Everyone's Favorite Math Subject - Fractions

As we saw with numbers, the Egyptian had glyphs to represent fractions. The symbol is portions of the eye broken into representative sections. (For the previous discussion about eyes you can go back to this post and read about them.) Suffice to say that there are some disagreements over time whether this eye is the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra or the Wadjet or none of these between the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom. For the sake of this discussion I am just going to call it an eye instead of trying to decide what time period is right to use or what word would be right.

The Eye fractions as presented at
The First International Conference on Ancient Egyptian Science .
Since this illustration it has been suggested that the eyebrow stroke is 1/8.

Looking at it in pieces we can imagine writing a fraction. The Egyptians did not write fractions the same way we do. All Egyptian fractions are one over some number with the exception of 2/3. We'll leave 2/3 for later. Right now we will focus on how an Egyptian might write other fractions.

For example:
We would write 3/4 where an Egyptian would write the glyphs for 1/4 and 1/2 together to show 3/4.
If we write 3/8 the Egyptians would write 1/4 and 1/8 together.

It might seem clunky at first but even very complex fractions could be quite beautiful. Most standards leave the sections in the place of the eye form. So our Egyptian 3/8 would be a brow and pupil drawn in the normal placement. To get a better idea here are all of the pieces in the standard places.

Another set of fraction symbols exist in the Egyptian set of glyphs. These glyphs were used at the same time as the Eye glyphs were.

The final thing about fractions is conversions. The Egyptians used conversions and fractions particularly in food related topics such as grain but have been found related to other subjects. These conversions would be very similar to modern conversions between different units. I will discuss more about conversions in another post when the topic of geometry is at hand.

Confessions 21-25

Confession 21. O He-Who-Sees-What-He-Has-Brought who came forth from the House of Min, I have not (wrongly) copulated.
The god here is Khnum. He is a companion of the god Min in creation of life and fertility. Khnum is also often worshiped in temples dedicated to Min. The title refers to his formation of human bodies on his potter's wheel. He is the first to see what comes into being.The confession itself is most likely rape. Though with the Egyptian codes being settled in full disclosure and honesty it could also be read as not coercing anyone into sexual activity as well.

Confession 22. O Looker who comes forth from Per-Amsu, I have not polluted myself.
 Again we are talking about the Temple of Min (Per-Amsu). The looker is probably Min himself. I have not polluted myself  references a Egyptian thought on behavior and conduct. When a person acts in a manner that is against Ma'at those actions mar the heart forever. This is the pollution of self most likely referred to in this confession.

Confession 23. O He-Who-is-Over-the-Great-Ones who came forth from Amemt, I have not struck terror.
Amemt is a reference to Ammit or the place in which she lives. He who came forth from Ammit would be Anubis who in some myths cares for or is a companion to Ammit. Who is Over the Great Ones is Anubis' ability to resurrect through mummification.  I have not struck terror is fairly obvious. It means not terrorizing, bullying, harassing or otherwise using fear against others. 

Tomb depictions of the goddess Wadjet (Uadjet)
not to be confused with the Wadjet Eye of Ra/Horus.

Confession 24. O Demolisher who came forth from Kesiu, I have not committed offense.
Kensiu may be the city Per-Wadjet or a city close by. This was the area sacred to Wadjet. She was the serpent goddess who recorded history and decorated the pharaonic crown. Committing offense here is more about forgetting one's manners or etiquette. It is important to remember this is purposeful disregard. Accidentally using the wrong spoon in a formal dinner is not an offense unless of course it was done on purpose.

25. O Proclaimer of Speech who came forth from Weryt, I have not been hot.
Weryt means "The great lady". The Proclaimer of Speech who came forth from the great lady could be any number of gods or goddesses. Though, the title Weryt with the spelling given in glyphs is a name of Hathor. If we define coming forth as birthed by it limits the choices. This narrows down our choices to Ity, god of music or Hat Mehit, goddess/wife of diplomacy. Given that this Confession is about controlling one's temper, to me, Hat Mehit makes the most sense as the goddess who would be the "Proclaimer of Speech" and related to controlling one's temper.

