c2800 BCE PHARAOH
DJOSER (Zoser) begins the 3rd Egyptian Dynasty although he is thought
to follow an earlier king by the name of Nebka. Various
authors nominate dates between now and 2686 BCE as the foundation of the 3rd
Dynasty. Zoser is also called Asclepius by the Egyptians because of his medical
knowledge (80) but according to another author (175) this appellation was given to Imhotep, his architect. Zoser built
the earliest pyramid at Saqqara and is known for his learning and love of
literature. (80. 175.) With this Pharaoh, there is clear evidence
of three main religious centers, at Heliopolis, Memphis and Hermopolis. At
Heliopolis (Egyptian ON) the sun god Re, who had begun to replace the older god
Atum at the commencement of the dynastic period, takes the name Re-Atum and his
symbol is the Bennu bird. (49)
Bennu bird; soul of Re.
A new form of religion
seems to have been introduced in the 3rd Dynasty, that of sun
worship, possibly replacing an older star worship, and with this new religion,
the first practice of mummification and of temple building occurs. In
the future, after the 4th Dynasty, the majority of Pharaohs will
take an official name on coming to the throne. This name will be an epithet
compounded with the name of the Sun-god Re, and like the personal name will be
enclosed in a cartouche. (80)
HUNI is the last ruler of the 3rd Egyptian Dynasty and
attributed with the earliest known pyramid in the Fayum, at Maidum. Originally
the pyramid is constructed on 8 ‘steps’. Huni’s successor will be
Snofru/Sneferu (113. 175) born of Meresankh. Following a period of
decline, the Fayum area will be upgraded in 2300 BCE by the future Pharaoh
Amenemhet I.
These Old Kingdom
dynasties of Egypt have contact with Canaanite lands and there is an exchange
of language and crafts. Canaanite Byblos is a colony of Egypt and the outlet
for the hardwoods of Lebanon. (173)
2791
BCE SNOFRU [Sneferu] CHEOPS
[Khufu] CHEPHREN [Khafra] & MYCERINUS [Men-Kau-Re] are
the accepted builders of the Great Pyramids of the IV Egyptian Dynasty. This is
one of many orthodox dates put forward for the Pyramid Texts. At this time, the
stars Benetnasch [Alcaid] and Spica are viewed together in the sky and they
culminate as the Sun enters Sr.t (Seret) ‘the Sheep’ known to us as Aries.
Benetnasch and Spica are seen as the terminus of a 60° arc across the heavens.
This arc extended, cuts through the star Thuban (Alpha Draconis) the pole star
of this time, thus dividing the heavens in two by a great circle that is at
right angles to the star Sirius. (30)
Pyramids of the Giza Plateau, Egypt.
An Egyptian Earth
ceremony reflected these celestial patterns. This ceremony, called Pedjeshes
(Pedj -to stretch: Shes - a cord) is evidenced in the monumental ornaments of
the temples of Abydos, Heliopolis, Denderah and Edfu. In this ceremony, the
reigning pharaoh, and a priestess personifying Seshat (goddess of writing)
proceed to the proposed temple site with a golden mallet and two pegs connected
by a cord. Seshat drives home her peg at an appointed spot. The Pharaoh sights
the Constellation Meskhetyew (Ursa Major) and aligns the cord between the hoof
star (Benetnasch/Alcaid) and Spica, and then drives in the second peg, thereby
marking the position of the axis for the new temple.
Similarly, Assyrian
Temples between 2930-603 BC are orientated, at dawn on the 1st
Nisan, to the point of intersection with the horizon and a great circle of the
sphere that passes through Benetnasch and Spica. Therefore, the temples of
Egypt, and Assyria had an axis that reflected the great circle of the heavens
and used Spica as a marking-star. (30)
c2740 SNOFRU [Sneferu] built a pyramid at Medu (Ded-Snefru) in the Fayium
and the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, which is considered by some to be the oldest
true pyramid. Snefru builds ships of meru-wood and cedar wood to facilitate
trade with the east. (80) Other authors put Snefru reign at 2625 BCE.
MERESANKH
as the mother
of Snofru, is taken as the founder of the 4th Egyptian Dynasty. (175)
HETEPHERES I the wife of
Snofru and by him, is the mother of the next pharaoh, Khufu. (49)
c2704 BCE HWANG-TI
[The Yellow Emperor] is the legendary civilizer of China. The knowledge and
philosophy of Hwang-Ti will be incorporated into the philosophy of the ‘Tao’ by
Lao-Tse c604 BCE. (6) Hwang-Ti’s philosophy was based on number
mysticism and provides the foundation for later philosophies of Confucius and
Lao-Tse. The original work of Hwang-Ti, the ‘I Ching’ or ‘Book of Changes’, is
a set of linear signs or symbols called ‘Trigrams’, which are used as an
oracle. (120)
c2700 BCE KING
OF KISH dominates the 13 city states of Sumer in Mesopotamia. (46) Sumerian city-states rise to dominance in the following order;
Kish, Uruk, Ur, Lagash and Umma.
c2680 BCE KHUFU
(Cheops) c2680-2560 BCE (Dynasty IV. Petrie gives 3998 BCE) This Pharaoh,
son of Sneferu, (49) is credited with building the ‘Great
Pyramid’ of Cheops (Knum Khufu) at Gizeh, northern Egypt. The central passage
of this pyramid is aligned to the Pole Star Thuban of the constellation Draco. However, it is thought that between 2750 and
2700 BCE the Pole Axis shifted from the star Eltanin to Thuban, Alpha Draconis
and used by the pyramid builders to fix their North-South orientations. (11. 67. 29) This provides some conflict as to the actual dating of the
pyramids of Giza.
Note the alignment of the
3 major pyramids and their correspondence to the belt of Orion (at this
supposed time of building, the celestial equator was 12° below the belt stars (11) but in 1990s CE the celestial equator will pass through the belt
stars. Is this timing significant to a new Aeon or the ‘New Age’ of Aquarius?
*The word Pharaoh is the
Hebrew and Biblical term for the kings of Egypt. It is derived from the
Egyptian word meaning ‘the great house’. (21)
According to Otto Muck,
Khufu or Cheops, married a white European with red hair and blue eyes, possibly
a Druid. Their daughter, Meresank III married a European named Didoufri. Didoufri
reformed the Egyptian calendar, which was now out of alignment with nature, and
thus caused problems with the timing of the Nile flooding. (68)
KHAFRA (Chephren) son of
Khufu, is credited with building a second pyramid on the Giza Plateau and which
incorporates the Great Sphinx. (49)
MEN-KAU-RE (Mycerinus) son of Khafra, builds the 3rd pyramid of Giza. (49) Men-kau-re reopened the temples closed previously by Khufu. (80) Some authors attribute this third pyramid to the Eygptian Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut. (108) But orthodoxy puts her reign in the Fifteenth Century.
