The Origin of the Cult of Horus in Predynastic Egypt - Page 23

The Origin of the Cult of Horus
in Predynastic Egypt - Page 23

6. Calendar Reform was Long Overdue after 479 years

After 479 years (i.e. in Pharaonic year 480), which was at the time of the Pharaoh Khasekhemwy in Egypt, the calendar, since Narmer’s establishment of that calendar, was a full 120 days in error. The seasons no longer agreed with actual time. A calendar reform was sorely needed.

At the same time, the North Celestial Pole's actual position had moved by nearly 7 degrees in the heavens, and the solstices and the equinoxes had similarly moved with respect to the stars in the heavens (these shift 1 degree every 72 years). The deviation of the civil calendar from the actual "heavenly" calendar was surely clearly apparent to all and surely gave reason to doubt the heavenly falcon's supreme position. In other words, the inaccurate calendar in use gave rise to a calendric crisis between the godly falcon, Horus, and the usurper, Seth, represented by desert peoples in Egypt as a dog-like animal, i.e. either a dog, hyena or a jackal.

Figure 16: The Second Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt