Canopus Painting: The painting that revealed the secrets of the solar calendar and ancient Egyptian civilization
The Canopus Painting is one of the most important artifacts in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It is a huge stone stela bearing trilingual text: hieroglyphics, demotic and Greek. It was discovered in 1902 in the city of Kom El-Hitan, which is located in the Nile Delta in Egypt.
Why is this painting important? Because it reveals the first solar calendar in history, created by the ancient Egyptians. According to this calendar, a year has 365 days, which is the same number of days in our modern calendar. The Canopus Painting is the oldest witness to this precise calculation of time.
But that is not all. The Canopus Painting also bears a message from King Ptolemy III, who ruled Egypt in the third century BC. In this letter, the king announces his achievements and the establishment of temples and religious ceremonies. It also asks the priests and the people to respect both the Egyptian and Greek gods. He orders this message to be engraved on stone or sheets of bronze in hieroglyphs and Greek and displayed to the public in temples.
The Canopus Painting is therefore a witness to the history and culture of ancient Egypt, and how it was influenced by Greek civilization. It shows us how ancient Egyptians were geniuses in astronomy, agriculture, and engineering. It tells us a story about a king who tried to unite his people under a multicultural empire. It invites us to discover more about the ancient Egyptian civilization, which continues to amaze us with its secrets and legacy.
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