The Seasons:
In ancient Egypt the year was divided into three seasons: Akhet, Peret and Shomu. They corresponded to the three different farming periods: 1. the flooding season, 2. the sowing - growing season and 3. the harvesting season. Each season was divided into 4 months of each 30 days which made three weeks of 10 days in each month. The remaining 5 days were called the "Days upon the year", which were the last ones of the old year and were celebrated as the birthdays of Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis and Nephtys. They corresponded to late July - early August in our modern calendar.

There is an Ancient Calendar here.

Mostly there was more than one festival each month, for there was both smaller, local ones and thsoe which encompassed the whole nation. One of the festivals in the First of Akhet was:


The Festival of Djehuty which is mentioned on the walls of many private tombs already before the New Kingdom. He was worshipped widely both among common people and royals. The inscriptions read: "An invocatory offering of bread, beer, meat and fowl at the Festival of Djehuty...".

There was most certainly a great procession at the cult places of Djehuty, as such are central to ancient festivals. His statue was carried out of the temple and through town on a sacred bark, the road lined with people. There were offerings of said bread, beer, meat and fowl and most likely also flowers and fruit - all kinds of good things to make the day a festive one. Djehuty amulets in the form of little ibises or baboons might have been given as tokens of the day, and prayers for truth, justice and knowledge in various matters were probably also being said.

Season of Akhet:



When Sirius, the dogstar, called Sopdet in ancient Egyptian, began to rise on the horison, it signalled the beginning of the inundation, and this was also the beginning of the new year.

In the Second Month of Akhet the waters are rising. Some people have had to leave their huts along the riverbed and move further up. some again, are quick to take advantage of the opportunities offered! The water will wash their old houses away but since they are made of reed and clay, it is easy to buld new ones when the river retruns to normal levels.

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The Festival of Opet

The word 'Opet' means Secret Chamber so this festival is the " Festival of the Secret Chamber", Heb Ipt. By this is meant the innermost chamber of Ipet-Resut, the southern temple at Waset (Thebes/Luxor). It was the birthday of the King´s Ka , when the King got his Divine Right to rule re-confirmed.

At this festival, not only the Bark of Amun but also the barks of Mut and Khonsu, travelled from Ipet Isut (Karnak) along the 3 km long (1.8 miles) Processional Route which was lined with sphinxes, all with rams´ heads. The procession was followed by dignitaries, dancers, singers, musicians and common people. Priests carried incence, sistra were shaken, there were singing and clapping of hands. All along the way there were way stations at which the procession stopped while the priests rested and offerings and prayers were made. There were also Oracles performed for the people. The barge would stop and people could come forward and ask simple questions which could be answered with a 'yes' or a 'no'. The priest would then tip the barge forward for 'yes' and backwards for 'no'. Meanwhile peddlers offering wares hovered like flies all around. When they reached Ipet Resut, elaborate offerings and rituals were held. Even the Coronation rituals were performed anew.

The Opet Festival was the greatest Theban festival during they whole year and served both as a renewal of the power of the god and the king, plus it emphasized the bonds between the gods and the people of the land.

And then comes the Third Month of Akhet and the Inundation is at its highest now and there´s a lull over the land. While the fields are submerged, the farmers seek occupation elsewhere. Many of them help in the Royal building projects but those who don´t live near such ones, occupy themselves with mending tools and other things which will be needed on their homesteads, or just pass time together. Fishing is good, and is a valuable additive in the diet.

Festival: The Navigation of HetHert

The Festival of this month is all about the fertility which the Inundation brings to the land. Two festivals were celebrated, one was called the 'Navigation of HetHert" which means the "Voyage of Het-Hert," during the Old Kingdom. Later in history it was shortened to just "Het-Hert" . The first mentionings of this festival is found in the festival calendar of Niuserre, 5th Dynasty. Reliefs rom this period show boat processions for HetHert, she travels on her sacred barge named 'Great of Love' and people on boats rustle papyrus for her as they are following her along on the river. The other festival took place closer to the end of the month and had the form of a thanksgiving for the Inundation, without which there would be no fertility for the soil of Egypt. There was a special symbol of the new Nile placed in front of HetHert and the women of the city joined in a special fertility ritual which would ensure them children in the future.

It is thought that sometimes the procession did not take place out on the river, but instead on the Sacred lake near the temple, where it was rowed around and people were gathered all around the lake, watching.

On the barqe was a special shrine in which the statue of HetHert travelled. She was also accompanied by other gods, each of the travelling on their own sacred barques: Heru and Ra-Heru-Akhety. The journey on the river ended at the temple, where the shrines were carried inside to the Hall of Offerings. Here priests laid out offerings of beer and bread, fruit, fowl, wine and meat. Flowers were arranged in abundance and incense and libations were also included, all while the lector priest read from the Festival Scroll, which was done either from a papyrus scroll or written on the temple walls. A chorus sang hymns and there were dancers and musicians. After this, people withdrew from the temple but the feasting probably went on all around the city and far into the night.

Today, the 21s of December, is the longest night here in the Northern hemisphere. I´m not sure to what degree this is visible in Egypt, but there are egyptologists who hold the opinion that the myth "Return of the Goddess" was, at least in the Late Period, celebrating the sun´s return at this time.

At the temple gateway at Medamud there is a hymn. Barbara Lesko says that it was sung at the celebration of HetHert´s return to Egypt from the southeast, where the wintersun rose. This is what it says:

The earliest egyptological sources lie beyond my grasp at present, which is a bit irritating. I have to make do with secondary authors. But they all cite the old guys so I guess I have to be content for now. The old guys are Hermann Junker who was the first one to decipher and write down the inscriptions on some Greco-Roman temple walls, Émile Chassinat, who made a complete documentation and publication of the Dendera temple, and Sylvie Cauville, who has translated the glyphs.

