[MR] AFP: Astronomical clues point to eclipse in Homer's 'Odyssey'

[David Chessler]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iOUsgbo-CbfcuK95LWYrbjW2oEgQ




A total solar eclipse 
http://afp.google.com/media/ALeqM5g2DSYrlXhFoMqKka7j-2xj38t1CA?size=s
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Astronomical clues point to eclipse in Homer's 'Odyssey'

1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) ­ Astronomical clues found in 
Homer's "The Odyssey" could help confirm a total 
solar eclipse when Odysseus returned home, 
providing a potentially accurate timeline for the 
fall of Troy, two scientists reported Monday.

Historians and classicists for centuries have 
debated the eclipse hypothesis in the ancient 
Greek poet's epic work, concluding reluctantly 
that no such reference exists in either "The 
Odyssey" or its predecessor, "The Iliad."

But a new study of "The Odyssey" by Marcelo 
Magnasco, of Rockefeller University, and 
Constantino Baikouzis of the Observatorio 
Astronomico in La Plata, Argentina, turned up 
four overlooked celestial clues that together 
could clear up the historical period, the 
scientists reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The clues, they claim, provide corroborating 
evidence of a solar eclipse when Odysseus 
returned home to murder the suitors who had taken 
advantage of his long absence to court his wife.

The first clue is the description of a new moon 
on the day of Odysseus' return, which is a 
prerequisite for a total solar eclipse.

Six days before the massacre, Homer wrote, Venus 
shone brightly high in the sky; 29 days earlier, 
he said the Pleiades and Bootes constellations 
were both visible at sunset; and finally, 33 days 
before the massacre, he suggested Mercury was 
high at dawn and near the western end of its trajectory.

These four celestial indicators never occur in 
exactly the same timeframe, so the researchers 
looked for a period within 100 years of the fall 
of Troy that would fit the astronomical pattern they had discovered.

There was only one date: April 16, 1178 B.C.

The date could potentially help historians date 
the fall of Troy, which was purported to occur 
around the time of the events described in "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."

"If we take it as a given that the death of the 
suitors happened on this particular eclipse date, 
then everything else described in "The Odyssey" 
happens exactly as is described," Magnasco said.

Nevertheless, he stressed the findings rely on a 
large assumption and the conclusions are very hypothetical.

Copyright © 2008 AFP. All rights reserved.

On the Net:
    * PNAS: 
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.pnas.org&usg=AFQjCNHQTxKZ2I1klgyUBFmSk6ShIf16kA>http://www.pnas.org 




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