Time
The Egyptians divided their year (rnpt) into 365 days (hrw). The Egyptian calendar had 12 months (abd) of 30 days each, plus 5 epagomenal days.
They divided their year into 3 seasons, named Akhet, Peret and Shemu. Akhet was the season of inundation. Peret was the season which saw the emergence of life after the inundation. The season of Shemu was named after the low water and included harvest time.
| Name | Egyptian name | Equivalent Egyptian values | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hour |
|
1 day = 24 hours | ||||||
| day |
|
1 day = 1/30 month = 24 hours | ||||||
| month |
|
1 month = 30 days | ||||||
| Inundation season |
|
Akhet = 4 months = 120 days | ||||||
| Emergence season |
|
Peret = 4 months = 120 days | ||||||
| Harvest season |
|
Shemu = 4 months = 120 days | ||||||
| year |
|
1 year = 365 days |
The introduction of equal length hours occurred in 127 BC. The Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemaeus introduced the division of the hour into 60 minutes in the second century AD.
Read more about this topic: Ancient Egyptian Units Of Measurement
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