The culture of Ancient Egypt for many centuries aroused interest not only among historians and archaeologists from around the world, but also among astrologers. The reason for this curiosity is the still unsolved ancient zodiac diagram, drawn several millennia ago by the inhabitants of Dendera, a city located 60 kilometers north of Luxor. What is the mystery of the ancient Egyptian astrologers?
First of all, it is worth noting that the images of the zodiac in Ancient Egypt were of a slightly different nature than was customary, for example, in Europe. The Egyptian zodiac signs were applied on the walls and ceilings of tombs, where the body of the pharaoh was placed with all the attributes that were necessary for him in the afterlife. Over the years of observing this burial ritual, more than a hundred different astrological drawings have accumulated. The oldest of them dates back to the 4th century BC.
In Dendera, two zodiac patterns were found - "round" and "long". They were discovered in 1798 during the campaign of conquest by Napoleon Bonaparte, who used to take with him not only an army of soldiers, but also a group of scientific researchers.
The “round” zodiac, unlike the “long” one, did not look like typical sketches and paintings of the Egyptians, therefore it was the first that attracted more attention of researchers. Rather, it resembled a horoscope or a map of the starry sky, which in no way corresponded to the public's ideas about the culture of Ancient Egypt. The history of the find was very difficult. In 1802, scientists did not dare to disturb the ancient painting and made only an engraving that accurately conveys the content and the smallest details of the find. Later, in 1820, antiques dealer Claude Lelorrain did the unthinkable: he broke a stone with an engraving and took it straight to Paris, where the original engraving served as a decoration on the ceiling of the Royal Library for a hundred years, after which it was exhibited in the Louvre, while at its place in the tomb of the Dendera temple was only a copy. The “long” Dendera zodiac also remained there.
A remarkable feature of the "round" zodiac is that it consists of two circles - external and internal. In the outer circle, four goddesses are depicted, holding the inner circle with their hands, within which an astronomical map is carved. On it you can observe the planets of the solar system, including the moon and earth. On the border of the inner circle, the constellations are depicted with which the position of the planets of the solar system corresponds: Saturn is in Virgo, Jupiter is in Cancer, Mars is in Capricorn, Venus is in Aries, Mercury is between Aquarius and Pisces, the Sun is between Pisces and Aries, and The moon is near the sun. This style strongly resembles medieval horoscopes.
In the "long" zodiac, the planets are carved in the form of figures resting on staffs and arranged in five rows. Those of the figure planets that can be seen in the sky with the naked eye are marked with stars. Among them, a large image of the goddess Nut, the wife of the god Ra, divides the top and bottom - heaven and earth. The "long" zodiac looks less orderly, but even in it, the images of the planets are associated with the constellations: Mars is between Pisces and Aquarius, the Moon is between Libra and Scorpio.
According to these locations, on the one hand, it would be possible to calculate which year and day a particular constellation or celestial body belongs to in order to decipher the ancient Egyptian horoscope and compare it with its more modern counterparts.
Scientists had little difficulty in determining which image symbolizes each planet. However, no one can establish which dates the signs of the zodiac belonged to. To do this, it is necessary to determine the construction date of the temple where the engravings were found. The founders of Egyptology believed that it was 50 BC. But later, many other points of view appeared, which indicated various dates from which it is supposed to count the existence of the ancient horoscope. The construction of the temple was timed to coincide with the hundredth years of our era, 2500 BC. and even to the most immemorial times, when Venus was called Sirius, and the Pole Star was called the alpha of the Dragon.
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Due to such a divergence in views, today it already seems impossible to decipher the ideas and idea of counting the signs of the zodiac as the ancient Egyptians thought it. Their modern descendants have only one thing left: to admire the truly ingenious achievements of the ancient Egyptian astrologers, captured on the engravings of the ancient temple of Dendera.