The dates given above are somewhat aproximated in that they
do not account for leap year. The Egyptians became aware of this and so they had to adopt three calendars to
compensate.
The New Year
|
Day |
Name |
Meaning |
|
1 |
Mswt wsjr |
The Birth of Osiris (June 16) |
|
2 |
Mswt Hr |
The Birth of Horus (June 17) |
|
3 |
Mswt stx |
The Birth of Set
(June 18) |
|
4 |
Mswt Ast |
The Birth of Isis
(June 19) |
|
5 |
Mswt nbt-!wt |
The Birth of Nephthys (June 20)
For more Info |
The Egyptian Calendar System
Overview of the Egyptian Calendar system
The Egyptian calendar consisted of 12 months, 30 days each, with 5 days designated for the
new year, to generate a 365 day year. In general (until the New Kingdom) the months were numbered, 1-4 in relationship to the season. These were considered to be the Akhet (Inundation)
June 21 to October 21, Proyet (Emergence) October 21 to February 21, and Shomu (Harvest) February 21 to June
21. These were based on the cycles of the Nile.
The calendar was not lunar or solar based, rather it marks its beginning by the emergence
of the star Sirius in the constellation Canis major. From this, Eduard Meyer
dates 4121 BC for the creation of the Egyptian calendar, based on his calculations of the Sothic cycle.
