GOLDEN CALF

ECLIPSE
"The Apis, they say, is the animate image of Osiris, and he comes into being when a fructifying
light thrusts forth from the moon and falls upon a cow in her breeding-season… There are some
who would make the legend an allegorical reference to matters touching eclipses; for the Moon
suffers eclipses only when she is full, with the Sun directly opposite to her, and she falls into the
shadow of the Earth, as they say Osiris fell into his coffin. Then again, the Moon herself obscures
the Sun and causes solar eclipses…"1

Plutarch here directly links the myths surrounding the Apis bull or calf with the phenomenon of
solar eclipses. This introduces a new and unexplored dimension to the meanings that have been
attached to the worship of the Apis. Solar eclipses seem to be almost entirely absent from
Egyptology and yet in this text from Plutarch they are linked to the vitally important deity of the
Apis.
According to Plutarch the Apis was the embodiment of the spirit of Osiris and was born as a calf
from a cow that had been inseminated by a beam of light that had come from the moon. "The
Apis, they say, is the animate image of Osiris, and he comes into being when a fructifying light
thrusts forth from the moon and falls upon a cow in her breeding-season."

Plutarch's description of the birth of the Apis corresponds with that of Herodotus except that
the inseminating beam of light is likened in some translations to a flash of lightning. Other
translations describe a beam of light that descends from heaven and impregnates the cow with
the Apis calf.

"The Apis Bull is the calf of a cow which is never able to have another. The Egyptians believe
that a beam of light strikes the cow from heaven, and thus causes her to conceive the Apis. It
has distinctive marks. It is black, with a white diamond on its forehead, the image of an eagle on
its back, two white hairs on its tail and a scarab beetle mark under its tongue." 2

In Egyptian myth the scarab beetle was an aspect of Ra - the sun god. The myth that the scarab-
headed deity named Khepri rolled the sun across the arc of the sky drew inspiration from a
beetle rolling a ball of dung. The dark orb that is rolled across the face of the moon or the sun
during an eclipse is visually evocative of the action of the scarab beetle. An eagle, implying
flight, and the scarab beetle, symbolizing the sun, are therefore consistent with an association
between the Apis and an eclipse.

The consistent reference to the cow being struck with lightning or a beam of light from heaven
is a clear metaphorical device to implant the idea that it was inseminated by the gods. Plutarch
goes further than this to directly imply that the legends surrounding the birth of the Apis are
related to eclipses of both the moon and the sun. "There are some who would make the legend
an allegorical reference to matters touching eclipses…"
The beam of light that Plutarch describes as coming from the moon is equivalent to the beam of
light that is emitted during a total solar eclipse just before and just after totality. As the moon
covers the sun a narrow beam of light is seen before and after the corona appears. In a sense
the beam could be imagined as coming from the moon. Herodotus states that "a beam of light
descends from the sky" striking the cow and impregnating her with the Apis calf.

The diamond mark on the forehead of the Apis is also consistent with the period just before and
after totality in a solar eclipse. The 'diamond ring' effect occurs as a diamond-shaped shaft of
light appears on the edge of the black orb as the sun enters or emerges from the darkness of
totality.

A cuneiform tablet termed the 'Assyrian Chronicle' records an eclipse over Assyria that has been
identified as corresponding to the eclipse of June 15, 763 BC. "Revolt in the citadel; in (the
month) Siwan, the Sun had an eclipse." This eclipse has been matched chronologically to the
eclipse in the biblical book of Amos. "'And on that day,' says the Lord God, 'I will make the Sun
go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.'"3

Plutarch's description of the Apis and the connection with eclipses throws new light on the
biblical Golden Calf. The Golden Calf is an inheritance from the Egytian worship of the Apis and
would therefore inevitably have been infused with the same symbolism as the Apis calf.

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of
Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them
and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and
have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'" 4

The proposition that this biblical text documents a real event is reinforced by the confirmation
that there was a total solar eclipse over the land of Canaan within the approximate timeframe
given for Aaron's life. Aaron, as the officiating priest, is central to the biblical narrative. "And the
LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made." 5

According to NASA data a total solar eclipse over the region occurred on 14th July 1406 BC
(1405 BC without the dating adjustment). Total solar eclipses are important catalysts in inspiring
myths and religious upheavals due to their awe-inspiring nature. This ground-breaking quality is
usually not evident in partial or annular eclipses.

Condemnation of the worship of the Golden Calf is a foundational tenet of the Judeo-Christian
and Islamic religions. From this condemnation arises many of the prohibitions against idol
worship which are still resonating today especially in regard to the depiction of Muhammad.
The importance given to this worship in the scriptural texts suggests that there must be an
element of truth in the biblical legend of the Golden Calf.

This proposition is supported by the total solar eclipse over Canaan that occurred in 1406 BC.
The new ability to scientifically date historical solar eclipse events throws a beam of illuminating
light on the legend of the Golden Calf.

"There are some who would make the legend (of the Apis) an allegorical reference to matters
touching eclipses; for the Moon suffers eclipses only when she is full, with the Sun directly
opposite to her, and she falls into the shadow of the Earth, as they say Osiris fell into his coffin.
Then again, the Moon herself obscures the Sun and causes solar eclipses... however, she does
not completely annihilate the Sun, and likewise Isis did not annihilate Typhon."6

1. Plutarch - Isis and Osiris 43-44

2. Herodotus - Histories 3:28
3. Amos 8:9
4. Exodus 32:7-8
5. Ibid 32:35
6. Plutarch - Isis and Osiris 44