Interesting Findings of The Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus, also called “Wedjat”, is an ancient symbol which represents protection, health, and rejuvenation, according to Ancient Origins.  In ancient Egyptian myth, Horus was the sky god.  His right eye was associated with the sun god Ra and his left eye was associated with the moon god Djehuti.  One version explained that Horus lost his left eye in the battle with his uncle, while another version said that “he gouged his eye out as a sacrifice to bring his father back from the dead” (Dhwty, 2018).   In both cases, Horus was able to restore his eye magically.  In ancient Egypt, people usually used Eye of Horus as funerary amulet.  Even today, many Mediterranean fishermen still paint it on their fishing boats for protection.

Not only the myth behind the Eye of Horus was fascination, its mathematical implications associated with Egyptian’s unit fraction and different senses are interesting.  In ancient Egypt, fractions were written in the format of unit fraction.  It is believed that the 6 parts of the Horus’ left eye represent different unit fraction:

the right side of the eye = ½                      associated with sense of smell

the pupil = ¼                                              associated with sight

the eyebrow = 1/8                                      represents thought

the left side of the eye = 1/16                    represents hearing

the curved tail = 1/32                                 represents food

the teardrop = 1/64                                     represents sense of touch

However, this theory has been proved to be incorrect in the 1970s.  Another interesting thing was that Egyptian unit fraction can be convenient when dividing items into equal shares.

Are there examples in your life or in the life of those around you of numbers that have special meanings or are connected to stories?

For Chinese, numbers are often associated with luck, health, fortune etc.  For example, number 5 represents a good luck, 6 represents a smooth life, 8 represents having lots of money.  On the other hand, 7 means angry,18 represents the hell.  These representations came from superstitious beliefs from the old days and were honored by the older generations.  The pronunciation of these numbers often associate with Chinese characters which have the above meanings.  In addition, many Chinese also link their birth dates to fortune.  For example, if a boy was born on a date associated with number 5, 2 or 8, and a girl was born on a date associated with numbers of 3,6, and 9, then they are considered to be lucky persons and will have very healthy and wealthy lives.  I guess that was one of the reasons for me to marry my husband who was born on a date with all the lucky numbers.  It proved to be false!!! (Just joking!)

Reference

Dhwty. (2018). Eye of Horus: The True Meaning of an Ancient, Powerful Symbol. Ancient

Origins. Retrieved from

https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/eye-horus-0011014