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epagomenal days are included in this set of 11 names. In this view, the 48 divinities are those required to divide the lunar year into four parts by lunar phase, and the last 11 represent the adjustment of the lunar year to the civil year. If this idea is correct, the 59 deities are a graphic representation of the duality of the lunarcivil year. |
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9.2.1.5
The Civil Calendar Implemented |
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The ancient Egyptian calendar implemented by SCDTL is the civil calendar. See the SCDTL text on the CD for discussion of the code. |
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The Coptic calendar is the second of the Egyptian calendars considered in this section. |
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In this section, I discuss the Coptic calendar and provide some background material that may not be familiar to many readers. |
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9.2.2.1.1
Structural Details |
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Structurally, the Coptic calendar is very similar to the ancient Egyptian civil calendar from which it was derived. |
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The Coptic calendar consists of 12 months, each of 30 days, plus an epagomenal period of five days, just like the ancient Egyptian calendar. It differs from that calendar, however, by including an additional intercalary day at the end of the year, according to a leap year rule. This rule is essentially the Julian rule, except that the leap year occurs in the third, not fourth, year of the four-year cycle. |
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9.2.2.1.2
Historical Background |
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This section briefly introduces some material that positions the calendar historically, since the Copts are not well known to many readers. |
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9.2.2.1.2.1
Summary of Coptic History |
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The term Copt comes from the Arabic word qubt, from the Greek Aigyptios, meaning Egyptian. The Coptic language became a written language in the first century A.D. and borrowed its letters from the written language most common in Egypt at the time, which was Greek. |
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The Copts are a people, the descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt. Their language is the direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language as it was spoken in the time of Ikhnaton (about 1370 B.C.). The language was the native spoken language of Egypt from the first century A.D. until the seventh century A.D. |
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