Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Scientists calculate the exact date of the Trojan horse using eclipse in Homer
Telegraph ^ | 6/24/08 | Roger Highfield

Posted on 06/24/2008 11:49:01 AM PDT by LibWhacker

The exact date when the Greeks used the Trojan horse to raze the city of Troy has been pinpointed for the first time using an eclipse mentioned in the stories of Homer, it was claimed today. # The truth about an epic tale of love, war and greed

Scientists have calculated that the horse was used in 1188 BC, ten years before Homer in his Odyssey describes the return of a warrior to his wife on the day the "sun is blotted out of the sky".

The legend of the fall of Troy is mentioned in Virgil and Homer's poems but it is believed to be based on truth and the exact date has been the subject of much debate.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: 11780416bc; 1178bc; agriculture; animalhusbandry; archaeoastronomy; catastrophism; date; dietandcuisine; domestication; eclipse; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; homer; horse; horses; huntergatherers; odysseus; odyssey; trojan; trojanwar
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-45 next last
To: Spktyr

Didn’t Schliemann discover that there were seven layers of ruins at the site of Troy, not just those of one city?

My favorite Iliad moment: the gullible citizens of Troy have dragged the wooden horse past the city gates. A man named Laocoon shouts “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!” and hurls his spear at the horse. Its impact makes the hidden Greeks’ weapons rattle. That night, for attempting to thwart the will of the gods, Zeus sends giant serpents to strangle Laocoon and his sons.

Maybe Laocoon should have shouted,

“Beware of gifts bearing Greeks!”

;^)


21 posted on 06/24/2008 12:27:08 PM PDT by elcid1970 (My cartridges are dipped in pig grease.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: LibWhacker

“Scientists calculate the exact date of the Trojan horse using eclipse in Homer”

So an eclipse used a Trojan Horse that was inside Homer?


22 posted on 06/24/2008 12:30:54 PM PDT by Hacklehead (Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the hippies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hacklehead
So an eclipse used a Trojan Horse that was inside Homer?

Silly. Home was inside his Ford Eclipse, inside the Trojan horse.

23 posted on 06/24/2008 12:40:29 PM PDT by 11Bush
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: elcid1970

Yeah, there’s at *least* 7 layers of ruins.

Not exactly unexpected - many current European capitals have a similar “foundation”. The inhabitants would annoy someone, the city would get torched, someone would rebuild the place, and the cycle would repeat.

Athens got burned, what, five times that we know of?


24 posted on 06/24/2008 12:41:26 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Publius6961

Solar eclipses are very specific in their timing and their location. They don’t happen every year in the same place.


25 posted on 06/24/2008 1:08:13 PM PDT by doc30 (Democrats are to morals what an Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: yarddog

Some folks think the Trojan Horse was a siege tower. It would have been pretty unique for the period.


26 posted on 06/24/2008 1:10:25 PM PDT by Little Ray (I'm a Conservative. But I can vote for John McCain. If I have to. I guess.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: LibWhacker

Damn! I’m glad we finally got that worked out. Now we have to move on to the weather/wind calculations for the parting of the Red Sea. These scientists are sure improving the world, aren’t they!


27 posted on 06/24/2008 1:17:25 PM PDT by guppas (Kick their ass -- Take their gas!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LibWhacker

If its an account that is ex-biblical then it is considered to be true and free from translation errors.

If its a biblical account it is considered purely fiction created by poor nomads who wanted to make themselves feel important and all accounts have no facts or are subject to eons of translation errors.


28 posted on 06/24/2008 1:20:56 PM PDT by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Publius6961
and since eclipses occur every year, I don't see the debate ending any time soon.

Not in the same place, and not necessarily total. For example, we're going to get a total eclipse here in the continential US in 2017, and our last one was in 1979.

29 posted on 06/24/2008 1:32:48 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Spktyr

They raped Thrace thrice.


30 posted on 06/24/2008 1:50:05 PM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: massgopguy

a trojan was found in homer’s eclipse? d’oh!


31 posted on 06/24/2008 1:59:05 PM PDT by Disciplinemisanthropy (...and that, people, is what grinds my gears.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: LibWhacker

I always thought the Trojan Horse reference was a metaphor for an earthquake. If an eclipse occurred it would mean considerable stress on existing faults. I can’t find a reference yet but I remember reading about the Greeks referring to earthquakes as “thundering hooves or a stampede of a horse herd”.


32 posted on 06/24/2008 2:20:11 PM PDT by Polynikes (Yo, homie. Is that my briefcase?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]



33 posted on 06/24/2008 4:22:18 PM PDT by cruise_missile ('')
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: Polynikes

Interesting since Poseidon, the God of the Sea was also associated with horses and earthquakes.


34 posted on 06/24/2008 4:28:14 PM PDT by yarddog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: null and void

Thanks!

Ancient Eclipse Found in “The Odyssey,” Scientists Say
National Geographic News | 6-23-2008 | Richard A. Lovett
Posted on 06/23/2008 5:36:32 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035358/posts


35 posted on 06/24/2008 9:53:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_________________________Profile updated Friday, May 30, 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks null and void. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

· Google · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology magazine · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo ·
· History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


36 posted on 06/24/2008 9:53:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_________________________Profile updated Friday, May 30, 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KarlInOhio

Although the Mayan calendar goes deep into the past, the early events it records are legendary. The earliest historical date known is 28 May 585 BC, the battle between the Medes and the Lydians that was interrupted by an eclipse predicted by Thales of Miletus.


37 posted on 06/24/2008 11:46:19 PM PDT by null and void (every Muslim, the minute he can start differentiating, carries hate of Americans, Jews & Christians)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: null and void

I would have said:

The earliest historical event that can be accurately dated was the battle between the Medes and the Lydians on 28 May 585 BC. We know the exact date because it was interrupted by a solar eclipse that Thales of Miletus predicted.


38 posted on 06/24/2008 11:52:27 PM PDT by null and void (every Muslim, the minute he can start differentiating, carries hate of Americans, Jews & Christians)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]


 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Blast from the Past.

Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution.

Thanks LibWhacker.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


39 posted on 05/20/2012 6:14:46 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (FReepathon 2Q time -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Whoops, that was supposed to be the update message.


40 posted on 05/20/2012 6:18:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (FReepathon 2Q time -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-45 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson