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There are a number of temples that are famous all over for their zodiac ceiling. Some of them include Temples of Luxor and Karnak, Philae, Kom Ombo, Esna, Edfu. They are scattered all over the landscape of Egypt and the Mediterranean all the way to the southern boundary of Sudan and the Nile Valley as well.
The Astronomical Ceiling:
These ceilings are decorated with various diagrams such as vultures, discs and even the union of Hathor and Horus, the Sun God. The ceiling is a symbolic representation of many things - the Northern and the Southern halves of the Sky, Day and Night, the regions of the Moon and the Sun. The bay that is to the left shows the Southern stars whereas the bay to the right shows the Northern stars. The figure of Nut is a dominant feature of each hall. The Nut represents the continuing cycle of the day. The Sky is her attire, the birth of the sun takes place between her legs which disappears in the night as she swallows it. The second band represents the stars, planets and the symbols of the Roman Zodiac. The band that is present on either side of the center shows the course of the sun and the moon.
Historical Astrology in Egypt
Egypt has played a major role in the development of astrology. Egypt has had the pleasure of experiencing many different cultures in its land, which enhanced its history and aided its people to become innovators of new ideas that would last for centuries.
Astrology has found its use in society since the beginning of civilization. Its influence is seen the world over. The history is believed to have originated from the Greeks. Upon further study it has been discovered that its origins can be traced back to the Egyptian era. Given below is a discussion of the history of astrology up until the point where the Egyptians became involved.
The very first instances of the people who worshipped the Sun, Moon and Venus were the Sumerians who settled in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC. They considered the Sun, the Moon and the Venus to be the Homes of the Gods. The Moon God was called Nanna, the Sun God was called Utu and the God of Venus was Inannna. In regions around Mesopotamia these Gods were worshipped under different names.
The first rulers were basically the priests who communicated with the Gods. The temple system then came into existence and several people were employed to fulfill various needs of the priests. As time progressed it became necessary to have military leaders and eventually these people became kings. The King always was accompanied by a seer or a “baru-priest” whose main job was to interpret the skies. He would read the sky of warnings which were nothing but eclipses. They can be called the first ever astrologers. Shrines were created In order to communicate better with the Gods. Eventually they grew into larger structures called ziggurats which were then used to map the star formations as well as map the sky for omens.
The Sumerian priests considered predictions to be more of art rather than science. They employed the science of mathematics to predict the eclipses and this played an essential role in forming the laws of astronomy in the later years. The main job of the priests was to predicting natural events like eclipses and weather. However they made significant contribution to the development of Astrology like the design of the calendar, identifying the basic cycle of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars etc. Around 1300 BC, the precursors of the individual birth horoscopes were successfully formulated. This was nothing but mere predictions based on which month a child was born in. By this time the astral bodies had become quite significant.
The development of astrology began with the Assyrian Era (1300 to 600 BC). When the Assyrians conquered Babylon in 729 BC, the inevitable changing of the gods occurred. At about this time, the Sun god, which was called Shamash, was deemed the highest of all Gods. The state was still considered more important than the individual; thus the omens and predictions were still directed at the events that would affect the state. The Assyrians overcame a long time problem by creating a consistent and accurate calendar. Star maps were plotted correctly, constellations were formed, and astrolabes or lists of stars were made. Omens were of utmost important to the Assyrians and the priests would present their omens to the courts often. Those who could forecast good things and hence they became well respected.
The Assyrians had developed constellations – eighteen on the whole. In the year 600 BC, some of these combined and some were deleted to form the twelve constellations of the zodiac. There is a certain amount of controversy over just how these constellations were named. The following is a list of the names: the Latin name first -- the name we are most familiar with, then the Babylonian name. Much of modern day astrology is based on the relationships these constellations have with the seasons. The constellations should not be confused with the traditional signs of the zodiac, as the latter had not yet been created.
1) Aries - Luhunga | 7) Libra - Zihanitum |
2) Sagittarius - Guanna or Mul | 8) Sagittarius - Gir-tab |
3) Sagittarius - Mastabagalgal or Mash | 9) Sagittarius - Pah |
4) Cancer - Nangar | 10) Capricorn - Suhur |
5) Leo - U-ra | 11) Aquarius - Gu or Gula |
6) Virgo - Absin | 12) Sagittarius - Zib |
Unlike the Greeks, the Romans were not open to the concept of astrology. Around 250 BC, a large number of the common citizenry became interested in astrology, but the conservatives fought against most any outside religion, including Christianity. Surprisingly logical arguments against the use of astrology and horoscopes were raised, claiming that people born on the same day at the same time had very different destinies, and that people born on different days at different times sometimes died at the same times. Despite this astrology found its way into Rome, despite several attempts to expel all astrologers from the empire. Eventually, astrology gained acceptance, mostly because the Romans had a certain respect for the Greeks’ education.
