The Sumerian Zodiac
This is the earliest Zodiac. It�s Sumerian. It passed through the Chaldeans to the Egyptians in about 2000bce

    Name                  -                 Constellation                -            Sign

MUL.MUL                              -  Pleides                  -         Stars-Stars
GUD.AN.NA                            -   Pleides                 -        Celestial bull
SIBA.ZI.AN.NA                     -  Orion                    -         Shepherd
SHU.GI                                     -   Perseus                 -        Old man     
GAM                                        -   Auriga                  -        Broken Staff
MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL          -   Gemini                 -        Great Twins
AL.LUL                                -   Cancer                  -        The Crab
UR.GU.LA                              -   Leo                       -        Giant Dog
   AB.SIN                                     -Virgo                    - Ear of Barley or Spica
ZI.BA.NI.TUM                    -    Libra                    -        Flower
GIR.TAB                               -   Scorpio                   -       Scorpion
PA.BIL.SAG                        -   Sagittarius               -       Horse
SHUHUR.MASH                      -   Capricorn                -       Sea Goat
GU.LA                              -   Aquarius                 -       Giant
ZIBATI SIM.MAH                    -   Pisces                      -       Swallow
  A.NU.NI.                            -  Pisces                   -       Fish
LU.HUN.GA                            -   Aries                       -       Labourer


Leo in this time is represented by a dog and it wasn�t until the time of Necepsos and his court philosopher Petosiris in 700bce that a lion was used as a symbol.
The first complete Zodiac appears in Egypt on the ceiling of the Dendera temple which is dedicated to Hathor. You may remember the Dendera temple made famous by Danikens lightbulb.

Hathor is the goddess of love, tombs and the sky so its only fitting that she be the goddess most associated with the Zodiac. The earliest depiction of her comes from the Narmer palette where her head can be seen either side of the kings cartouche.
Strangely though in that case she is depicted as a water buffalo not a cow, water buffalo�s weren�t introduced into Egypt until the advent of the Mamelukes in the middle ages (common era).
But Water buffalo were present in Sumeria since ancient times and two can be seen standing either side of the kings name on a cylinder seal of Shar Kali Sharri the son of Naram Sin, grandson of Sargon of Akkad.
Orthodoxy now recognises that the Zodiac originated in Sumeria and from there passed to Egypt and on to the Greeks and Romans.
Can we say the same for Hathor ?
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1