Abstract
The article examines astronomical terms found in the Pyramid Texts and in the inscriptions of the Old Kingdom private tombs. It explores the semantic relationship between the descriptions of stars and constellations in funerary literature and the festival lists in tomb inscriptions. The author demonstrates that these festivals were synchronized with the heliacal risings of certain celestial bodies. The study establishes a direct correlation between festivals and astronomical phenomena: the New Year Festival and the rising of Sirius; the Wag and Thoth Festivals and the rising of Orion; the Festival of Sokar and the rising of the Taurus constellation; the Festival of the ‘Departure’ of Min and the rising of the Pleiades. It is shown that the constellation of Taurus, which in Egyptian tradition included the Pleiades asterism, was associated with the Field of Offerings and the Field of Reeds, where the deceased wanted to live forever. Based on a comparative study of the Pyramid Texts, astronomical scenes on coffi ns, and the inscriptions and reliefs in private tombs depicting cattle slaughter and hunting in the Nile Delta, this research identifi es a clear relationship between these motifs and celestial maps depicting Orion (anw) spearing the constellation Taurus.
Keywords
Ancient Egypt, astronomy, festivals, Pyramid Texts, tombs, Orion, constellation Taurus, Pleiades.