Date Determined for Eclipse in Homer's Odyssey

[Viggen]

In the epic "Odyssey," one of the cornerstones of Western literature, the legendary Greek hero Odysseus returns to his queen Penelope after enduring 10 years of sailing the wine dark sea. Now scientists have pinned down his return to April 16, 1178 B.C., close to noon local time, according to astronomical references in the epic poem that seem to pinpoint the total eclipse of the sun on the day that Odysseus supposedly returned on. The possible solar eclipse comes up in the 20th book of the "Odyssey," as the suitors begin their final lunch. At this point, the goddess of war Athena "confounds their minds," making the suitors laugh uncontrollably and see their food spattered with blood. The seer Theoclymenus then foresees the death of the suitors, ending by saying, "The sun has been obliterated from the sky, and an unlucky darkness invades the world."

 

full article at Live Science

[ASCLEPIADES]

In the epic "Odyssey," one of the cornerstones of Western literature, the legendary Greek hero Odysseus returns to his queen Penelope after enduring 10 years of sailing the wine dark sea. Now scientists have pinned down his return to April 16, 1178 B.C., close to noon local time, according to astronomical references in the epic poem that seem to pinpoint the total eclipse of the sun on the day that Odysseus supposedly returned on. The possible solar eclipse comes up in the 20th book of the "Odyssey," as the suitors begin their final lunch. At this point, the goddess of war Athena "confounds their minds," making the suitors laugh uncontrollably and see their food spattered with blood. The seer Theoclymenus then foresees the death of the suitors, ending by saying, "The sun has been obliterated from the sky, and an unlucky darkness invades the world."

 

full article at Live Science

Salve, V

 

Repeated information

Edited June 26, 2008 by ASCLEPIADES

[Faustus]

In the epic "Odyssey," one of the cornerstones of Western literature, the legendary Greek hero Odysseus returns to his queen Penelope after enduring 10 years of sailing the wine dark sea. Now scientists have pinned down his return to April 16, 1178 B.C., close to noon local time

Salve and thanks, Viggen

 

This is a nice reversal from what we ordinarily get. It is a fact that we can determine the dates of astronomical events with great accuracy back into the ancient past, pinpointing the geographical event area of the umbra of a solar eclipse.

 

Much less likely, and to me mythical, are ancient predictions of forthcoming events, particularly the umbral path of solar eclipses. Empirical evidence from observations without the benefit of telescopes (which didn't come about until Galileo's time), would have been approximate at best.

 

Here are two animations which illustrate the complexity of solar eclipses.

 

Note that the larger shadow, the penumbra, (Think not the modern word "pen" but the L. paen=almost/umbra=shadow) to an earthbound observer, would only appear as a more or less dusky daytime period depending how close to the umbra one was at the time, and it would seem as if the day was darker than usual. The sun, seen by an observer, in that area is still forbidding to look at, although astronomers would take note.

 

Faustus

Edited June 27, 2008 by Faustus