Egyptian Astonomy and Calendars
Compared to today’s calendars, Egyptian calendars were rather the same. The Egyptians had about 365 days that were divided into 12 months. (Shuttleworth) However, their calendar was not as perfect as ours because it lost one day every four years. To fix this mistake, the Egyptians created a second calendar that was based around the star Sirius. (Shuttleworth) This second calendar had a quarter of a day each year so it would make an extra full day every four years. This strategy was rather smart because it was such an easy way to fix the problem. Egyptian astronomers used complex sundials to tell the time rather than the basic clocks we use today. (Shuttleworth) The days were each 12 hours and the nights were 12 hours as well. The Egyptians used 36 groups of stars to determine the time during night. (Shuttleworth) Most people believe that the Egyptian buildings were based on the stars. The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Giza are both good examples because of their relation to the stars. It might seem strange that the Egyptians had multiple calendars, but we have multiple today as well.
Scientific Analysis
Overall, the calendar most Americans use today is more reliable than the Egyptian calendar because it is based more on logic rather than astronomy and gods. Their calendar was similar in many ways, but it had many special events and astronomy things mixed in. For non-Egyptians the transition to an Egyptian calendar would be awkward.
Source: www.ancientegyptianfacts.com
This is an example of one of the Egyptian Calendars.
This is an example of one of the Egyptian Calendars.