h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A25159962 - Egyptian Pantheons

"She was long a rival for Christ as an idol " - this might offend some Christians. They don't consider Christ to be an idol.

Ptolomaic --> Ptolemaic

He was said ... to have laid the egg -- did the Egyptians not know about male and female birds, then?

see the Osiris entry above -- the word Entry in h2g2 normally means the entire article, so use a different word here

Horus of the Horizen -- did you mean Horizon or is this something different?

Khephri -- should that be Khepri?

Sekhmet -- wasn't she represented by a woman with a lioness's head?

The Aten Cult at Armana --> The Aten Cult at Amarna

the worship of all Gods --> the worship of all gods

the other gods were disbelieved -- this isn't the right word here. The other gods were no longer believed in.

may have had an influence on (or influenced by) --> may have had an influence on (or have been influenced by)

His new capital at Armana --> His new capital at Amarna

G

Post 21 except:
"She was long a rival for Christ as an idol " - <> - comment please Giford

He was said ... to have laid the egg -- <> - comment please Giford

Sekhmet -- wasn't she represented by a woman with a lioness's head? [where do you want that inserting?]


to post 19

A25159520 Egyptian Pyramids

Post 19 done except:

I'm not sure what you mean by East-West axis and North-South axis when you're talking about buildings which are square. - comment please Giford

<> -- have you any evidence for this? - comment please Giford

It has to be said against the Orion theory that the dimmest star is only slightly dimmer than the other two, while the small pyramid is only one half the height and one eighth the volume of the others.
- does this information need adding?

"docking station" doesn't sound like the right word for a wharf or harbour. - comment please Giford

You say "The examples at el-Medina were built during the New Kingdom, after the Pharaohs had ceased building massive pyramids." and then in the next sentence "Pyramid building on this scale belongs exclusively to the Old Kingdom." It's not clear what you mean by "on this scale" but it seems to refer to the New Kingdom pyramids in El-Medina, leading to a contradiction.
- comment please Giford

Plus I still need to know what to change "tetrahedral" to

Reading again

A25088709 Part 1:

e.g. >> eg

A25709853 Part 2:

...people to settle around water-sources; the Nile and the oases. >> ...people to settle around water sources: the Nile and the oases

You mention , followed shortly by . White Crown/red crown should have the same capitalisation

The doesn't have its BC suffix, but since there are so many headings/sub-headings with BC in them, I wonder whether the whole thing might look better if the Headings had the BC suffix while the Sub-headings lose theirs? This applies throughout the Project.

the First Dynasty being appropriately shortened >> the First Dynasty being shortened appropriately

A25089609 Part 3

each-other >> each other
seventy rulers in seventy days >> 70 rulers in 70 days
11thI Dynasty >> 11th Dynasty

'Plus I still need to know what to change "tetrahedral" to'


Well, I.M.O a tetrahedron, by definition, is a 4-sided figure. Its sides are equilatewral triangles. It is sometimes called a 'triangular pyramid'.

Similarly, by definition, a 'pyramid' is a 5-sided figure. It consists of 4-triangles arising from a square base.

My Etymological Dictionary says this:

Pyramid: Solid figure with sloping sides meeting at an apex; solid structure of this shape, esp the ancient Egyptian monuments (usually with a square base);...

Hence, I would suggest:


Pyramids were the vast, tetrahedral burial-places > Pyramids were the vast, burial-places... (ie delete 'tetrahedral, as the word 'pyramid' intrinsically defines its shape

Under 'Giza':

The three tetrahedral structures > The three pyramids...


Perhaps there could be a footnote to define 'pyramid' as a 'Solid structure with sloping triangular sides meeting at an apex, arising from a square base'.

Post 25 done, I've added that to the introduction, rather than a footnote, also rearranged the introduction to incorporate.

A25160375 Part 4a:

20th century >> 20th Century
power-struggle >> power struggle

A25090175 Part 5:

has mastery >> had mastery
Despite this, this is regarded >> double use of 'this'

While taking account of what is said in the introductory paragraph to the Late Period, this Heading and intro paragraph should go after the 25th Dynasty paragraph. Otherwise the date sequence looks peculiar.

A25159755 - Theology 1 - Myths:

each-other >> each other
Ka should begin with a capital

A25159962 - Pantheons:

the most major of the gods >> the principal gods
headdress >> head-dress
ram-header>> ram-headed
19th century >> 19th Century

* goes off to lie down*

<'Shape of pyramids' looks fine to be now, GB

Ref The Amarna Period' A25160375:

'The standard interpretation, however, remains that Nefertiti retreated to her own palace and was replaced as co-regent by Smenkhare.'

