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Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
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Menit, , The Mooring Post, is an Egyptian name, used in RSC/ ... . It designates an area of [[Bootes]], incl. [[Arcturus]]).<ref name=":22" />   
[[File:RamesssideStarClocks-schemaBelmonte2003.jpeg|thumb|Ramessside Star Clocks schematically, fig. 1 in Belmonte (2003)<ref name=":1" />]]
Menit, , The Mooring Post, Egyptian constellation, preserved in the 2nd millennium BCE. Based on Ramesside Star Clocks,<ref>Neugebauer, O. and Parker, R. A., 1969. ''Egyptian Astronomical Texts'', vol. III. Providence: Brown University.</ref><ref>Leitz, Ch., 1995. Altägyptische Sternuhren. OLA, 62. Leuven: Peeters.</ref> it is known that it covers 1.5 RA-hours.<ref name=":12">Petrie W.M.F. (1940). Wisdom of the Egyptians. London.</ref> It designates an area of [[Bootes]], incl. [[Arcturus]]).<ref name=":22" />   


==Concordance, Etymology, History==
==Concordance, Etymology, History==
The constellation is mentioned in the Ramesside Star Clocks and identified by right ascension. Ramesside Star clocks (RSC) are astronomical devices developed in ancient Egypt to measure time by the, most likely, meridian or close to meridian transit of stars. These hour stars were single stars in a few cases or belong to constellations, some of them very large, of Egyptian sky maps.  
[[File:Menit.png|thumb|Menit in hieroglyphs]]
'''Variants'''
* mnít
* Menit
* Menyt
 
=== Source ===
The constellation is mentioned in the Ramesside Star Clocks (RSC) and identified by right ascension. Ramesside Star Clocks (RSC) are ceiling paintings in some tombs in the Valley of Kings, Egypt, from the Ramesside Period.<ref>Marshall Clagett (1989). Ancient Egyptian Science: Calendars, clocks, and astronomy. American Philosophical Society.</ref> They are not actually used star clocks but information on stars in transit (probably through the meridian) provided in tabular layout. It was assumed that they depict a practice in ancient Egypt to measure time by the, most likely, meridian or close to meridian transit of stars. These hour stars were single stars in a few cases or belong to constellations, some of them very large, of Egyptian sky maps.  


There has been two dedicated approaches including an attempt to identify these hour stars: Leitz (1995)<ref name=":0">Leitz, Ch., 1995. Altägyptische Sternuhren. OLA, 62. Leuven: Peeters.</ref> and Belmonte (2003)<ref name=":1">Belmonte, J. A., 2003. The Ramesside star clocks and the ancient Egyptian constellations. In M. Blomberg, P. E. Blomberg and G. Henriksson (Eds.), ''Calendars, Symbols, and Orientations: Legacies of Astronomy in Culture'' (pp. 57–65). ''Uppsala Astronomical Observatory report'', 59. Uppsala Ocarina Books.</ref>. Pioneers Neugebauer and Parker (1969)<ref>Neugebauer, O. and Parker, R. A., 1969. ''Egyptian Astronomical Texts'', vol. III. Providence: Brown University.</ref> thought this was a worthless exercise.
There has been two dedicated approaches including an attempt to identify these hour stars: Leitz (1995)<ref name=":0">Leitz, Ch., 1995. Altägyptische Sternuhren. OLA, 62. Leuven: Peeters.</ref> and Belmonte (2003)<ref name=":1">Belmonte, J. A., 2003. The Ramesside star clocks and the ancient Egyptian constellations. In M. Blomberg, P. E. Blomberg and G. Henriksson (Eds.), ''Calendars, Symbols, and Orientations: Legacies of Astronomy in Culture'' (pp. 57–65). ''Uppsala Astronomical Observatory report'', 59. Uppsala Ocarina Books.</ref>. Pioneers Neugebauer and Parker (1969)<ref>Neugebauer, O. and Parker, R. A., 1969. ''Egyptian Astronomical Texts'', vol. III. Providence: Brown University.</ref> thought this was a worthless exercise.
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Belmonte and Lull (2023)<ref name=":22">Belmonte, J.A. andd Lull, J., 2023. Astronomy in ancient Egypt: a cultural perspective. Cham: Springer.</ref> suggest the identification of Menit with an area in [[Bootes]], including the bright star [[Arcturus]].
Belmonte and Lull (2023)<ref name=":22">Belmonte, J.A. andd Lull, J., 2023. Astronomy in ancient Egypt: a cultural perspective. Cham: Springer.</ref> suggest the identification of Menit with an area in [[Bootes]], including the bright star [[Arcturus]].
=== Origin of Constellation ===
Variants
* mnít
* Menit
* Menyt


