Monday, October 27, 2003

Astronomical Surface Decoration on Ceramics, Egypt, part IV Egypt had many different constellations than the Greek based ones we are used to in the west.  Joanne Conman's The Round Zodiac Ceiling on the Temple of Hathor at Denderah, includes a beautiful drawing of an Egyptian/Greek Zodiac. She goes on to list the 36 decans, representing the 10 day Egyptian weeks, during the year.  She notes some of the planets had other names. Mars = "Horus of the Horizon" Jupitar = "Light Scatter" Venus = "The Crosser" I will need to look up the various Egyptian constellations, and star names to see if they appear on ceramics. However, as Robert Bauval points out, the artists would alter their astronomical drawings in order to suit their artistic tastes. 6:37:40 AM