Until now, no one had ever found a sign of the zodiac encoded in Egyptian rock art. But that has all changed, as scholars from Macquarie University in Australia have identified an ancient Egyptian petroglyph in the village of el-Hosh that features a depiction of the creature who represents the zodiac sign Capricornus, a mythical animal with the front quarters of a goat and the body of a fish.
In an article just published in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Dr. Linda Evans and Dr. Frederick Hardtke present the results of their analysis of this intriguing Egyptian petroglyph that had never been identified before. It was discovered by Dr. Hardtke while he was doing fieldwork in Upper Egypt.
“The goat-fish was found in a locality of el-Hosh, which hosts a large number of petroglyphs and texts, much of it Predynastic, but also material from the Graeco-Roman and Islamic periods,” the archaeologist said in an interview published by Phys.org. “The goat-fish was found adjacent to another extremely unusual image of what we believe to be a chameleon. These two taken together make the panel that they are on rather enigmatic.”
Dr. Hardtke recognized the carvings as animals, but was not able to identify them at first. He then showed them to Dr. Evans, and after examining them for a while she thought the image that turned out to be the goat-fish looked familiar.
“We had described it in an earlier paper as a mythical animal, but after a bit of digging, I realized that it resembled the goat-fish, after which I began to research its history and meaning as an astrological sign,” she said.
Tracing that shows what the Capricornus petroglyph at el-Hosh, Egypt depicts. (Linda Evans, Fred Hardtke, Wouter Claes/Journal of Egyptian Archaeology).
“The Egyptians didn’t create hybrid animals willy-nilly; instead, they drew together the features of animals that shared certain qualities, such as the Seth animal, which combines the physical features of a range of aggressive predators to create a truly powerful being,” she continued. “The el-Hosh creature also resembles the zodiac goat-fish so closely that we felt it is more likely the latter than evidence of a new type of hybrid animal.”
When the Signs of the Zodiac Conquered the Ancient World
The first depictions of Capricornus have been traced to ancient Mesopotamia, where it was identified on cylindrical seals dating to the years 2112 through 2004 BC. It was associated with the Sumerian god Enki and the Akkadian equivalent Ea, who were seen as manifestations of the stars that comprise the constellation we know today as Capricorn.
In Mesopotamia the stars and planets were believed to have an influence on events on earth and on the lives of individual people, and from these ideas the concept of the zodiac that underlies astrology was born.
Live shot of night sky featuring the constellation Capricorn in outline. (Till Credner/CC BY-SA 3.0).
The earliest horoscopes, customized for people based on the zodiac constellation that was most prominent in the sky at their time of birth, appeared around 420 BC. From Mesopotamia the interest in horoscopes gradually spread across the ancient world, apparently reaching Egypt by around 300 BC.
The earliest indication of an Egyptian interest in the zodiac came during the Greek Ptolemaic period, when the signs of the zodiac were added to the ceilings of temples. The same type of imagery became even more common during the Roman era, when the signs of the zodiac, including Capricornus, could be found decorating tombs, coffin lids, ceilings in various buildings, and even coins.
It is believed that the petroglyph associated with Capricornus was created during the Greco-Roman period, given the fact that it was the Greeks and Romans who introduced this symbol (along with other astrological symbols) to Egypt at this time. Notably, the depiction of Capricornus featured a straight tail, and this suggests it was carved before the second century BC when Greek influence was predominant. The Roman version of the symbol included a looped tail, and this began to show up in figures of the goat-fish creature at the beginning of that century.
Adding further weight to the assumption that the goat-fish petroglyph was created between 200 and 300 BC is the fact that rock art made at that time often included Greco-Roman (and particularly Greek) motifs.
“During this period, we might find Greek inscriptions with names and dedications to gods, etc.” Dr. Hardtke explained. “Occasionally, there are examples of figural depictions of gods and animals along with texts.”
Making a Conclusive Case for a Historic First
There is of course no way to interpret the motivations of the glyph maker. They could have been someone who was born under the sign of Capricornus, or they may have just liked the way the mythical animal looked. The petroglyph that resembles a chameleon is located very close to the goat-fish, and given the stylistic similarities it seems likely that the same person created both art works.
Petroglyph of creature believed to be a chameleon, found at el-Hosh, Egypt. (Linda Evans, Fred Hardtke, Wouter Claes/Journal of Egyptian Archaeology).
Ancient art that depicts mythical animals or imaginary creatures is always open to some degree of interpretation. One person’s bear with a lion’s head could be another person’s deer with a jackel’s head, and so on. But the Macquarie University scholars believe that the time, place, and characteristics of the figures in the two petroglyphs clinches the case they are making.
“Following a review of the symbol’s development in Egypt, in which its occurrence on ceilings, coffins, and coins was examined, we are confident that the petroglyph depicts Capricornus and that it was most likely produced during the Graeco-Roman Period,” the study authors wrote in the conclusion of their Journal of Egyptian Archaeology article. “Furthermore, as the figure is related stylistically to a nearby petroglyph of a chameleon, an equally unique subject for Egyptian rock art, the latter can now be dated more firmly to the same era.”
Top image: Petroglyph at el-Hosh, Egypt that shows what appears to be a goat-fish creature.
Source: Linda Evans, Fred Hardtke, Wouter Claes/Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
By Nathan Falde