THE ANATOMY OF A COMPLEX ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENON DESCRIBED IN THE ODYSSEY (original) (raw)
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Astronomy in the Odyssey: The Status Quaestionis
Homeric poems, other than being the first literary record of the ancient Greek civilization, represent a rich source of information about the " scientific " knowledge of Greeks during the Archaic period. In the Iliad and in the Odyssey, whose redaction dates back to the VIII century BC, there are mentions of several heavenly bodies: the Sun and the Moon, the planet Venus, some stars, constellations (Boötes, Ursa Major and Orion) and asterisms (Pleiades and Hyades). Hence, the Homeric epos is an important evidence for archaeoastronomical studies dealing with civilizations that arose in the Mediterranean basin, in particular ancient Greece. However, few scholars have addressed so far a systematic review of the Homeric passages that include astronomical references, on the one hand because of little interest in such kind of problems in philological studies, on the other hand since astronomical expertise is required to support the analysis. By virtue of the subject matter of the story itself—the nostos of Odysseus back to Ithaca—the Odyssey contains the majority of the passages concerning the description of celestial bodies and phenomena. This supports indications, obtained independently, that during the pre-Homeric period stars had already been extensively used as a reference for navigation, in order to find and follow the route during the long crossings of the Mediterranean sea. In the present contribution we describe the state of the art of scientific and philological research concerning the passages of the Odyssey where astronomical knowledge of that time is reflected. Some of them have been interpreted as the description of celestial events that really occurred. This has given rise to a lively discussion among the scientific community on the possibility to assign a date to the historical facts
Journal for the History of Astronomy, 2023
(paper upon request) This study analysed four records of questionable authenticity of total solar eclipses between the fourth and sixth centuries CE in Byzantine narrative sources. As it has been difficult to evaluate their credibility, they have not been utilised in modern astronomical studies. Three records originated in the fourth century, all of which have problems with accurate dating and provenance. The one remaining record concerns the total solar eclipse on 512 June 29. This study first reveals the problems with and questions around the reliability of all these records from astronomical perspectives based on the latest ΔT spline curve and recently proposed ΔT constraints. It then explores their philological and historical contexts to understand how and why these records were written.
Troy or Amarna? The Oldest Recorded Solar Eclipse
Prehistory Papers II, pp 151-168, Volume 2, ISBN: 978-0-9525029-5-1, 2022
A 2012 study by Göran Henriksson raised the possibility that a solar eclipse was described in the Iliad of Homer. If so then it would be one of the earliest dateable eclipses and of value to astronomers and geophysicists to determine the stability of the Earth's rotation back to the second millennium BC; and thereby confirm circumstances of other ancient eclipses. In 2005-6 I published my own research on the subject of eclipses visible from Amarna, Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty and from Anatolia, to investigate whether there was a non-linear change (a wobble or nutation) of the Earth's rotation ongoing at that era, residual from an earlier astronomical event. The possibility of another dateable eclipse observation allows an opportunity to revisit those concepts; together with its potential value in tying early-historical and legendary events to the Julian calendar.
Aristarchus of Samos on Thales' Theory of Eclipses
Apeiron, 1990
New reconstruction of the text and interpretation of the quotation from Aristarchus of Samos in a second century commentary on Odyssey published by Haslam in volume LIII of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri (POxy 3710). The ascription to Thales of the epiprosthesis explanation of the eclipses of the sun (occultation due to obstruction by the moon) was not first made in the 1st century B.C. by the 'Posidonian' doxography, as one could think before the publication of this evidence. Aristarchus of Samos knew this tenet three centuries earlier, his source was Pre-Peripatetic tradition of the 5th century B.C., possibly Democritus who 'admired' the astronomical achievements of Thales.
