Algol as Horus in the Cairo Calendar: The Possible Means and the Motives of the Observations

An ancient Egyptian Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days, the Cairo Calendar (CC), assigns luck with the period of 2.850 days. Previous astronomical, astrophysical and statistical analyses of CC support the idea that this was the period of the eclipsing binary Algol three millennia ago. However, next...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Open astronomy 2018-09, Vol.27 (1), p.232-263
Main Authors: Porceddu, Sebastian, Jetsu, Lauri, Markkanen, Tapio, Lyytinen, Joonas, Kajatkari, Perttu, Lehtinen, Jyri, Toivari-Viitala, Jaana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algol
ancient Egyptian Astronomy
hemerologies
Horus
the Cairo Calendar
variable stars
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Summary:An ancient Egyptian Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days, the Cairo Calendar (CC), assigns luck with the period of 2.850 days. Previous astronomical, astrophysical and statistical analyses of CC support the idea that this was the period of the eclipsing binary Algol three millennia ago. However, next to nothing is known about who recorded Algol’s period into CC and especially how. Here, we show that the ancient Egyptian scribes had the possible means and the motives for such astronomical observations. Their principles of describing celestial phenomena as activity of gods reveal why Algol received the title of Horus.
ISSN:2543-6376
2543-6376
DOI:10.1515/astro-2018-0033