Whose Eye is this anyway?

The Egyptian eye is probably one of the most widely recognized Egyptian symbols. From the fancy make-up and tattoos to the amulets in the museum the icon has become a widespread image. Sometimes we see it called the Eye of Ra and others, the Eye of Horus.

Like most people, for years I was confused about what this symbol actually was. It was so often that both illustrations looked exactly the same and heads or tails couldn't be made for when to tell them apart. In fact, if you do a google search the exact same images will come up for the "Eye of Ra" and the "Eye of Horus". It took me many years, almost 20 now, to get to the bottom of this mess about which one is which. Just this past year I found a text, both a translation and images of the original Papyrus of Turin, that told me once and for all what the difference was.

Before we get into how to resolve this problem of determining what is and is not whose eye we can start by talking about those things we do know. There are times in mythology and writing where one of these eyes is referred to and not the other.

The Eye of Ra
The Eye of Ra is defined universally as several things that are never given the name Eye of Horus. These include the goddesses. Sekhmet, Hathor and Bastet are often given the name Eye of Ra and associated with the symbol. When we see these goddesses and the eye symbol we can be certain that this is in fact the Eye of Ra. The Eye of Ra is also a common theme in creation myths to light up the water of Nun. The eye of Ra can be shown alone or as a pair.

The Eye of Horus
Horus, and that is Horus the Elder brother of Set and not Horus the Child, had his eye ripped out by Set in the first battle that Set waged against his family. This eye was then healed by Thoth or sometimes Isis depending on the version of the myth you are actually reading.
........But wait, there is actually a second Eye of Horus. Set must have a tendency for eye removal as some myths state that he also removes the eye of Horus the Child just before the other gods tell them enough fighting and force them to go to trial. The eye of Horus, no matter the Horus, is almost always a single eye and usually a right one.

..........AND then the Egyptian make it exceedingly complicated.
A god named Re-Horakhty or Ra-Horakhty, if you like, comes on the scene. This god is a merger of Ra and Horus, the child in this case. Now whose eye is it? Is it the Eye of Horus? The Eye of Ra? Do we have a third Eye of Ra-Horakhty? How do we figure out what to call the eye associated with this god?

There is an explanation!
Until just last year I would have been sitting there scratching my head just as most people do when faced with this conundrum of eyes. I told you that I had found a myth from a papyrus that clears this up once and for all. The myth is a common one telling the story of how Isis used magic and trickery to force Ra to divulge his true and secret name. Most of the versions of this myth Isis only asks for Ra's name. However, in some versions, such as the 20th dynasty one in the Papyrus of Turin, Isis adds another stipulation that Ra give Horus his eyes as well or die in agony. The writer of this myth even states that there after the Eyes of Ra are called the Eyes of Horus by men. EUREKA! There seems to be an answer, that though we call it the Eye of Horus all of the eyes are actually Ra's.

There is one loose end though. What about the eye of Horus the Elder? This eye is named in a few myths but the Eye of Horus the Elder is rarely, exceedingly rarely, used outside of the mythology of his battle with Set. Usually, we are looking at amulets, artwork or tattoos designed for protection. The Eye of Horus the Elder is never given the attributes of protection so we can usually rule that name out for items that are designed to give protection. If we are picking up an eye to use as a religious item it has to be either Ra or Horus the Child whom that eye belongs to.

The question remains do we call it the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra? Honestly, it can be either. The Eye of Ra is the original form, the owner of the eyes and reference to either Bastet and/or Sekhmet/Hathor. We could use the Eye of Horus as well but it comes with the mythology of these eyes truly being the stolen property of Ra. Though, occasionally we can use the Eye of Horus as the one Set removes but having your eye plucked out hardly sounds like an image of protection to me. It is an interesting set of mythology.



If you want to read a translation of this myth check out Legends of Ancient Egypt by M.A. Murray.