> Perhaps the reason for the adoption of the _Semitic_ word
for 'seven'
> per se is a) because the Semites would have been well connected to
the
> Eastern Mediterranean at the time and b) because they might be the
source
> of the numerological cult that perhaps stems from something
agricultural.
> (I'm thinking a lot lately about how old the concept of the
calendar is
> and whether it has bearing on this symbol of seven.)
Torsten Wrote:
>As is my habit, I will mention
>Japanese 'subaru'/'suharu'/'sumaru' "the Pleiades, the seven
>sisters".
Me:
I also wonder if the Pleiades are connected(a conspicuous cluster of
stars that make up part of the constellation Taurus) The Pleiades
or "the weepers", are in Greek myth the seven daughters of Atlas and
Pleione. Also known as the seven virgins or the seven stars.
According to the entry on the Pleiades in "Funk and Wagnall's
Standard Mythology of Folklore and Legend":
"Amlost everywhere in the world the rising of these stars is
significant as marking the beginning of the new year and is
celebrated with feasts, rejoicings and special rites."
"The Arabs regarded it as a rain-bringing constellation, and as such
deified it it was so vital to their life concept as to be referered
to as an Najm, The Constellation"
"The Pleiades has been an important constellation to the peoples of
both hemispheres since ancient times. It was well known to the early
Hebrews; both Egyptian and Greek temples were oriented to its rising."
(Cort)