The Milky Way in Ancient Egyptian Mythology ¦ Ancient Architects

Hello everybody and welcome to Ancient Architects. Please subscribe to the channel for regular content on ancient architecture as well as all of the latest news from the world of archaeology. If you live far enough away from cities and towns, if you live in an area with a real lack of light pollution, you'll be able to see what looks like an opalescent starry band of light and In my life I've only seen it a handful of times, but thousands of years ago, this natural phenomenon would surely have captivated the minds of the ancient people. The band is of course our galaxy, the Milky Way, and it's been viewed by cultures in many different ways, from a celestial river to take away departed spirits to the birthplace of angels. But how the ancient Egyptians viewed the Milky Way has been a mystery, even with the countless written records left by the Egyptians and the decades of research and study. Well, Orr Graw, an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, believes he's found the answer. He found the link between an ancient Egyptian goddess and the Milky Way. It's known that throughout dynastic history, the ancient Egyptians were keen observers of the night sky, working their astronomical observations into their religion, mythology and timekeeping. Using the sun as an example, we know it was the most important celestial object to the Egyptians and was personified by the sun god Ra. But there was also Kepri, the god of the morning sun, and Atum was linked to the evening sun. This is just one example, but we know that natural phenomena influenced the entire belief system of the ancient Egyptians. According to Graw, scholars have identified the moon, the planets, certain stars and constellations in Egyptian texts and tomb murals. We also have the amazing New Kingdom tomb ceiling of Senenmut, an architect and government official in the reign of Hatshepsut. One of his titles was Steward of the God's Wife, the God's Wife being Hatshepsut. Look at the detail of this star chart in his tomb. It's incredible. But even with all the study that's been done, the Milky Way has never been identified conclusively in Egyptian culture. But there is one suggestion that it is in fact a celestial manifestation of the sky goddess Nut, which I believe is pronounced Newt. In Egyptian mythology, Newt protected the Earth, and the Earth was personified by Newt's brother Geb. Newt protected the Earth from being inundated by the celestial waters. So, brother and sister, one is the sky and one is the Earth. Newt was also involved in the sun's daily cycle, with the goddess swallowing the sun as it set in the west and during the night it sailed through Newt's body. At dawn, Newt gave birth to the sun as it rose in the east. There's little doubt that Newt's starry body represented the night sky in general, but some Egyptologists think she may actually be the personification of a specific aspect, the Milky Way. Looking at this photo of the Milky Way, together with this depiction of Newt, and you can see an obvious correlation. But in truth, the orientation of the Milky Way in the night sky changes through the year. Newt's association with the Milky Way has always been an opinion, without any scientific basis to back it up. But the new research by Graw has taken the hypothesis to the next level. He is an astrophysicist, and whilst writing a new book on galaxies, he stumbled on the famous image of Newt and a reference to her being a representation of the Milky Way. But was she really? Or was it just a nice idea? Wishful thinking by some. He couldn't include the iconography in his book without finding some concrete evidence, and so he embarked on a new research project. Now, this is a great example of how important it is to have people in different fields working on and researching the ancient world. Because different skill sets mean we can look at things, think about things and research things in different ways, from different perspectives. The subject opens up. Graw used planetary software to reveal what the Milky Way looked like from different locations in Egypt 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. In the winter, it would cross the sky diagonally from the south-east to the north-west. But in the summer, its orientation would flip, so that it arched from the north-east to south-west. According to Graw, the acrobatics of the Milky Way proved to be crucial once he learned how Newt was described in the ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and the Book of Newt. The Pyramid Texts are a collection of spells that assisted the dead on their journey to the afterlife. They're more than 4,000 years old. But the Book of Newt is younger, around 3,000 years old. It was in this later text where Graw found the strongest link between Newt and the Milky Way. As he says, quote, In it, Newt's head and rear are equated with the western and eastern horizons respectively. Her arms, though, are described as lying at an angle to her body, with her right arm in the orientation is precisely that of the Milky Way in the winter sky. He also learned that Newt did not just swallow the sun, but also a series of stars that rise and set throughout the night. This meant that Newt's head was locked in a position on the western horizon. Also, Newt gave birth to specific stars, meaning her groin was also in a fixed position on the eastern horizon. So this meant that Newt's body could never be mapped onto the Milky Way. The Milky Way does not go directly from west to east and nothing is fixed in the night sky. Because of the Earth's rotation, it's in constant motion. So Graw wondered if the Milky Way actually served as a figurative reminder of Newt's constant presence as the sky. In the winter, the Milky Way represented her arms, and in the summer it was her torso or backbone. In Egyptian mythology, Newt also played an important role in the transition of the dead to the afterlife. Spells in various texts say Newt is called to protect the deceased. She is enticed to act as a ladder, to reach out her arms to the dead and lead them up to the sky, where they would take their place amongst the imperishable stars. If the Egyptians really did see the Milky Way as a depiction of Newt's arms during the winter, then the spells that call out to Newt to give her arm to the deceased and lead them up to the sky could mirror other cultures' conceptions of the Milky Way as a conduit between this life and the next. The work of Graw is fascinating and he goes on to say how the echoes of Newt may have even endured into other Milky Way myths that are found across Africa, with some cultures calling it the backbone of the night. So, in conclusion, is the Milky Way as some say a manifestation of Newt? Well, according to Graw, not quite, but he does think the two are linked, with the Milky Way highlighting Newt's arms during the winter and her backbone during the summer. The Milky Way allowed the people to see her embodiment as the sky. If you want to read the in-depth study, you can download the PDF free of charge. I've left a link in the description below. Thank you very much for watching this episode of Ancient Architects. If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe to the channel, please like the video, and please leave a comment below. Thank you very much!