Re: Sky & Telescope article

[Brian Eric Farnell <bfarnell@xxxxxxx>]

Dennis wrote:
> 
>Twelve was sacred because of the
> twelve tribes of Israel, not because there are about
> twelve lunar cycles per solar cycle.

Not that it's really important, but, I believe 12 came to be
special because of practicality, it was easily divisible.  12
and 60 became the basis of Babylonian (pretty sure) numbering
system, leaving us with the system used for time.  Numerologies
of the ancients valued 'strange' properties like this in the
same way that alchemists would later assign mystical attributes
to the incorruptability of gold.  Another example is the Norse
9, and let's not forget the most ominous numbers of them all,
the squares of the numbers 1,2&3 used to make a black monolith
with a ratio 1:4:9!
Regards,
Brian