Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 11, 2008 5:28:26 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Astronomers Trace Homer's Wandering Hero

Posted Jun 24, 08 9:39 AM CDT in Science & Health,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Homer's Odyssey is 2,700 years old, and the events it describes happened centuries earlier. But two scientists claim in a new paper that they've traced one line in the epic poem—a possible reference to an eclipse—to a real astronomical event. Classicists might take issue, writes the New York Times, but the astronomers say that Odysseus' return to Ithaca coincided with a solar eclipse on April 16, 1178 BC.

"The sun has been obliterated from the sky, and an unlucky darkness invades the world," the blind bard wrote in book 20 of the Odyssey. As the astronomers point out, Homer also mentions that his homecoming occurs during a new moon—a necessary condition for a solar eclipse. Even if the legendary Homer never composed the line himself, they say, later bards might have added the reference to the eclipse as the poem was transmitted orally.

Source New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • How to Take a Solar Eclipse Road Trip

    Jul 12, 08 9:28 AM CDT
    How to Take a Solar Eclipse Road Trip Thousands of people will trek to the hinterlands on August 1 just to stand in the dark for three minutes. The reason: a total solar eclipse is set to sweep over a path spanning from China to Canada. Wired clues would-be eclipse chasers in on ways to maximize each sunless second.

    1. Maximum shadow time: This year the Russian city of Nadym will see the longest total eclipse, set to click in at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. Don't waste your time traveling to a partial eclipse.
    More »

Two astronomers conclude that a solar eclipse occurred just before Odysseus slaughtered the suitors of Penelope.   (Wikimedia)
Odysseus and Penelope, by Primaticcio. Two astronomers claim to have pinpointed the day that the wandering hero returned to Ithaca.   (Wikimedia)
Two astronomers have claimed that actions in Homer's Odyssey coincide with an actual solar eclipse that occurred over Ithaca.   (Wikimedia)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

astronomy  • Greece  • poetry  • solar eclipse  • eclipse  • ancient Greece  • Homer


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »