## Egyptian

Late Egyptian astronomy/astrology follows that of Greco/Roman culture. The belief that the stars could influence human destiny does not appear to have reached Egypt until the Ptolemaic period. The temple of Hathor at Denderah dates from Ptolemaic times, probably the first century BCE, and has a wonderful illustration of the sky that illustrates this point.

However there were differences in names. For example, Cancer the Crab is represented by the Scarab Beetle. The figure of the Lion near the Scales (which is not the zodiacal Lion) is the constellation Centaurus [1].

Earlier constellations are more problematic, but some indications exist that some modern zodiac signs are very ancient indeed [2], although the constellations did change significantly over time [3].

### External links

- [1], [3] Astronomical Artifacts and Cuneiform Tablets, etc
- [2] Three archaic Egyptian constellations used as seasonal markers?
- http://ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/diglib/science/cultural_astronomy/cultures_egypt-2.html
- http://www.egyptologyonline.com/astronomy.htm
- http://www.starteachastronomy.com/egyptian.html
- http://www.nmc.edu/science-math/Astronomy/AST109Class%20Page/Egypt.pdf

### Author

This sky culture was contributed by Karrie Berglund of Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. based on the paper "A Map of the Ancient Egyptian Firmament” by Juan Antonio Belmonte.