Inscriptions of the myth of the Distant Goddess, or, as it is also called, the myth of the Return of the Eye, can be found on the temple walls of Dendera, Edfu and Dakka. Rundle-Clarke says that "stray allusions make it certain that it was in fact very ancient".

One interesting thing about this, is that in one version of the myth, Djehuty is said to entertain HetHert with animal fables in his efforts to pacify her and make her agree to follow him back to Egypt. These fables have the theme of cosmic justice, one of them is the story called the Lion in Search of Man. It comes from the Leiden Demotic Papyrus I 384 and is published in Lichtheim, Vol III. Lichtheim is of the opinion that the myth about the Return of the Goddess is a narrative frame for these animal fables. I´m not sure I agree though the thought sort of presents a solution to the question of the origin and purpose of the myth. It would be more logical if it actually was a development out of the "Destruction of Mankind" but there´s another problem pertaining to that thought. (See below) Lichtheim gives as a possible reason for the myth being a framework; that animal fables were known since the New Kingdom, as a number of ostraca and illustrated papyrii from this period depicts animals in various human situations, exist. No textual evidence exists however, before the Late Period.

But Why Did She Get Angry With Re?
It is told that HetHert/Tefnut had a quarrel with Re and went off in a huff. One remembers the myth of the Destruction of Mankind and is inclined to think that: "well of course, having been tricked by one´s friends into drink a beastly lot of red beer and having been drunk to the point of falling asleep in the presence of said friends, who wouldn´t be miffed?" But it´s just that this myth tells of HetHert being benign when waking up. Hmmm....

Time periods might give a clue. When talking Egyptian myths it´s probably a good idea to differ between mythical time and linear time. The first one is a time-space continuum where gods live and act, where the universe is created, and where no humans yet appears. Existence seems to be circular, sort of. The second one, linear time, is definitely when humans have entered the stage and the gods have, (or are about to), withdrawn. So, without going into a long and winded explanation about the Eye of Re, let´s say that the myth of HetHert - also called Tefnut in this myth - is played out in the mythical time. That means that the reason for her being angry can´t be dependent on the myth about the Destruction of Mankind, can one? Humans weren´t created yet.

But if it was played out in linear time, then it could very well be so. But it doesn´t have to. For myth is myth after all, and we poor humans can´t sort it out, neither is it probably meant to be sorted out. All we can do, is to try and ponder and interprete, and for every interpretation, we may come a little bit closer to the Essence of the Divine, where no answers are neccessary. Definitively no definite ones *g*.

Ah well. Tomorrow I´ll probably post the profane version of the myth as I see it. :)

Spent some time today looking for sources. Own References sofar with some mentioning of the myth of the Distant Goddess:

The Great Goddesses of Egypt - Lesko, p 124-125
Handbook of Egyptian Mythology - Pinch, p 138
The Ancient Gods Speak - Redford p 159
Temple Festival Calendars - El-Sabban p 181 (Calendar Dendera) Gods of Ancient Egypt - Watterson p 91.

These all give no real sources, they all cite and hint. I´ve also got word that following books might be useful:

Clark, R.T. Rundle. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt.( p 226-227: Bringing back The Eye )
Harris, Geraldine. Gods & Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology.
Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol II The New Kingdom. (Talks of all other myths, but not about the Distant Goddess)
Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Favard-Meeks. Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods. (P 179, Something on Hathor as the Eye, nothing much else)
Pinch, Geraldine. Votive Offerings to Hathor. (Haven´t got that one.
Roberts, Alison. Hathor Rising: The Power of the Goddess in Ancient Egypt. (P 12: Distant Goddess, and more, worth checking closer)

There also exists two books by Cauville, Sylvie, Dendera - I, II, III, IV: Traduction, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, Leuven, Peeters, c. 1998-2001 and Cauville, Sylvie, "Les Inscriptions Dédicatoires de Dendera," in Bullétin de l'Institute Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Tome 90 (1990), pp. 83-114. I have to find out if they are worth getting, being written in French and all.

I have the feeling that he myth about Hathor killing people ("The Destruction of Mankind")which comes from Book of the Heavenly Cow, which was inscribed on certain tomb walls during the NK.:
(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/celestrialcow.htm) is somehow connected to the (apparently) later myth of the Wandering Goddess. They seem to take off from same base: a goddess with a personality switch and a temper.

There are inscriptions at the temple of Dakka in Nubia, which tells of how Hethert is coaxed back to Kemet by Djehuty (Gr: Thoth). He makes promises of festivites, music, dance and wine if she returns.

I´d like to find out why she left in the first place. It only says that she got angry with Re but doesn´t say for what reason.

At this time of the year, we on the Northern Hemisphere go through our darkest period. The solstice can be celebrated on the 21st - 22nd of December and from that point on we move towards spring and light again. As important as Christmas methinks.

As long as there has been humans living here, there has also been some kind of celebration around the Winter solstice, just as there has been some other festival around the Summer solstice. Recently I´ve been trying to find out about the ancient Egyptian myth called the "Return of the Distant One", which tells of how the goddess HetHert (Gr: Hathor) had gone away from the presence of Re, to wander around in her leonine form out in the Nubian desert. It took Djehuty (Gr: Thoth)all his cleverness to coax her back again.