In Ancient Egypt, celestial bodies were held in high regard. However, the Milky Way, also known as our galaxy, has not been thoroughly explored in the context of Egyptian cosmology.
According to a new analysis, the spiral galaxy with a bar where our Solar System resides may have served several mythological functions for the ancient Egyptians. Specifically, it could have acted as a ladder to the underworld and a guide for migratory birds, as reported by IFLScience.
In his new study, astrophysicist Dr. Or Graur from the University of Portsmouth (UK) proposed a theory suggesting that the Egyptians identified the Milky Way with the sky goddess Nut. This goddess is often depicted as a star-studded woman arching over the Earth to protect it from the terrifying waters of the abyss. According to the “Book of Nut,” also known as “The Foundations of the Course of the Stars,” the primary role of this celestial woman was to give birth to the Sun each morning before swallowing it in the evening.
To make this task easier, Nut is depicted bending with her head to the west and her back to the east. However, the Milky Way changes its position in the sky throughout the year, moving from east to west during the summer months and from north to south in winter. This discrepancy raised doubts about the idea that Nut could be equated with our galaxy. Nevertheless, after reviewing numerous burial papyri from ancient Egyptian tombs, Mr. Graur identified several images of Nut with her arms positioned at a 45-degree angle to her body.
This pose allows the sky goddess to monitor the various directions of the Milky Way throughout the year. Therefore, it can be suggested that she could very well embody our galaxy. Dr. Graur explained that “in winter, the Milky Way outlines Nut’s arms, while in the summer months, it outlines her torso (or spine).”
Searching for Evidence in Other Cultures
In search of additional evidence linking Nut to the Milky Way, the study’s author focused on the similarities between her role in ancient Egyptian mythology and that in other ancient cultures around the world. According to one Egyptian text found in a tomb, Nut is described as a “stairway” that the souls of the deceased ascend to enter the afterlife. This resonates with the role of the Milky Way in the mythology of North American Indigenous peoples.
“Many Native American tribes in North America view the Milky Way as a road that the spirits of the dead travel to the afterlife,” noted Or Graur. He mentioned that the Lakota tribe refers to the Milky Way as Wanaï Tachanaku, which translates to the road of spirits that the tribe’s deceased follow to the heavens.
Similarly, “the dead Yucatec Maya travel along the Milky Way at night.” In this context, the dark band of the Great Rift in the Milky Way is seen as a pathway leading directly to the underworld.
Another excerpt from the “Book of Nut” describes how, on the eve of each winter, birds appear from the northern side of the goddess, migrating south from Europe to Africa. While this fragment may not be enough to prove Nut’s identity with the Milky Way, the connection becomes clearer when considering associations between it and bird migration in other Indigenous cultures.
“This connection still exists today in the name given to the galaxy by Finland, Estonia, and several other Baltic countries – ‘Bird Path’ (for example, Linnunrata in Finnish or Paukšcių Takas in Lithuanian),” Dr. Graur pointed out.
Thus, the scientist’s discovery sheds new light on the mystery of Nut and her connection to the Milky Way. The results of the study were published in The Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.