The Milky Way and the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Sky

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• Or Graur, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, University of Portsmouth Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation
• Tuesday 06 May 2025, 11:30-12:30
• Hoyle Lecture Theatre, IoA .

If you have a question about this talk, please contact .

The ancient Egyptians left us some of the earliest records of the night sky, where they noted the Sun, Moon, planets, and several constellations. Many of these objects are associated with – or personified by – certain gods (such as Re and the Sun). Yet how the Egyptians conceptualized the Milky Way remains unclear. In my talk, I will focus on the popular suggestion that the Milky Way was a manifestation of Nut, the Egyptian goddess of the sky. I have tested this theory by combining astronomical simulations of the Egyptian night sky, readings of ancient Egyptian religious texts (the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of Nut), ancient Egyptian material culture (coffins, funerary papyri, and tomb murals), and anthropological studies of Milky Way creation stories from around the world. I will show how Nut’s depictions changed over the course of Egyptian history and present the first visual evidence for the Milky Way in ancient Egyptian art. I will conclude by arguing that the Milky Way was not a manifestation of Nut but one more astronomical phenomenon that graced her body in her role as the goddess of the sky.

Or Graur is an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. Alongside his observational studies of supernovae and tidal disruption events, Or studies the multicultural mythology of the Milky Way. In this talk, he will present the results of three papers he has written on the subject of the ancient Egyptian Milky Way.

If you have a question about this talk please contact: or.graur@port.ac.uk

This talk is part of the Institute of Astronomy Extra Talks series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• Hoyle Lecture Theatre, IoA
• Institute of Astronomy Extra Talks
• Institute of Astronomy Talk Lists

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