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

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It must not be forgotten in this connection that the Colossi of the plain on the other side of the river, and the associated temple, also face the place of sunrise at the winter solstice.

The list of solar solstitial temples, so far probably traced, is as follows:—

Place and Temple. Amplitude. Declination. Date. S.E. Temples. Kasr Kerun 27° S. of E. S. 23¼° Karnak (O) 26½° S. of E. S. 23¾° Memnonia (Avenue of Sphinxes) (orientation not to ½°) 27½° S. of E. S. 24½° S.W. Temples. Erment 27½° S. of W. S. 24½° N.W. Temples. Karnak (Q. K) 26½° N. of W. N. 23½° Karnak (U) 27½° N. of W. N. 24½°

THE COLOSSI OF THE PLAIN AT THEBES AT HIGH NILE ORIENTED TO THE SUNRISE AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE.

(These are statues of Amen-hotep III., and are monoliths 60 feet high.)

PLAN OF MEMPHIS.

(From Lepsius.)

We have seen that it did not require any great amount of astronomical knowledge to determine either the moment of the solstice or the moment of the equinox. The most natural thing to begin with was the observation of the solstice, for the reason that at the solstice the sun can be watched day after day getting more and more north or more and more south until it comes to a standstill. But for the observation of the equinox, of course, the sun is moving-most rapidly either north or south, and therefore it would be more difficult to determine in those days the exact moment.