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The Days In The Year

The Days In The Year image
Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
July
Year
1897
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

There ie a story dn Plutarch whlcii must con vinca every reader that on e myth ut least relates, to an alteration made In the Egyptián calendar to extend the length of the year from 360 days to 365. A year of 360 days exlsted In Egypt at an early perlod, and may possibly have 'been arrlved at In the way suggested by Mr. 9. L. Grlfflth. The lunar month, from new moon to new moon, belng twenty-nin and a half days In length, the cönvenlent rcund number of thlrty daya was taken as a standard, and twelve months of thlrty daya each made up the year. The solar year is more difflcult to observe than the lunar month, the intervals being longer, and a year of 300 days waa a very convenient and reasonable approxlmation to it. At any rate, the year of 360 days came into use, and a curioua custom of Acanthae, near Memphis, seems to allude to it. A perforated vessel was filled with water by 360 priests on each day of the yeer. In the Island of Philae, again, 360 pitchers were placed around the tomb of Oairis, for making funeral libations and were fllled every day by the prteats with mllk. With 3G0 days ín the, year, the ecliptlc oircles of the heavens. as represented in the charts, would be divided Into 360 equal parts; and we must regard it as a relie of this time that the circle is stiJl made to consist of 360 degr-ees. But so erroneous an estímate of the length of the year would soon be corrected by experieace. It is evident that in about seveniy-two years a cycle would be accomplishl to which the Nw Year'g Day wouk} sweep through aM the months, remaining only six yearg in each. The same month, so far as ite naino was concerned, would now be in the Inundation tima, now a the season of sowing, and anon In the time of reaping, and the turisí must have been perplexed. A tcxt in the papyrus AnastasI makes referenee to such perplexity, and may rocelve lts explanación here. Goodwin translated it, "May Amen deliver me from the cold season, when the sun does not shine, the winter comes instead of the suinmer, the month is stormy, the houra shortened." Similar confusión would overtake the rellgious festivals, the New Year, for example, coming five days before lts proper time, and then ten days before, and so on; and it might be thought that lts observance at the wrong season would displease the gods. The ysar of 380 days had to glve way and did bo in favor of one of 365 days. The precise date of the ehange ia not known, but it k tierrel to in inscrlptions of the time of Amenemha I (circa 2400 B. C), and may, of oourse, have been introduced much esrlier. Wten this was done, the origipal months were not altered, but a "Httle month" of five days was interpolated at th end of the year, between the month Mesori of one yar and the

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Register