The mystery of ancient eclipses
2023
”The calculated location of the ancient solar eclipses could have an error of up to about 10 kilometers.” This statement by the U.S. Space Administration NASA is a scientific outstretching of how ancient eclipses can be found. When numerous eclipses observed in ancient times are applied to that measure set by science, they reveal a very significant secret of ancient history. Another significant factor is the lunar eclipses of the ancient Ur III dynasty. Can they be found? And what does everything have to be considered in order to find them? Why haven’t scientists discovered the double eclipse of Babylon? ISBN: 978-952-65255-5-6 https://www.bod.fi/kirjakauppa/the-mystery-of-ancient-eclipses-pekka-mansikka-9789526525556 https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Pekka-Mansikka/dp/9526525558 https://www.amazon.es/Mystery-Ancient-eclipses-Pekka-Mansikka/dp/9526525558 PDF-book: 978-952-65255-2-5 III edition Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=48u\_EAAAQBAJ 400 pages 37 chapters Blog of the Mystery of Ancient eclipses: https://pekkamansikka.blogspot.com/
The recorded Solar Eclipse of Nectanebo I
Prior to the Hellenistic period, Egyptian priests were coyly mute in the matter of recording sky phenomena. Almost completely absent from surviving records is any reference, by way of myth, text or art-work to the observation of a solar eclipse. The universal 'ill omen' cachet regarding eclipses, seems to have led to the belief and practice of not speaking of, much less memorializing such events. This presentation reveals that, in striking contrast to the usual rule, a solar eclipse which passed over the Western Nile Delta appears to have been commemorated in the royal inscriptions on twin stelae, located in Naukratis and Thonis-Herakleion, requiring Greeks to pay import duty. The (Julian) date of this eclipse, 5 November 380 BC, falls within two days of the Prior to the Hellenistic period, Egyptian priests were coyly mute in the matter of recording sky phenomena. Almost completely absent from surviving records is any reference, by way of myth, text or art-work to the observation of a solar eclipse. The universal 'ill omen' cachet regarding eclipses, seems to have led to the belief and practice of not speaking of, much less memorializing such events. This presentation reveals that, in striking contrast to the usual rule, a solar eclipse which passed over the Western Nile Delta appears to have been commemorated in the royal inscriptions on twin stelae, located in Naukratis and Thonis-Herakleion, requiring Greeks to pay import duty. The (Julian) date of this eclipse, 5 November 380 BC, falls within two days of the Egyptian date inscribed on both stelae, presumably near the accession of the occult-loving King Nectanebo I. He seemingly reinterpreted the 'bad omen' tradition to fortell that his reign would be one of beneficence. The potential discovery of a previously unrecognised astronomical event should invite a re-examination of abnormal hieroglyphs on the Naukratis Stela, and may reconcile scholars to the apparent intermingling of ideologies of Egyptian scientific reticence, and the contrasting openness of Greek astronomical theories, in the 4th century BC.
The Land of the Solstices: Myth, geography and astronomy in ancient Greece
BAR International Series, 2021
Following the recent upsurge of interest in ancient geography and astronomy, together with the ever-present fascination with myth, this book offers a fresh study of what is commonly but erroneously known as ‘solar myth’. This subject has been at the margins of scholarly interest, mainly due to the now-outdated theories of myth that used solar phenomena as an interpretative key to explain the majority of traditional narratives. This book offers a more rigorous methodology and more selective interpretation applicable to a group of particular myths, those referencing solar phenomena. The class of ‘solar’ myths discussed in this book is thus formed out of traditional narratives that either explicitly include references to solar movement or the recognition of such references does not require strained interpretations. Reviews: Marinus Anthony Van Der Sluijs, Concepts of Sun and Earth in the Ancient World - (T.) Bilić The Land of the Solstices. Myth, Geography and Astronomy in Ancient Greece. (BAR International Series 3039.) Pp. xiv + 198, ills. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2021. Paper, £49. ISBN: 978-1-4073-5862-8. The Classical Review, First View, pp. 1 - 3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X21003607 Juan Antonio Belmonte, Myth and meteorology - The Land of the Solstices: Myth, Geography and Astronomy in Ancient Greece. Tomislav Bilić (BAR Publishing, Oxford, 2021). Pp. xiii + 198. £49. ISBN 9781407358628 (paper), Journal for the History of Astronomy 53.2, 2022, 233−234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286221080452 Anthony F. Aveni, The Land of the Solstices: Myth, Geography, and Astronomy in Ancient Greece by Tomislav Bilíc, Oxford, BAR Publishing, 2021, 212 pp., £49 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-407-35862, Time and Mind, 15.2, 2022, 263−264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2022.2122357 Robert Hannah, Tomislav Bilić, Land of the Solstices: Myth, Geography and Astronomy in Ancient Greece. BAR International Series 3039. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2021. 212 pp. ISBN: 9781407358628. £49.00. Journal of Skyscape Archaeology 8.2, 2022, 309–314. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.25604