c1550 BCE Late Minoan Period c1550-1100BC begins now. Aegean civilisation is centred on the island of Crete and will reach apogee as a world power alongside Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Cretan culture will eventually spread to continental Greece. (29) (34)
Priestess of Crete
The year 1533 is estimated to be that of a total eclipse over Memphis in ancient Egypt, Dynasty XVIII. (240. 241) This astronomical phenomena may well correlate with the establishment of the reign of the ‘New Kingdom’ in Egypt.
1525 BCE AMENOPHIS I(Amenhotep) is the second king to rule the ‘New Kingdom’ of Egypt and of the 18thDynasty. (80) He is son of Amosis I and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari. (49)During his reign the heliacal rising of the star Sirius is recorded on the ‘Ebers Papyrus’ as it marks the beginning of a new Sothic period. The papyrus says, ‘Ninth year of the reign of his majesty the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Djeserkare – may he live for ever! Festival of the New Year: third month of summer, ninth day – rising of Sirius.’ (175)
Star Sirius
1504 TUTHMOSIS I(Thothmes or Tuthmosis) succeeds Amenophis I to the Egyptian throne after marrying Ahmes, the sister of Amenophis I. From this union is born Hatshepsut. By Mutnofret, a ‘concubine’, Tuthmosis I has a son, Tuthmosis II. (175).
Tuthmosis I is a prince of Thebes and worshipper of Amon. He initiated an era of renewed temple building by increasing the size of the temple of Karnak and adding a place of worship for Montu, god of war. At the time this was the only Amon temple of any importance in Thebes. (80. 49.)
The first appearance of a collection of funeral texts called the ‘Book of What is in the Underworld’ (Am Dwat) is found on the walls of the burial chamber of Tuthmosis I, ancestor of rebel king Akhenaten. Tuthmosis I inaugurated the tradition of burial in the Valley of the Kings, and the mortuary temple now became separated from the tomb. (175)
1500 DEUCALIONsurvivor of the Greek Deluge is personified in the constellation Aquarius. (11)This deluge is the recording of Zeus’ anger at the human sacrifices being made. He thus let loose a flood with the intention of wiping out the human race, but Prometheus, the Titan, gave warning to his son Deucalion, King of Pythia. As a result, Deucalion built and ark and saved his wife Pyrrha [Ishta] and their daughter Epimetheus. They eventually came to Mount Parnassus and were saved. When the flood subsided, the people migrated to Arcadia and reestablished the human race. (33) This flood is said to have followed the degeneration of the Bronze Age. (148)
At around this time Egyptian celestial diagrams give the planetary order of visible planets as Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Venus. (30)Unlike our present day order of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.
Sky at Night
