21 - The Cult of Horus
and the Origins of Astronomy - Nr. 21
The solar eclipse is represented by Narmer’s dark enemy. Narmer is protected to the right by the falcon of heaven above. We read the graphic elements with the falcon as HR-M(r)DZ "God of Light", as in the later Persian Ahura Mazda. The defeated enemy kneels before Narmer. This enemy is identified by the hieroglyphs as ANG(r)-MEN, i.e. "Angru Mainyu", the later "Ahriman", or the "God the Darkness". These are the two opponents of the much later teachings of Zarathustra (Zoroaster).[46] The back side of the Narmer Palette therefore shows the victory of light over the powers of the eclipse. Perhaps this was the origin of the later Persian cuneiform view that Capricorn was "the father of the light".[47]
5. The Sequence and Significance of the Horus Names of the early Pharaohs after Narmer are interpreted as "Heavenly Houses".[48]
The previous analysis puts us in a position to be able to read and understand the sequence and meaning of the mainstream Horus Names of the early Pharaohs.[49] Pharaoh means "big house" in Pharaonic language and the Pharaoh’s name should thus be understood to apply to a heavenly house. All Horus Names mark a particular stellar region of the heavens, which was assigned to each Pharaoh as his starry realm.
Figures 15 and 16 show the hieroglyphic Horus Names of the Pharaohs in the left column. The middle column shows the transcription (writing) of these Horus Names in Latin letters by the Egyptologists, accompanied under that by our astronomical explanation of these Horus Names.
Each Horus Name Corresponds to an Area of the Heavens, similar to our division of the sky into Constellations of the Zodiac.
In the right column, the dating of the reign of each Pharaoh is noted. The right column shows also Manetho’s[50] originally Greek-written names of the Pharaohs in Latin letters, as well as the lengths of reign assigned to these individual kings by Manetho.[51] All of these names have astronomical meaning and help to explain Horus Names as having an astronomical origin. Since the months are missing in Manethos reigns, I have calibrated the chronology to account for these missing months.
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[46] A. Smith, Angra Mainyu.
[47] Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names, Dover, NY, 1963, p. 139.
[48] Narmer used to be regarded almost everywhere in Egyptology as the first king of Dynasty 1. Now many Egyptologists erroneously count him to a non-existent Dynasty 0. Correct is that Narmer marks the beginning of the first long-term human calendar, initiated by a solar eclipse at sunrise at the winter solstice on December 25, 3117 B.C. Kings prior to Narmer were not part of this new era, which Narmer began.
[49] Peter A. Clayton, Die Pharaonen: Herrscher und Dynastien im alten Ägypten, ECON Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1995. The original in english is Chronicle of the Pharaohs.
[50] Manetho was an Egyptian priest under Ptolemy I (ca. 300 B.C.) who divided up Egyptian history into 30 dynasties. He wrote the names of the Egyptian kings in Greek letters, which we give here in Latin letters. See e.g. http://www.selket.de/ahnenfor.htm.
[51] See Manetho & the King Lists at http://www.egyptologyonline.com/manetho.htm and LexiLine at http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi20.htm and http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi156.htm