top of page
Myth of Time: Hours
This portal was curated by:
​

HOURS

THE TWELVE HORAI (Horae) were goddesses of the hours of the day (and perhaps also the twelve months of the year). They guided the path of the sun-god Helios as he journeyed across the sky, dividing the day into portions. The ancient Greeks did not have hours of fixed length as we do today. Instead they divided the hours of daylight into twelve portions identified by the position of the sun in the sky. Thus the length of the hour varied between the longer days of summer and shorter ones of winter...
DATABASES
THE TWELVE HORAI (Horae) were goddesses of the hours of the day (and perhaps also the twelve months of the year). They guided the path of the sun-god Helios as he journeyed across the sky, dividing the day into portions. The ancient Greeks did not have hours of fixed length as we do today. Instead they divided the hours of daylight into twelve portions identified by the position of the sun in the sky. Thus the length of the hour varied between the longer days of summer and shorter ones of winter...
The Egyptians had ten hours of daylight from sunrise to sunset (exemplified by a sundial described in 1300 B.C.E.), two hours of twilight and twelve hours of night. The calendar year was divided into 36 decans, each ten days long, plus five extra days, for a 365-day year. Each decan corresponded to a third of a zodiacal sign and was represented by a decanal constellation. In the summer sky the night corresponded to about twelve decans, although half a day would correspond to eighteen decans. This led to the division of the night into twelve hours...
The decans (/ˈdɛkənz/; Egyptian bꜣktw or baktiu, '[those] connected with work') are 36 groups of stars (small constellations) used in the ancient Egyptian astronomy. They rose consecutively on the horizon throughout each earth rotation. The rising of each decan marked the beginning of a new decanal 'hour' (Greek hōra) of the night for the ancient Egyptians, and they were used as a sidereal star clock beginning by at least the 9th or 10th Dynasty (c. 2100 BCE)...
The Horae (the correct moment) were goddesses of the seasons, time, and the ordering of heaven. They were also guardians of the gates of Olympus and servants of Hera. Farmers really appreciated/worshipped the Horae. They may have been daughters of Zeus and Themis, or daughters of Selene and Helios, or just daughters of Helios...
It is shown that the 10° sections of the ecliptic, called decans by the Greeks, were originally constellations rising heliacally 10 days apart, and invisible for 70 days. Such stars belong to a zone south of the ecliptic and include Sirius and Orion. The use of the decans for time measurement at night leads to a twelve-division of the period of complete darkness. From this is eventually derived the twenty-four division of day and night...
Visit our special guest curator
"Open Database..."
Related Portals:
 
Related Portals:
 
bottom of page