
In some eclipses the Sun rises eclipsed, e.g., the eclipse of
08/23/1464 BC (as was seen from Egypt). In others, the Sun sets eclipsed,
e.g., the eclipse of 10/12/1996 (as was seen from Cairo). Now it is clear
that such eclipses must have intuited the belief in the two mountains of
sunrise and sunset.THE MIGHTY SPHINX OF GIZA
The ancient Egyptians named the unique, mighty Sphinx of Giza
'Horemakhet' which the Egyptologists translated as 'Hor in the Horizon'.
Now it seems true that the right translation is 'Hor in the Eclipse'. The
ancient Egyptians named the rising Sun 'Khepri', the Sun at noon was Re
and the setting Sun was Atum. Still, however, one aspect of the Sun
remains: The eclipsed Sun! It is Horakhty 'Hor of the two horizons', (I
believe the two horizons to be the horizon and the horizon of heaven),
the Sphinx!!!It seems that the Sphinx of Giza was the image of the Sun through
an eclipse (or equivalently, the dead king). In its temple, some special
cults must have been performed in response to eclipses. The stela of
Priest Raemheb (his name means 'the Sun in Feast') and other dedications
(Greek Period) provide evidence for this (Ibrahem 2000). (Review the
author's papers 'The Alignment of the Sphinx' and 'Horakhty, The Lord of
Eclipses).
THE PYLONS OF KARNAKThe pylons of the Egyptian temples were usually defined as a
gigantic representation of the symbol akhet, or, as the goddesses Isis and
Nephthys holding the Sun disc. I think we can now introduce a new
concept: a pylon is a representation of the mountains of heaven, the
eclipses of the Sun. Probably, some pylons were erected in response to
their contemporary solar eclipses.
Copyright: Aymen Ibrahem, 2000.