Public Library (contents & extracts ) :

"The Dawn of Astronomy" by Norman Lockyer

Preface 

Chapter I  The worship of the Sun and the dawn

• Wonder and worship
• The Vedas

Chapter II  The first glimpses of egyptian astronomy

• The Rosetta  stone
• Temple of Edfu
• Hathor temple at Denderah
• Hathor temple of Der El-Bahari
• The zodiac of Denderah

Chapter III  The astronomical basis of the egyptian pantheon 

• Tablet of kings at Abydos
• Worship of sunrise and dawn
• Forms of the Sun-god
• Hymns to Sun-god
• Khons,Thoth,Sesheta
• Nephthys and Shu
• Cosmology
• The apparent daily motion
• Star observations
• The pantheon

 Chapter IV  The two horizons 

• The horizon
• Earth a sphere
• Astronomical definitions
• Amplitudes at Thebes

 Chapter V   The yearly path of the Sun-god  

• Yearly path round the Sun
• Equinoxes and solstices

 Chapter VI   The probable Hor-Shesu worship 

• Temple building
• Solar temples
• The gnomon
• Solstitial temples

 Chapter VII   Methods of determining the orientation of temples 

• The meridian line
• Magnetic variation

 Chapter VIII   The earliest solar shrines in Egypt 

• Temple mounds
• Solar temple of Annu
• The colossi of the plain at Thebes
• Equinoctial temples and pyramids
• Temples of Isis and Osiris
• The Nile-rise at the solstice

 Chapter IX   Other similar shrines elsewhere 

• Mounds at Khorsabad
• The Pekin sun temple
• Stonehenge
• The temple at Jerusalem
• The deification of the heavenly bodies
• St.Peter’s at Rome

 Chapter X   The solar temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak 

• The great temple at Karnak
• The sanctuary
• The manifestation of Ra

 Chapter XI   The age of the temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak 

• The age of the Karnak temple
• Solstice observations at Karnak
• Astronomical date of temple

 Chapter XII   The stars-their rising and settings 

• Rising and setting terms
• Changes of amplitude
• Precession
• Changes in the pole-star
• Calculation of old star places
• Precessional globe results

Chapter XIII   The Egyptian heavens --- the zodiacs of Denderah

• Early constellations
• Zodiacs of Denderah
• The square zodiac
• The Denderah inscriptions
• Brugsch’s opinion
• Ramesseum inscriptions

Chapter XIV   The circumpolar constellations : the myth of Horus 

• The powers of darkness
• The northern genii
• Myth of Horus
• Explained astronomically
• The Thigh and Hippopotamus

Chapter XV   Temples directed to the stars 

• Precessional movement of the stars
• Temples : Hathor at Denderah , Seti at Abydos , Rameses II at Thebes
• Temple of Tyre
• Temple of Medinet-Habu
• Temple of Luxor

Chapter XVI   Further inquiries with regard to the stellar temples 

• Horizon kept clear
• Declination and amplitudes

Chapter XVII   The building inscriptions 

• Annu and Abydos
• The meaning of Ak
• The Edfu ceremonies
• Use of mirrors

Chapter XVIII   The star-temples at Karnak 

• Star-temples at Karnak
• Temple of Khons
• Sequence of buildings
• Temple B
• Temple of Mut

Chapter XIX   The personification of stars --- the temple of Isis at Denderah     

• The Hathor temple
• Temple of Isis at Denderah
• New year’s day

Chapter XX    The personification of stars (continued) --- the temple of Hathor at Denderah 

• Circumpolar stars
• The date of the temple
• The date of king Pepi
• Pre-sirian temples

Chapter XXI   Star-cults 

• Variants for Hathor
• Temple of Mut
• Totems
• The cow Hathor
• Sirius as a cow

Chapter XXII  Star-cults (continued) --- Amen-t and Khons 

• Medinet-Habu temples
• Amen-cults
• Theban politics

Chapter XXIII   The egyptian year and the Nile 

• The age of Methuselah
• Nile and Euphrates gods
• Low Nile
• The Egyptian months
• Nilometers
• The green water
• The red Nile
• The rise and fall of the Nile

Chapter XXIV   The years of 360 and 365 days 

• The year of 360 days
• The heliacal rising

Chapter XXV   The vague and the sirian years 

• The vague and the sirian years
• The fixed and vague stars
• Biot and Oppolzer
• The heliacal rising of Sirius

Chapter XXVI   The Sothic cycle and the use made of it 

• The cycle-year
• Tests of the system suggested
• The year used
• The silsilis inscriptions

Chapter XXVII   The calendar and its revision 

• Coincidence of fixed and vague years
• The change of sign meanings
• Revision of the calendar
• Censorinus’ statement explained

Chapter XXVIII   The fixed year and festival calendars

• Month-table
• Pre-sirian month-signs
• Sun mythology
• The alexandrine year
• The Memphis set-festivals
• The Esne calendar

Chapter XXIX   The mythology of Isis and Osiris 

• The Horus emblem
• Generic symbolism
• Meaning of Isis
• Osiris
• The mummy form
• Change of cult
• Some difficulties explained
• Cult and precession

Chapter XXX   The temple-stars 

• Sirius-temple
• Set-temples
• Southern temples
• Min-temples

Chapter XXXI   The history of Sun-worship at Annu and Thebes 

• Memphis-temples
• Theban politics
• Revival of Aten-worship
• Khu-en-Aten

Chapter XXXII   The early temple ahd great pyramid builders 

• Abydos
• Ecliptic constellations
• Working hypothesis
• Discussion
• Abnormal pyramids
• Pyramid-temples
• The eighteenth dynasty

Chapter XXXIII   The cult of northern as opposed to southernstars 

• Circumpolar clock-stars
• Two series of temples
• The land of Pun-t
• The Edfu blacksmiths
• The dates of the temples
• North and south star temples
• The ancestors of Thothmes III
• The southern egyptian pyramids

Chapter XXXIV   The origin of egyptian astronomy --- the northern schools 

• The Annu school
• Worship of Set
• Anu in Babylonia
• The equinoctial school
• An intrusion from Babylonia

Chapter XXXV   The origin of egyptian astronomy (continued) --- the Thebes school 

• The god of Eridu
• Babylonian Myths
• Marduk and Tiamat
• The star of Ia
• The south stars of Eridu
• The legend of Eridu
• Chnemu
• Anthropological evidence

Chapter XXXVI   General conclusions as to the North and South races 

• Mythological genealogies
• Osiris as a Moon-god
• Southern star-gods

Chapter XXXVII   The egyptian and babylonian ecliptic constellations 

• Southerly constellations
• Zodiacal constellations
• The original zodiac
• Early symbols
• Date of spring-sun worship
• Biban  el-Moluk tables
• Constellations indicated

Chapter XXXVIII   The influence of Egypt upon temple-orientation in Greece 

• Building conditions
• Greek evidence
• Equinoctial temples
• Intra-solstitial temples
• Local festivals

Index 

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