Turtle, the Mysterious of the Sky

Abstract

Turtle was not a sacred animal to the Egyptians, but it occupied an important part of the scenery art in Ancient Egypt. It dwelled the sky by the Early New Kingdom, and acquired a traditional shape represent the animal form itself and forms widespread renovations in the Late and Greco-Roman Periods. This study identifies the specific source for the turtle figures on some distinctive astronomical scenes, shown a complete relation with the depictions of such animal and its consequence in these kinds of scenes; while the best examples of turtle figures have been found on the ceiling of the temples, tombs, inner side of some sarcophagi's lids, galleries, water clock and others. It occupied an important part on the ancient Egyptian astronomical scenes, as a constellation and then one of the 36 decans, and always shown in its natural figurine, without any mythological features (wings, human bodies, other animal bodies, etc.) like many other animals-creatures.