I don't agree with this. See my Entry on Hatshepsup at A24739185 and the associated discussion in PR.

According to the Egyptologist Dr Joann Fletcher in her book, 'The Search for Neferi there is COMPELLING evidence that Neferi did have full pharaonic status and ruled under the name of Smenkhare.

I don't agree with saying that Akhenaten was gay. This is the first I've heard of it, can you show us your source, Giford?

Post 24 done except for:

The doesn't have its BC suffix, but since there are so many headings/sub-headings with BC in them, I wonder whether the whole thing might look better if the Headings had the BC suffix while the Sub-headings lose theirs? This applies throughout the Project.

*waits for confirmation*

Well Giford says something like, 'SOME SAY that Akhenaten was gay...'

However, I agree that a footnote giving a reputable source would be helpful here.


BTW, This is something which I said about Akhenaten in my Entry on Marfan Syndrome at A3065140:

At one time, it was thought that Akhenaten's physical appearance may have been due to Froehlich's Syndrome, a hormonal imbalance that would have rendered him sterile. This is now discounted, particularly as he fathered six daughters as well as Tutankhamun. These days the favoured theory is that he suffered from Marfan Syndrome.


A

PS I also disagree with continuing to perpetuate the desecration of the English Language by referring to homosexuals as being 'gay'. Let's call a spade a 'spade' and a homosexual as a 'homosexual'. (Of course, considering that Akhenaten fathered six children, he must (if anything - if 'batting for both sides') been bisexual.

Post 27 done

Post 32 done, although I am still unhappy at the insinuation that he was homosexual, without a reputable source being quoted. He fathered seven children that we know of, as Big Al says, so the correct term would be bisexual.

Well this source seems reasonably authoratitive (in terms of content), although I can't interpret from the URL what the actual source is.

http://epistle.us/hbarticles/ancientegypt1.html

It comments on speculation that Akhenaten was bisexual.

Two reasons given:

1. Theological
2. He was beloved of Smenkare who, some commentators think was male, but others believe was actually the pharaonic name of Neferi.

History of Egypt Part 4a - The Amarna Period A25160375

<>

then in the last section:

<>

He died in 1336 BC - right?

You also say he ruled as Amenophis IV (1379 - 1362) first, attaining the throne when he was between 9-13 years of age. Which puts him (at around 1390 BC birth), therefore around 54 when he died. This also fits in with the dating of Nefertiti's famous bust A10422019 (1350 - 1340BC), which would certainly have been crafted in Akhenaten's lifetime.

Thanks Big Al

Giford I've added a sentence about Nefertiti's bust to the Amarna entry.

Ooh boy, lots to comment on!

Akhenaten vs Akhetaten

The city is Akhetaten; the Pharaoh is Akhenaten. My fault, I didn't notice the difference in spelling!

*****

"The main structure would have had sides smoothed by plaster and painted white" -- have you any evidence for this?

The sentence should be altered to read "The main structure would have had sides of polished white limestone." The evidence is that traces of this remain at Giza.

*****

Khafre rather than Khafra - It's a typo, use Khafre.


*****

You say "The examples at el-Medina were built during the New Kingdom, after the Pharaohs had ceased building massive pyramids." and then in the next sentence "Pyramid building on this scale belongs exclusively to the Old Kingdom." It's not clear what you mean by "on this scale" but it seems to refer to the New Kingdom pyramids in El-Medina, leading to a contradiction.

The second sentence should read "Pyramid building on a large scale belonged exclusively to the Old Kingdom".

*****

"No pyramid has survived unpillaged into the modern era, and most were looted in antiquity. " -- I'm not sure what you mean by this. All the pyramids were looted in antiquity, but that's the same as saying that none survived unpillaged.

I have no idea what I meant by that either! I think I was trying to distinguish between tombs that were looted and tombs that were never used (i.e. some were not looted because they never contained anything to loot). It probably makes more sense to drop the second clause.

*****

He was said ... to have laid the egg -- did the Egyptians not know about male and female birds, then?

Good question. Thoth, another male deity, is also associated with similar stories, so I can only say their grasp of basic biology must have been limited!

*****

Horus of the Horizen -- did you mean Horizon or is this something different?

No, that's a typo. Horizon is correct.

*****

"She was long a rival for Christ as an idol " - <> - comment please Giford

Good point - "Her cult was long a rival to early Christianity."

