Data and calculations from Homer’s Odyssey
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Homer’s precise definition of the days, months and seasons of the Lunar Year (see
previous page) is only a brief introduction to his mathematical ingenuity and much more
astronomical and calendrical data can be discovered in the Odyssey.
One major problem faced by ancient astronomers and calendar-makers was how to
keep the 354 days of the lunar year in step with the 365 days of the solar year.
It is not known when or where observations of cycles of the sun and moon first helped to
resolve this issue, but Homer (c. 745-700 BC) was so familiar with such cycles that the
organisation of time in both the Iliad and the Odyssey is constructed around them.
Homer’s Secret Odyssey discloses how analysis of numerical data embedded in the epic
and a reading of the Odyssey as extended metaphor, reflects Homer the Astronomer’s
surprisingly advanced knowlege of luni-solar cycles and much other astronomical and
calendrical learning, including:
* The 99 lunations of an 8-year luni-solar cycle (an octaeteris).
* The alternating 49 and 50 lunations of the 4-year period between Olympic games.
* The 235 lunations of the 19-year luni-solar cycle (later known as the Metonic).
* The 223 lunations of the Saros eclipse cycle.
* The 584 days of a Venus synodic period.
* 5 Synodic Venus periods and an octaeteris
* Luni-solar cycles and the lives of Penelope, Helen, Telemachus and others.
Numerical data is far from being Homer’s only method of preserving astronomical knowledge
in the Odyssey, and his soaringly beautiful descriptive narrative is an equally bountiful and
supportive source. One example of how Homer uses narrative to describe an astronomical
event can be found on the next page:
Next: Circe and Magical ‘Moly'
Page links
See also on YouTube: Homer the Astronomer-1 and Homer the Astronomer-2
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