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SUMMARY:The ancient Egyptian personification of the Milky Way as the sky-g
 oddess Nut: an astronomical and cross-cultural analysis - Dr Or Graur
DTSTART:20241119T131000Z
DTEND:20241119T140000Z
UID:TALK224590@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Janet Gibson
DESCRIPTION:The Milky Way’s name and role in ancient Egyptian culture re
 main unclear. One suggestion is that the Milky Way may have been a celesti
 al depiction of the sky goddess Nut. In this work\, I test this associatio
 n using an interdisciplinary approach. \nIn the first part of this paper\,
  I combine astronomical simulations of the ancient Egyptian night sky with
  primary Egyptian sources to map the goddess Nut onto the Milky Way. With 
 her head and groin firmly associated by primary texts with the western and
  eastern horizons\, respectively\, I argue that the summer and winter orie
 ntations of the Milky Way could be construed as figurative markers of Nut
 ’s torso (or backbone) and her arms\, respectively. \nIn the second part
  of this paper\, I situate Nut within the global\, multicultural mythology
  of the Milky Way. Specifically\, I show that Nut’s roles in the afterli
 fe and the autumn bird migration are consistent with similar roles attribu
 ted to the Milky Way by other cultures. Finally\, I show that Nut’s iden
 tification with the Milky Way may even have echoes in contemporary African
  conceptions of the Galaxy.
LOCATION:Richard King room\, Darwin College
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