Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Post by GCoyote »


Some exchange of astronomical and astrological ideas.

https://www.archaeology.org/news/11301- ... le-ceiling

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Re: Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Post by Makuser »


Hello Gary. I am always interested in archeology articles and they are still finding new ancient surprises with modern technology to this day, especially in the middle east. The level of cataloguing the sky features from these cultures is amazing, since they had no telescopes or computers. They relied on a long time of diligent naked eye observing and recording. However, there is one unexplained exception .... the 2,000 year old Greek Antikythera mechanism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
Thanks for finding and sharing this archeology link with us Gary.
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Re: Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

#3

Post by GCoyote »


I think the difficulty in analyzing the Antikythera device is ultimately that it's a one-off with out contemporary equivalents or any mentions in the literature. Some ancient astronomer realized that if he could count the days between celestial events, he could predict them mechanically and simulate the behavior of the moving bodies he knew.

If they ever get time travel, this is one of the people I'd like to meet.
Any metaphor will tear if stretched over too much reality.
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Re: Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Post by GCoyote »


The Antikythera mechanism keeps popping up in our conversations and in my news feeds.

A recent (2021) breakthrough that I somehow missed:
https://bigthink.com/the-past/antikythera-mechanism/

And the paper, available for pdf download:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w
Any metaphor will tear if stretched over too much reality.
Gary C

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Re: Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Post by helicon »


I went to the temple of Esna in 2011 while on sabbatical. Dedicated to Khnum the potter it is a very interesting place. It was pretty much buried in drifts of sand until the late 19th century. Hence the very high level of preservation.

EDIT: The ram-headed god Khnum was supposed to have spun man out of clay on his potter's wheel, hence another creation myth. Below: a look at the columns and roof of the temple from below
esna.jpg
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Re: Babylonian zodiac signs in the Temple of Esna

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Post by GCoyote »


If I win the lottery, that's on my list.
Any metaphor will tear if stretched over too much reality.
Gary C

Celestron Astro Master 130mm f5 Newtonian GEM
Meade 114-EQ-DH f7.9 Newtonian w/ manual GEM
Bushnell 90mm f13.9 Catadioptric
Gskyer 80mm f5 Alt/Az refractor
Jason 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron 7x50 Binoculars
Svbony 2.1x42 Binoculars
(And a bunch of stuff I'm still trying to fix or find parts for.)
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