Next step, I guess, is to look at the heliacal stars:
In rongorongo times the last Greek lettered star in Orion (ξ) rose with the Sun in June 21. The letter seems to have originated from the Phoenician letter samekh (tent peg, supporting prop), which in turn may have been derived from the ancient Egytian djed column:
I guess Bayer may have meant Orion was supporting the sky with his right arm.
"Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, VLQ 79, also called the Leiden Aratea, is an illuminated copy of an astronomical treatise by Germanicus based on the Phaenomena of Aratus. The manuscript was created in the region of Lorraine and has been dated to around 816." (Wikipedia) Where Sun is at his apex there ought to be a supporting prop. Or 'tree'. We have seen the Mayan version:
It has 3 horizontal 'bars', like in the Greek xi and the Phoenician samekh. But the ancient Egyptians had 4 'levels' because they oriented their world 'upside down'. Their sea was in the north and their mountainous region was in the south. The Nile was running down from the south to the north and the Sun was moving from right to left. Therefore, I think, they added a 4th level. In addition to Sea, Land, and Sky there was the Underworld (where Sun in the night moved towards the right from the horizon in the west to the horizon in the east). ... There were two sets of brothers, the Hecatoncheires (hundred-handed giants) and the one-eyed Cyclopes, and they wanted revenge against Cronus. Zeus stole down to Tartarus, released the monstrous creatures and asked them to join him in the battle raging above. Delighted by their unexpected freedom, the Cyclopes set to work to help the gods. They fashioned a helmet of darkness for Hades, a trident for Poseidon and, above all, thunderbolts for Zeus. With these new weapons and their monstrous allies, the gods routed the Titans. After their victory, the gods cast lots to divide up the Universe. Poseidon became lord of the sea, Hades won the Underworld and Zeus was allotted the sky. Zeus then placed the altar of the gods in the sky as the constellation Ara in lasting gratitude for their victory over the Titans ... After their victory, the gods cast lots to divide up the Universe. Poseidon became lord of the sea, Hades won the Underworld and Zeus was allotted the sky. Zeus then placed the altar of the gods in the sky as the constellation Ara in lasting gratitude for their victory over the Titans ...
Possibly the missing 4th level of the Greeks was Mother Earth. If all the gods anciently were stars, which Aristotle meant, then she could not be counted. |
