Eye of Horus Fraction

Each of the sacred unit fractions which the ancient Egyptians attributed to the six parts of the eye of the god Horus: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64. These fractions, all with powers of two in their denominators, were used to represent the fractions of hekat, the unit measure of capacity for grains. According to a legend, the pieces were lost in a battle, and restored by the god Thoth.

REFERENCES:

Gillings, R. Mathematics in the time of the Pharaohs. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1972.

Great Scott Publishing. "Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Eye of Horus." http://www.greatscott.com/hiero/eyef1.html.

Livio, M. The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number. New York: Broadway Books, p. 40, 2002.