User:Immanuelle/First Hour (Ancient Egypt)

Erste Tagesstunde in hieroglyphs
Wenut-tepit-Re Wnwt-tpj.t-Rˁ Erste Stunde des Tages
Se-cha-neferu-en-Re S-ḫˁ-nfrw-n-Rˁ Die die Schönheit des Re erscheinen lässt
Sonnenaufgang zum Zeitpunkt nach Verlassen der Duat

In ancient Egypt, the first hour of the day (also called the first hour of the day or the hour that satisfies ) referred to the duration of sunrise as the first hour of the day . The first hour of day began after the end of dawn, the Twelfth night hour .

Definition of the first hour of the day

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the beginning of the first hour of the day is also described as “the moment when the sun god Re leaves the realm of the Mesqet and the Duat ”. The original version of the Book of Nut continues:

Thus arises [the command] that he (Re) ascends to the sky, in the "hour that satisfies." Thus his form becomes strong and large. At night, the (Dekan stars as) Bas appear in the sky as they travel. The Dekan stars follow Re in his rising during the "hour that satisfies." During the day, they are not visible to people.

— Book of Nut, Sethos I.-Schrift:

In ancient Egypt, the times of day were represented by the hour goddesses . The “hour that satisfies” does not appear in the “ Book of the Night ”, but rather in the “ Book of the Day ”, among other places. She is mentioned two more times in the “ Book of Walking Through Eternity ”. In the “Book of the Day” we read regarding sunrise in the first hour of the day:

The one who brings forth the beauty of Re, that is the hour that satisfies. The majesty of this god emerges. Re rises in the land of the horizon dwellers. The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, bodily son of Re, Lord of Appearances; he prays to Re: Rise up, rise up, Re. Be born, Chepri.

— Book of the Day, Hourly Ritual, 1st Hour of the Day

Papyrus Carlsberg 1

The Carlsberg Papyrus 1 which was only created in the Greco-Roman period, is a copy of the original Book of Nut versions from the New Kingdom . The Carlsberg Papyrus 1 contains numerous additions and new theological interpretations. The first hour of the day is described there as the “ ninth hour of the night ”, although in other ancient Egyptian sources the ninth hour of the night is called “the one who protects her master”.

Re commands his removal from the people in the Duat, in the ninth hour of the night that is the "hour that satisfies." His emergence becomes great. Greatness, which is his flame. Thus Re arises in the two lands. His heart emerges, that is, strength against Apophis. His gaze upon the earth as he rises are his rays.

— Book of Nut, Papyrus Carlsberg 1

The commentator of the Carlsberg Papyrus 1 was evidently confused by the attribution of the “hour that satisfies,” since he equated it with “the ninth hour of the night,” although it is the first hour of the day. Apparently he connects “the people” with the work “ Heaven of the Primeval Times ”, in which the people are “in the eighth gate”, which leads to the “ninth hour”. The recomposed statement shows his difficulty in understanding why the sun moves away in the “ninth hour of the night,” even though people cannot see the sun then anyway. Consequently, he additionally introduced the “people in the Duat”, who are now able to see the sun which is located there at that time. The incorrect attribution clearly shows the fact that the “hour that satisfies” was a transfer from other texts that were no longer available to the commentator.

The flame of Re is aimed at the sunrise, as visually the land of Egypt appears to be bathed in flames. The heart of Re appears in other religious texts mostly in connection with Thoth and the moon . In the Book of Nut, on the other hand, the proximity to the theme of the Osiris myth is sought and the serpent Apophis is characterized as an enemy of the sun, whom Re must defeat anew every morning. What is striking is the sole mention in the Carlsberg Papyrus 1, while the original version of the “Sethos Scripture” does not contain Apophis.

See also

• First night hour
• Book of the Day

literature

• Christian Leitz : Ancient Egyptian star clocks . Peeters, Leuven 1995, ISBN 9-0683-1669-9 .
• Alexandra von Lieven : Outline of the course of the stars – The so-called Nutbook . The Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Eastern Studies (u. a.), Copenhagen 2007, ISBN 978-87-635-0406-5 .

References

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