Figure 4 Alkaid just above the horizon in alignment with the major axis of the Temple of Hathor. At this time about 10,000 years ago the pole star was in Hercules and Alkaid rose in line with the major axis of the temple just as it did 2000 years ago when the current temple was built (Figure 4). One theory is that the Egyptian civilization began during the age of Cancer. In contrast to Greek and Babylonian zodiacs, Cancer is placed at the center of the Dendera zodiac. Interpretations of hieroglyphics in the temple and the zodiac of Dendera attach special importance to the astrological sign of Cancer. Figure 3 Alkaid aligns twice to Temple of Hathor at Dendera during the 26,000-year precessional period. Sky Publishing Corporation. The second time was about 10,000 years ago when the pole star was in the constellation Hercules.

At this point in time, the north celestial pole was between Polaris and Thuban and so there was no pole star. The most recent was when the current temple was built approximately 2000 years ago. There are two points along this path, two times during the precessional cycle when Alkaid rises directly in line with the Temple of Hathor (Figure 3). Figure 2 Precession of the north celestial pole over the 26,000-year cycle. Sky Publishing Corporation. Sky Publishing Corporation.Īs the tilt of the Earth precesses over a 26,000-year orbit about the ecliptic pole, the north celestial pole follows the path of the dotted line in Figure 2. Figure 1 Current alignment of the Temple of Hathor to the celestial sphere. Alkaid thus does not currently rise in line with the temple. As shown in Figure 1 this path is currently about 10° away from Alkaid. The point on the horizon 17° east of north along the major axis of the temple traces a circle 31.4° away from the north celestial pole. At Dendera, the north celestial pole is 26° above the northern horizon. As Earth revolves on its axis, the stars appear to rotate around the celestial poles. It is convenient to think of the stars existing on the inside of a celestial sphere. “This star could have been used as a reference to establish the axes of several temples, such as that of Dendera, where Alkaid would presumably be the star mentioned in the hieroglyphic texts of the temple of Hathor…” According to Jose Lull and Juan Antonio Belmonte in The Constellations of Ancient Egypt, One possibility is the constellation Ursa Major, which the Egyptians saw as the representation of a bull, and a star in Ursa Major known as Alkaid. Too far north to be aligned to the Sun, Moon, or planets, it is believed the temple was aligned to the rising of a star or constellation associated with Hathor. The temple and several nearby structures are oriented approximately 17° east of north. Hathor was often depicted as a cow, or a woman wearing a headdress of cow horns. The Egyptian goddess Hathor had many aspects: mother or consort of the sky god Horus, a symbol of femininity, a guide to the afterlife, and others. The construction of the present temple began in the first century BCE during the last Egyptian dynasty and was completed in the first century CE under Roman rule.

The temple of Hathor is west of the Nile River thirty miles north of Luxor. This article presents new astronomical evidence supporting the existence of an earlier temple at the site of the current temple of Hathor at Dendera in Egypt.

Badlands guardian google earth 360