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Since there is a going to be solar eclipse tomorrow, I think it is relevant to bring up the curious fact that ancient Egyptian records appear to be sorely lacking in records of such events. There are various hypotheses as to why including the fact that the solar eclipse was such a terrible omen that the scribes chose to omit it from records.
Here are just a few sources that give interesting takes on the topic.
Last but not least is popular reinterpretation on the famous passage in the Book of Joshua where the sun supposedly stood still during the battle in Canaan.
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Solar eclipses were never outright described in ancient Egypt until Greco-Roman times, but a popular notion is that such phenomena were caused by the snake god Apep trying to devour the sun but this explanation never made sense to me. One can clearly see that it's not a snake that devours the sun but rather the moon that passes by it. Also the ancient texts describe Apep attempting to devour Ra in during his journey in the Underworld not in the day sky.
Can anyone else find clues to Pre-Hellenic descriptions of solar eclipses??
Posts: 26457 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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