Poole, Reginald S.: Horae Aegypticae: or, the chronology of ancient Egypt: discovered from astronomical and hieroglyphic records upon its monuments, including many dates found in coeval inscriptions from the period of the building of the Great Pyramid to the times of the Persians ; and illustrations of the history of the first nineteen dynasties, shewing the order of their succession, from the monuments (London, 1851)

60

SOTHIS AND SMAT.

[Part I.

mence with that of Smat. Thus I obtain the following-
order of commencements of successive G. P. Y.'s.

The custom of the ancient Egyptians in chronology
was to stop short, rather than to exceed, when they
were obliged to do either the one or the other, as we
see (for example) in the case of the Vague Year and its
divisions. The necessity of their doing so in the pre-
sent instance is also shown by the Division of the
G. P. M.; for it was obviously desirable that each
G. P. Y. should consist of an exact number of these
periods. Therefore it was most natural that they should
make their G. P. Y. to consist alternately of 364^ and
366 Julian years, and the first G. P. Y. to be of the
former length. This mode of division would make the
mean length of the G. P. Y. to be 365^ Julian years,
and would fulfil all the conditions required by the
several data upon which this inquiry is based.

We see, therefore, that the Great Panegyrical Year
was alternately 364^ and 366 Julian years in length,
thus having a mean length of 365^ Julian years, and
being evidently regarded by the Egyptians as strictly
analogous to the Julian Year, which contained 365^
solar periods; and that it commenced with the mani-
festation of either Sothis or Smat; that the Great
Panegyrical Month contained thirty Julian years, and

1 with the manifestation of Sothis.

Sothis.

Smat.

Smat.