Akhet (hieroglyph and season)
Encyclopedia
The Egyptian language
word Akhet is both a hieroglyph
and an Ancient Egypt
ian season.
The two uses for akhet:
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
word Akhet is both a hieroglyph
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
and an Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian season.
The two uses for akhet:
- In ancient Egyptian, the place where the sun rises and sets; often translated as "horizon" or "mountain of light". It is included in names like "Akhet Khufu" (Ancient Egyptian name for the Great PyramidGreat Pyramid of GizaThe Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
) and Akhetaten. Betrò's book names the hieroglyph: 'Mountain with the Rising Sun', and the hieroglyph is used as an ideogramIdeogramAn ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms.Examples of...
for "horizon". In ancient Egyptian religion, the PylonPylon (architecture)Pylon is the Greek term for a monumental gateway of an Egyptian temple It consists of two tapering towers, each surmounted by a cornice, joined by a less elevated section which enclosed the entrance between them. The entrance was generally about half the height of the towers...
mirrored the hieroglyph for 'horizon' - akhet, which also was associated with recreation and rebirth.
- The "Akhet season" ran approximately from mid-July to mid-November in Ancient Egypt, and was followed by Peret and Shemu. It is the first of three seasons of the ancient Egyptian calendar--the inundation seasonSeason of the InundationThe Season of the Inundation is the first season in the ancient Egyptian calendar and corresponds roughly with early September to early January....
. This was the time of the Egyptian calendar year when the Nile waters flooded farmland and brought much nutrients to the tilled soil.
The Year
The world's 365 day year is a result of the Egyptian three seasons, 120 days, three times, and an annual New Year 5-day festival. The Canopus Stone of Ptolemy III, in the Rosetta StoneRosetta StoneThe Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
-(Ptolemy V) decree series, added a 6th Epagomenal day in 238 BC, every four years. The leap year additions were formalized by CaesarCaesar-People:* Julius Caesar , Roman general and dictator* Augustus Caesar , adoptive son of the above and first Roman Emperor* Gaius Julius Caesar , father of the dictator...
in 55 BC.