*****

I'm not sure what you mean by East-West axis and North-South axis when you're talking about buildings which are square. - comment please Giford

It's the outlying buildings which give the axis. It might be easiest to move 2 sentences here on to the end of the first paragraph of this section, to give:

"This was linked via a causeway to the Valley Temple, which opened onto a harbour and served as the access way to the main temple complex. The earliest and latest pyramid complexes were aligned along a north-south axis; the buildings around the later, better-known pyramids along an east-west axis. Other differences include the location of the entrance and the presence of a ka pyramid. "

*****

It has to be said against the Orion theory that the dimmest star is only slightly dimmer than the other two, while the small pyramid is only one half the height and one eighth the volume of the others.
- does this information need adding?

My understanding is that the 'Orion theory' is considered pretty 'out there' by most archaeologists. I'm happy for this objection to it to go in.

*****

"docking station" doesn't sound like the right word for a wharf or harbour. - comment please Giford

OK, let's use 'harbour'.

*****

I don't agree with saying that Akhenaten was gay. This is the first I've heard of it, can you show us your source, Giford?

Again, my understanding is that this is a pretty 'out there' idea that I've included only for completeness. It stems from the fact that his consort, Smenkhare, is shown as a male-looking Pharaoh, but the two are also shown embracing. The sources I can find to back it up seem a bit 'tabloidy', which is why (a) I haven't cited them, and (b) I have tried to make clear that this is not the view of most archaeologists. However, there do seem to be enough of them that some acknowledgement - even if only a 'debunking' - is warranted. Examples include: http://www.maat.com.au/akhenatenpage.htmlhttp://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa091200a.htm

*****

The doesn't have its BC suffix, but since there are so many headings/sub-headings with BC in them, I wonder whether the whole thing might look better if the Headings had the BC suffix while the Sub-headings lose theirs? This applies throughout the Project.

It's a typo that the BC is missing from the Old Kingdom, and that does need to be put in. If the consensus is that sub-headers would look better without the BCs, I'm happy to go with that.

*****

Ka should be spelt with a capital, as should all components of the soul.

*****

Dates of Akenaten's reign. My problem here is that I used 5 reference sources, which between them used 3 different dating systems! It's only as we approach the Greek period that they agree totally, and this happens to be one of the places they differ dramatically. I've tried to come up with a consistent set of dates without being totally arbitrary. The waters are further muddied by the existing H2G2 Edited Entry on Akhenaten (hi GB!), which uses the 1352-1336 dates. To fit with the other entries in this series, I need to be using the 1379-1362 dates, but this clashes badly with the Akhenaten entry.

Perhaps the best solution is to change all the dates to 1379-1362 but include a footnote pointing out that dating is particularly difficult at this point.

What is certain is that Akhenaten ruled for a little over 30 years, not for 50+ years. All the chronologies agree on the length of his rule, they differ on the dates.

*****

Have I missed anything?

Gif

I've done up to:
<<
I don't agree with saying that Akhenaten was gay. This is the first I've heard of it, can you show us your source, Giford?

Again, my understanding is that this is a pretty 'out there' idea that I've included only for completeness. It stems from the fact that his consort, Smenkhare, is shown as a male-looking Pharaoh, but the two are also shown embracing. The sources I can find to back it up seem a bit 'tabloidy', which is why (a) I haven't cited them, and (b) I have tried to make clear that this is not the view of most archaeologists. However, there do seem to be enough of them that some acknowledgement - even if only a 'debunking' - is warranted. Examples include: http://www.maat.com.au/akhenatenpage.htmlhttp://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa091200a.htm

*****

The doesn't have its BC suffix, but since there are so many headings/sub-headings with BC in them, I wonder whether the whole thing might look better if the Headings had the BC suffix while the Sub-headings lose theirs? This applies throughout the Project.

It's a typo that the BC is missing from the Old Kingdom, and that does need to be put in. If the consensus is that sub-headers would look better without the BCs, I'm happy to go with that.

*****

Ka should be spelt with a capital, as should all components of the soul.

*****

Dates of Akenaten's reign. My problem here is that I used 5 reference sources, which between them used 3 different dating systems! It's only as we approach the Greek period that they agree totally, and this happens to be one of the places they differ dramatically. I've tried to come up with a consistent set of dates without being totally arbitrary. The waters are further muddied by the existing H2G2 Edited Entry on Akhenaten (hi GB!), which uses the 1352-1336 dates. To fit with the other entries in this series, I need to be using the 1379-1362 dates, but this clashes badly with the Akhenaten entry.

Perhaps the best solution is to change all the dates to 1379-1362 but include a footnote pointing out that dating is particularly difficult at this point.

What is certain is that Akhenaten ruled for a little over 30 years, not for 50+ years. All the chronologies agree on the length of his rule, they differ on the dates.

>>
I'll have to get back later and do the rest