The story of Odysseus transcends across time, and according
to the latest astronomical interpretations of Homer’s famous epic poem, it
transcends across space as well.
The long journey that carried the fearless king of Ithaca
back home after the Trojan War has become legendary. The almost twenty-year
journey that carries him back to his wife Penelope is not only full of dangers,
but also full of temptations.
The latest interpretations of Homer’s poem revealed that
there is more to the apocalyptic ending, when Odysseus slaughters his wife’s
suitors, than it appears at a first glance.
The foretelling of the suitors’ death, described as a
darkness that will invade the world, with the Sun disappearing from the sky,
was in fact the description of a total eclipse of the sun, scientists say.
By taking into consideration the descriptions made by Homer
regarding the positions of the stars and the sun at the time of the events in his
Odyssey, scientists were also capable to establish the exact date of Odysseus’
return: April 16, 1178 B.C.
The study, which appeared in the online edition of The
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is likely to be a
controversial one, as Marcelo Magnasco, co-author of the study, said.
The assumption that the events took place in that particular
day/month/year is not based on a clear mention of an eclipse in Homer’s epic
poem.
The conclusions that led to the April 16, 1178 date evolved
around a detailed study of a 135-year period around the time of the eclipse, as
well as Homer’s descriptions in the poem.
By simulating the positions of the stars on the Greek skies,
and by using their own calculations, scientists concluded that the only date
when the eclipse could have taken place was April 16, 1178.
Furthermore, Homer unknowingly supports the theory of the
eclipse by mentioning, multiple times, that upon Odysseus' return was the time of a new moon,
which is a premise for a sun eclipse, the researchers also said.
The epic poem still leaves room for a lot of interpretation,
scientists said, and not everyone is likely to agree with this theory.