=== Individual Stars of the Constellation ===
=== Individual Stars of the Constellation ===
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Star / Asterism Name
! colspan="2" |Star / Asterism Name
(transliteration)
(transliteration)
!Translation
!Translation
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!ident. (Belmonte 2003)
!ident. (Belmonte 2003)
|-
|-
|ṯ3 nfr
|
|
|Beautiful sprout
|Beautiful sprout
|
|150
|
|10.0
|[[Mizar]] (10.1) or [[Spica]] (10.4)
|[[Mizar]] (10.1) or [[Spica]] (10.4)
|-
|-
|
|tpy` mnỉt<sub>6</sub>
|Tepiamenit
|Predeccesor of the Pole
|Predeccesor of the Pole
|
|
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|Area of [[Ursa Major|Ursa Maior]] & [[Bootes|Boote]]<nowiki/>s **
|Area of [[Ursa Major|Ursa Maior]] & [[Bootes|Boote]]<nowiki/>s **
|-
|-
|šmsw n (ḥ3t n mnỉt)<sub>3</sub>
|
|
|Follower of the front of the pole
|Follower of the front of the pole
|
|162
|
|10.8
|eta Boo ([[Muphrid]])
|eta Boo ([[Muphrid]])
|-
|-
|mnỉt
|
|
|Pole or Mooring post
|Pole or Mooring post
|
|165
|
|11.0
|[[Alkaid]]
|[[Alkaid]]
|-
|-
|šmsw ỉy ḥr-s3 mnỉt
|
|
|Follower which comes after the pole
|Follower which comes after the pole
|
|167
|
|11.1
|[[Alkaid]]
|[[Alkaid]]
|-
|-
|(šmsw) n mnỉt<sub>4</sub>
|
|
|(Follower of ) the pole
|(Follower of ) the pole
|
|171
|
|11.4
|[[Arcturus]]
|[[Arcturus]]
|}
|}

Latest revision as of 19:12, 2 April 2026

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Juan Antonio Belmonte Avilés

Ramessside Star Clocks schematically, fig. 1 in Belmonte (2003)[1]

Menit, , The Mooring Post, Egyptian constellation, preserved in the 2nd millennium BCE. Based on Ramesside Star Clocks,[2][3] it is known that it covers 1.5 RA-hours.[4] It designates an area of Bootes, incl. Arcturus (Ἀρκτοῦρος)).[5]

Concordance, Etymology, History

Menit in hieroglyphs

Variants

  • mnít
  • Menit
  • Menyt

Source

The constellation is mentioned in the Ramesside Star Clocks (RSC) and identified by right ascension. Ramesside Star Clocks (RSC) are ceiling paintings in some tombs in the Valley of Kings, Egypt, from the Ramesside Period.[6] They are not actually used star clocks but information on stars in transit (probably through the meridian) provided in tabular layout. It was assumed that they depict a practice in ancient Egypt to measure time by the, most likely, meridian or close to meridian transit of stars. These hour stars were single stars in a few cases or belong to constellations, some of them very large, of Egyptian sky maps.

There has been two dedicated approaches including an attempt to identify these hour stars: Leitz (1995)[7] and Belmonte (2003)[1]. Pioneers Neugebauer and Parker (1969)[8] thought this was a worthless exercise.

Leitz (1995)[7] followed  N&P hypothesis of stars transiting close to the southern horizon and reached a solution which for Belmonte (2003) was not satisfactory for various reasons. These are amply discussed in Lull and Belmonte (2006 & 2009)[9]. This new hypothesis suggests that several RSC constellations were located in the northern skies such as the Giant (Nekht), the She-Hippo (Reret), the Mooring Post (Menyt) and the Bird (Apdu), among others of lesser entity (see also Davies, 1985[10]).

Belmonte and Lull (2023)[5] suggest the identification of Menit with an area in Bootes, including the bright star Arcturus (Ἀρκτοῦρος).

Individual Stars of the Constellation

Star / Asterism Name

(transliteration)

Translation RA (degr) RA (h) ident. (Belmonte 2003)
ṯ3 nfr Beautiful sprout 150 10.0 Mizar (10.1) or Spica (10.4)
tpy` mnỉt6 Tepiamenit Predeccesor of the Pole Area of Ursa Maior & Bootes **
šmsw n (ḥ3t n mnỉt)3 Follower of the front of the pole 162 10.8 eta Boo (Muphrid)
mnỉt Pole or Mooring post 165 11.0 Alkaid
šmsw ỉy ḥr-s3 mnỉt Follower which comes after the pole 167 11.1 Alkaid
(šmsw) n mnỉt4 (Follower of ) the pole 171 11.4 Arcturus (Ἀρκτοῦρος)

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

Religion/ Tales/ Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Belmonte, J. A., 2003. The Ramesside star clocks and the ancient Egyptian constellations. In M. Blomberg, P. E. Blomberg and G. Henriksson (Eds.), Calendars, Symbols, and Orientations: Legacies of Astronomy in Culture (pp. 57–65). Uppsala Astronomical Observatory report, 59. Uppsala Ocarina Books.
  2. ↑ Neugebauer, O. and Parker, R. A., 1969. Egyptian Astronomical Texts, vol. III. Providence: Brown University.
  3. ↑ Leitz, Ch., 1995. Altägyptische Sternuhren. OLA, 62. Leuven: Peeters.
  4. ↑ Petrie W.M.F. (1940). Wisdom of the Egyptians. London.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Belmonte, J.A. andd Lull, J., 2023. Astronomy in ancient Egypt: a cultural perspective. Cham: Springer.
  6. ↑ Marshall Clagett (1989). Ancient Egyptian Science: Calendars, clocks, and astronomy. American Philosophical Society.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Leitz, Ch., 1995. Altägyptische Sternuhren. OLA, 62. Leuven: Peeters.
  8. ↑ Neugebauer, O. and Parker, R. A., 1969. Egyptian Astronomical Texts, vol. III. Providence: Brown University.
  9. ↑ Belmonte, J.A. andd Lull, J., 2023. Astronomy in ancient Egypt: a cultural perspective. Cham: Springer.
  10. ↑ Davis, V. L., 1985. Identifying Ancient Egyptian Constellations. Journal of the History of Astronomy, 16, 102–104.
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