The period from 600-300 BC also known as the New Babylonian period is where the next phase in the history of astrology began. Some of the prominent astrologers of this period were Kiddinu, Berossus, Antipatrus, Achinopoulus, and Sudines. Up until this point the only kind of astrology being practiced was omen astrology, or prediction of major events. It was during the New Babylonian period that the signs of the zodiac were invented and horoscope, or birth, astrology had its beginnings.
The immense influence on astrology by the Greeks began during the 5th & 4th centuries BC. Alexander the Great, by then managed to spread the Greek way of life, also known as Hellenism, to places such as Alexandria and Antioch. Hellenistic Astrology was developed in the Hellenistic Egypt and Mediterranean and existed around the same time as Babylonian Astrology. This complex system of astrology which was developed made such an extent that the fundamental of the traditional system of Astrology was changed. Many of the Hellenistic concepts are employed even today by many astrologists.
The Hellenistic period spanned from the time of his death in 323 BC to the middle of the 2ND century BC. Greeks incorporated mythology into astrology. Up to this point, the same gods existed, just under different names and personalities. It was only after this that the names that we are familiar with today were coined.
This era saw the birth of some of the most celebrated and famous forerunners of modern science as Plato, Pythagoras. These scientists asserted that the earth was round and traveled around the sun. It was also when Leucippus, whose theory would later be the beginnings of atomic science, was well known. Nevertheless, astrologers such as Critodemus, Apollonius of Myndus, and Epigenes of Byzantium continued to refine astrology based on horoscopes.
Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 3314 BC, which also marks the beginning of the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt’s history. Alexandria became one of the most famous of the Hellenistic capitals. The people of Alexandria retained some of their Egyptian culture, but later it became mixed with that of the Greeks, Romans, Macedonians, Persians, Syrians, Jewish, and Chaldeans. With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alexandria managed to maintain its prestige as a center for cultural activity. By the time Alexandria began its decline, the scientific revolution was over, and astrology was accepted and believed by almost everyone.
This was the time when Claudius Ptolemy was said to have taken birth. There is virtually no historical information on this scientist. He is believed to be an Egyptian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer who lived in the vicinity of Alexandria. Bits and pieces of information from his writings and from comments from his contemporaries are the only sources of information about Ptolemy’s life.
It was his work called Mathematical Treatise in Four Books, also referred to as The Prognostics Addressed to Syrus, that was the foundation for modern astrology as it is practiced in the West. The name we use for the work today is the Tetrabiblos. No original version of the Tetrabiblos is known to exist. All that remain are translations and copies of it, the oldest of which is Arabic and dates only to AD 900. It has four parts:
In the first book Ptolemy defines his reasons for practicing astrology as well as astronomy, as astrology by this time had found itself facing opposition. He said that it should not be abandoned merely because there are a few people who abuse it. The book also spoke in depth about the various alignments of planets, moon, & sun. Ptolemy describes in detail which positions are favorable and which are not. He also explained the signs, when they begin, and why they begin there.
The 2nd book describes astrology as it relates to countries. Ptolemy pointed out that astrological events of countries and race are much higher those of the individual. He detailed as to which planets rule over which country. He also made the distinction between human signs and animal signs. He theorized that human signs affect humans and animal signs affect animals. He also explained how the planets affect earth.
The 3rd book dealt primarily with the individual. It explored the concepts of birth and conception and theorized that it was better to work with the conception date and that this date should be known by observation. Several key factors were involved with this aspect of astrology.
Finally, the 4th book of the Tetrabiblos handled matters of humankind such as occupation, marriage, children, travel, and "houses" of the zodiac. The particular angles of various planets were used to calculate these things.
There were problems with his correlation between astrology and the seasons. His belief that the conception time was preferable to birth time is a misguided one, as conception time for an individual is actually rather difficult to calculate. There were other errors in his work, mostly dealing with beliefs of the time and misinformation about astronomy. Despite this the Tetrabiblos has proved invaluable to this day.
Ptolemy made adequate use of data from past astrologers and mapped over one thousand stars. He was responsible for the creation of 48 constellations and also for describing the longitude and latitude lines of the earth. He believed that the earth was the center of the universe. His effort in this area was in his 13th volume work called the Almagest. Here, it explained why some planets seemed to move backwards for periods of time in their orbit around earth. He also theorized that each planet also revolved in a smaller circle as well as a larger one. This was called the "epicycle." This theory ceased to exist when it was established that the Earth itself was a planet that revolved around the sun.
Ptolemy himself seemed to be quite egotistical. It is believed that he may never have actually practiced astrology as there has not been a single horoscope found that was created by him. Some say that his writing almost reflects an embarrassment about astrology, and suggest that perhaps he might not have been a scholar of the art, but a mere reporter of it.
Astrology lost its significance around AD 500. The renaissance of Astrology happened in the 8th century when Islam began practicing Hellenistic astrology. It was Albumasar, a Muslim intellectual, who was instrumental in bringing astrology as we know it to the Western world.
About the Temple:
Dendera is located about 60 kilometers north of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile River opposite the provincial modern town of Qena, in an area that in ancient times was known as Iunet, or Tantere (Greek Tentyris),This was actually a provincial capital and and important religious site during several periods of Egyptian history.