Читать книгу The dawn of astronomy. A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient Egyptians онлайн

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If Maspero and the great authorities in Egyptology are right—namely, that the Annu temple was founded before 4000 B.C.—the above figures drive us to the conclusion that we have in this temple a building which was orientated to the sun, not at a solstice, some 6000 years ago.

So much for two of the places known to be of the highest antiquity in Egypt. There remains another locality supposed to date from more modern times—I refer to Thebes. It is here that evidence of the most certain kind with regard to the solstitial temples is to be found.

At Karnak itself there are several temples so oriented, chief among them the magnificent Temple of Amen-Rā, one of the wonders of the world, to which a special chapter must be devoted. Suffice it to say here that the amplitude of the point to which the axis of the great temple of Amen-Rā points is 26° N. of W., which we learn from the table already given is the amplitude of the place of sunset at the summer solstice in the latitude of Thebes. The amplitude of the point to which the axis of an attached small temple points is 26° S. of E., exactly the position of sunrise at the winter solstice.