The carved sky of Dendera

Find the great circle in this sandstone relief, then notice the figures supporting it around the outside. Four women and eight falcon-headed figures carry the sky. Even before you recognise a constellation, you can follow that simple idea. The heavens have been given a shape and a set of bearers. This relief once formed part of a ceiling at Dendera in Egypt. It belonged to a chapel of Osiris, a god associated with the afterlife, on the roof of the temple of the goddess Hathor. It was carved around 50 BCE. Imagine the difference between seeing a carved fragment in a gallery and having this ordered sky above you in a sacred building. The small figures inside bring constellations and zodiac signs into the same circular space. You can look for the arrangement before trying to identify every sign. Return to the arms around the edge. They turn the sky into a surface carried by bodies, as it once appeared above people in the temple.