The ancient Egyptian calendar divided the year into 365 days, with twelve months of 30 days each followed by five additional days known as the epagomenal days. The twelve months were grouped into three seasons tied to the agricultural cycle of the Nile: Akhet, the inundation season; Peret, the season of emergence and growth; and Shemu, the harvest season.

Ancient Egypt actually used more than one system of reckoning time, including religious lunar calendars and the better-known 365-day civil calendar. Because the civil calendar originally had no leap year, it slowly moved out of alignment with the solar year, making ancient Egyptian dates more complicated than simply matching each Egyptian month to a modern Gregorian month.

The Ancient Egyptian Calendar: Months, Seasons, and How It Worked

• The first month of the year was Tekh (also known as Thuthi).
• The second month was Menhet (also known as Paopi).
• The third month was called Hwt-Hru (also known as Hethara).
• The fourth month was called Ka-Hr-Ka (also known as Koiak). This was the last month of Inundation or the time of the flood.
• The 5th month of the year was known as Sf-Bdt (also known as Tybi) and marked the second season of the year, the time of Growth.
• The 6th month was called Rekh Wer (also known as Mechir).
• The 7th month was Rekh Neds (also known as Pamenot).
• The 8th month was called Renwet (also known as Parmutit) and it was the last month of the second season.
• The 9th month was called Hnsw (also known as Pachons) and marked the start of the 3rd and final season of the year, the time of the Harvest.
• The 10th month was called Hnt-Htj (also known as Payni).
• The 11th month was called Ipt-Hmt (also known as Epipi).
• The 12th month was called Wep-Renpet.

At the end of the 30th day of the 12th month of the year, began the five epagomenal days, known as heriu renpet. These five special days were dedicated to the five children of Nut – Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis, and Nephthys (in that order).

The ancient Egyptian calendar didn’t match up with our own. Our “January” would be Rekh Wer (also known as Mechir). Even the days don’t match up.

Ancient Egyptian Calendar at a Glance

Our January 1st, in ancient Egyptian times, would be the 17th day of the month of Rekh Wer (Mechir). Our November 18th, in ancient Egyptian times, would be Sf-Bdt 4 (the 4th day of the month of Sf-Bdt), during the season of Peret. Our July 19th would be the ancient Egyptian month of Tekh 1 (or the 1st day of the month of Tekh).

Each month in Ancient Egyptian times was dedicated to a different God or Goddess.

1. Tekh was dedicated to Thoth
2. Menhet was dedicated to Ptah.
3. Hwt-Hru was dedicated to Hathor.
4. Ka-Hr-Ka was dedicated to Sekhmet.
5. Sf-Bdt was dedicated to Min.
6. Rekh Wer was dedicated to Rehkur (Sacred to (Rekeh) Heru-wer the Great Fire God, He who is in the sky – aka Horus the elder)
7. Rekh Neds was dedicated to Amun-RA.
8. Renwet was dedicated to Renenutet (Rnnwtt/Pharmuthi. Sacred to Rennutet, the snake Goddess of granaries, fertility, nourishment, and good harvests.)
9. Hnsw was dedicated to Khonsu.  (Sacred to Khonsu/Khensu the falcon-headed moon God who is the decider of the life span, also the God of time, knowledge, healing, and giver of oracles.)
10. Hnt-Htj was dedicated to Horus.
11. Ipt-Hmt was dedicated to Madjet. (Ipt Hmt/Ipip/Epiphi(Epipy).
    Sacred to the God Ipt/Apt-Tauire, referenced in the Book of the Am-Tuat his hands and arms are concealed.)
12. Wep-Renpet was dedicated to Thoth.

Much of the information used in this ancient Egyptian calendar was originally drawn from Bob Brier’s book, Ancient Egyptian Magic, which includes his discussion and translation of what is commonly known as the Cairo Calendar. A later modern adaptation appears in Ellen Cannon Reed’s Circle of Isis, which builds upon earlier interpretations and presents the calendar in a form adapted for modern readers using additional research and later scholarship.

Why the Egyptian Calendar Drifted

One of the most unusual features of the ancient Egyptian calendar was that it slowly moved out of alignment with the natural seasons. The Egyptian civil year contained exactly 365 days, while the true solar year is approximately 365.25 days long.

