The Eye of Horus

 

    The Egyptian eye is one of the most recognizable symbols of ancient Egyptian culture. The eye is a common motif in Egyptian art, jewelry, and sculpture, among other cultural artifacts. The eye is referred to be the "all-seeing eye" in Egyptian religion and culture, and it frequently stands both protection and wisdom. Especially, The Eye of Horus is associated with healing and wisdom.

    According to the Eye of Horus myth, Horus’s left eye was shattered into six pieces during the fight with his uncle Set over the Egyptian throne, but it is said that Thoth healed his left eye with magical power. Hence, the Eye of Horus now represents the wholeness which I found very interesting. The six components of the Eye of Horus, which represent the six pieces of Horus's broken eye, were also used as a system of measurement. The most intriguing point of the Eye of Horus is that each of the six pieces represents both a different unit fraction and a human sense. Specifically, the unit fractions (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64) were used to represent the fractions of hekat, the unit measure of grain capacity, and they were all powers of two in their denominators. Also, this method was utilized by the ancient Egyptians to generate more complicated fractions. Interestingly, the sum of all the fractions is not 1, but rather 63/64. The exceptional 1/64 might have been a reminder of Thoth's power that restored Horus' eye. “The Egyptians also believed it was not possible to attain perfection in anything and the missing part of the fraction may have alluded to this concept.” () Additionally, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 represent the sense of smell, sight, thought, hearing, taste, and touch, respectively. Overall, I found it very interesting to know how mathematics and Egyptian myth are linked to the story of the Eye of Horus.

    There are examples in my life of numbers that have special meaning relevant to my birth. “960221-2xxxxxx” was my resident registration number in Korea. The six digits in front of the resident registration number mean that I was born on February 21, 1996, and the following numbers mean my gender, residential area, etc. Also, 4 and 46 mean the hour and minute I was born. They are very meaningful numbers in that my mother still remembers the exact time I was born which make me feel valued.

 

References

Geller. (2016). Eye of Horus. Mythology. net

https://mythology.net/egyptian/egyptian-concepts/eye-of-horus/#:~:text=The%20Eye%20of%20Horus%20was%20also%20used%20as,used%20this%20method%20to%20create%20more%20complex%20fractions.


Comments

  1. Amanda FritzlanNovember 9, 2022 at 12:08 PM

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  2. Amanda FritzlanNovember 9, 2022 at 12:10 PM

    Julie, it is fascinating how the Eye of Horus connects mathematics, belief, and health! I appreciate you pointing out that the missing fraction may have alluded to the impossibility of perfection or wholeness in the earthly realm. Thank you for sharing some of your important numbers. The story about the time of your birth is lovely.

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