Hamptons Observatory and Guild Hall present a free, virtual presentation by Egyptologist, Dr. Colleen Darnell, who will discuss how astronomy influenced the belief system, art, and life in ancient Egypt on Wednesday, October 20, at 8 PM. From the earliest religious compositions in ancient Egypt, the Pyramid Texts, stars were an important part of their funerary beliefs.
Not only did the king desire to join the sun god in his daily rising and setting, but he wanted to become one of the “imperishable ones,” the circumpolar stars. Astronomical observation was an important part of time keeping as well, with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius marking the beginning of the New Year. Drawings of constellations also form a part of the ceiling decoration of royal tombs of the New Kingdom.
Dr. Colleen Darnell is an Egyptologist who has published widely on pharaonic history, religion, and literature. Her most recent book, “The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books,” co-authored with her husband, John Darnell, was the first complete English translation of the hieroglyphic texts within the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
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