That difference of roughly one-quarter of a day may seem insignificant, but it accumulated over time. Because the Egyptian civil calendar originally had no leap day to correct for the difference, the calendar drifted by approximately one full day every four years.

Over decades and centuries, this meant that important calendar dates gradually occurred at different times of the solar year. Egyptian New Year, for example, did not remain permanently tied to the same season or the same modern calendar date.

After roughly 1,460 years, often rounded to about 1,500 years, the Egyptian civil calendar would move through an entire solar-year cycle and return to approximately its original seasonal position. This long period is commonly associated with what scholars call the Sothic cycle, named for Sothis, the Greek name for the star Sirius.

The drift is also why ancient Egyptian dates cannot simply be assigned permanent equivalents on the modern Gregorian calendar. A date such as the first day of Akhet might correspond to one part of the solar year during one historical period and a noticeably different part of the year centuries later.

The Sothic Cycle and Sirius

The ancient Egyptians paid close attention to the night sky, and few stars were more important than Sirius, the brightest star visible from Earth. The Egyptians associated Sirius with the goddess Sopdet, later known to the Greeks as Sothis, and its annual appearance in the dawn sky became closely connected with the beginning of the Egyptian year and the coming inundation of the Nile.

For part of the year, Sirius disappears from the night sky because of its position relative to the Sun. Its first visible appearance shortly before sunrise after this period of absence is known as its heliacal rising. In ancient Egypt, the heliacal rising of Sirius occurred near the time when the Nile began its annual flood, making the star an important astronomical and seasonal marker.

The relationship between Sirius and the Egyptian civil calendar became especially significant because the 365-day calendar slowly drifted through the solar year. While the heliacal rising of Sirius remained tied to the natural solar cycle, the date assigned to it within the Egyptian civil calendar gradually shifted by approximately one day every four years.

Eventually, however, the drifting calendar would complete an entire cycle and once again place the heliacal rising of Sirius on approximately the same calendar date. This period of roughly 1,460 Egyptian civil years is known as the Sothic cycle, named after Sothis, the Greek name for Sirius.

The Sothic cycle has been particularly important to modern Egyptologists because ancient Egyptian texts occasionally record the heliacal rising of Sirius on specific calendar dates. Scholars have used these references, together with other archaeological and historical evidence, in attempts to establish dates within ancient Egyptian chronology.

The connection between Sirius, the Nile flood, and the beginning of the year also reveals how closely Egyptian timekeeping was tied to the natural world. The calendar was not simply a way to count days. It reflected the rhythms of the river, agriculture, the heavens, and Egyptian religious beliefs, all of which helped shape how the ancient Egyptians understood the passage of time.

Egyptian New Year: Wepet Renpet

The ancient Egyptian New Year was known as Wepet Renpet, meaning “Opening of the Year.” It marked the beginning of a new annual cycle and the first season of the Egyptian calendar, Akhet, the season associated with the inundation of the Nile.

The beginning of the year was closely connected with ideas of renewal, rebirth, and the restoration of order. The annual flooding of the Nile renewed Egypt’s agricultural land by depositing fertile silt along the riverbanks, making the start of Akhet a natural symbol of regeneration and the return of life.

Wepet Renpet was also associated with the appearance of Sirius, known to the Egyptians as Sopdet and later to the Greeks as Sothis. The heliacal rising of Sirius occurred near the beginning of the Nile inundation during certain periods of Egyptian history, linking the star, the flood, and the opening of the year in Egyptian religious and astronomical tradition.

However, the Egyptian civil calendar contained only 365 days and originally had no leap year. Because of this, the official calendar slowly drifted away from the true solar year, meaning that Wepet Renpet did not remain permanently fixed to the heliacal rising of Sirius or to a single modern Gregorian date.

This is an important distinction when comparing the ancient Egyptian calendar with our own. Although modern reconstructions may assign Wepet Renpet to a specific date, the actual date of Egyptian New Year relative to the seasons changed gradually over the centuries.

Wepet Renpet was more than a convenient date on a calendar. The beginning of a new year carried religious significance and was associated with renewal, divine order, kingship, and the hope that Egypt would once again experience a successful flood, abundant crops, and prosperity.

The phrase itself reflects this idea of renewal. Rather than simply describing the first day of a numbered year, Wepet Renpet represented the opening of a new cycle, when the rhythms of the Nile, the heavens, agriculture, and Egyptian religious life began again.