Hour deities

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Ancient Egyptian hour deities in the Old and Middle Kingdom are still nameless as group associations only for the hours of the night, as is the case in the port book . The mention of hour deities is related to the acronychic risings and nocturnal culminations of the dean's stars . In addition, the hour deities also took on the role of protective deities for the deceased.

background

Origins

How far back the roots of the hour deities in ancient Egyptian history cannot be determined. The interaction of hour deities with the representations of the diagonal star clocks in the coffins of the Middle Kingdom has been proven to be certain .

In the texts “ Book of the Day ” and “ Book of the Night ” the hours are also given great importance. The names of the hours are clearly related to their titles for the short mythological stories. Mostly it is about the areas "nature of light" and "guardians of Re and Osiris ". Early TIMELINESS forms of daytime hours in the "Book of the Day" is at the Temple of Hatshepsut testified and later by the Ptolemies still handed down . The hours from the “Book of the Night” are also known from early texts of the “ List of Gates ” (Sebechet), in which the names of the gates were synonymous with the names of the hours.

Hour deities in the Amduat

Representations of the hour goddesses with names are first documented in the New Kingdom during the 18th Dynasty (1550 to 1292 BC). The book “ Amduat ” names goddesses of the hour in their function as “guardians of the twelve areas of the Duat ”, which the sun god Re crosses during the night. The goddesses of the hour pull the Re's solar barge as a group . A goddess of the hour is assigned to each station.

Goddesses of the hours of the night in the book Amduat
hour Surname Hour gate Hour cave
1 hour That shatters the foreheads of their enemies Mistress of the Trembling, with high walls, chief, mistress of destruction
2 hours The wise one who protects her master All-devourer
3rd hour The bas cuts robber Riverside realms
4th hour The Great, in the Duat is Which hides the pulling With living manifestations
5th hour Escort end the midst of their bark is Stopping point of the gods west
6th hour Arrival that gives the right (way) With sharp knives Waterhole of the underworld
7th hour Who fends off the hiu and beheads him
with a terrible face 		Gate of Osiris Mysterious Cave (of Osiris)
8th hour Mistress of the deep night That stands without getting tired Sarcophagus of their gods
9th hour Worshipers who protect their masters That the (Nile) flood guards With bulging figures
10th hour Angry ones who kill the devious ones With great manifestations,
giving birth to figures 		With deep waters and high banks
11th hour The starry one , mistress of the barque , who
fends off the adversary when he emerges 		Resting place of the underworld Edge of the cave
12th hour Who sees the perfection of her Lord That exalts the gods End of the primeval eclipse

Hour gods of the day

Hour gods of the day
hour Surname
1 hour That makes the beauty of Re appear (The hour that satisfies) ( Maat )
2 hours That drives the darkness away. ( Hu )
3rd hour The Bas of the gods praise, sees the millions. ( Sia )
4th hour Those who ... ( Asebit )
5th hour Those who ... ( Igeret )
6th hour Arud-nedjer, elevation of Re and the gods ( Seth , who austr cooked up his arm around Apophis to cut )
7th hour That makes the heart wide ( Horus )
8th hour Cheering (jubilation of the gods over the prostration of Apophis) ( Chons )
9th hour Of the Glorious Mystery (Hour of Translation into Sechet-iaru ) ( Isis )
10th hour Descend to the Seket boat to cross over ( hike-who )
11th hour Nice to look (straightening the pull rope for the Westland) ( folder of the pull rope Den )
12th hour That hides the shining or that shines the islands, that unites with the living ( The protection gives in the twilight )

Tradition to Ptolemaic times

As part of the Osiris cult, priests depicted the hour deities as ritual hour watchers who mourned and protected the body of Osiris. The exact procedures for the cult activities are written down on inscriptions in the temples in Dendera , Edfu and Philae . From the iconographic and liturgical forms of representation, a connection between hour deities and the conception of ancient Egyptian astronomy can be established. The associated function of the ancient Egyptian astronomer as " hour shower " is particularly emphasized in a list of the various priesthoods and makes a connection to the ancient books of the afterlife and Osiris probable.

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