The New Moon of April 1178 and the “Odyssey” by Homer
Undergraduate UROC UNM Research Paper July 2021
Literary Archaeo-astronomy
Abstract from UROC 2021 UNM
Abstract: My abstract title is Literary Archaeo-astronomy as demonstrated in the Odyssey by Homer and the Full Eclipse of April 16th, 1178, BCE.
Is the Full Solar Eclipse of April 16th, 1178, BCE, the 28-day phases of the moon leading up to said Solar Eclipse encoded into Homer’s Odyssey? Is there a Geek compound word in the manuscript that connects Odysseus to the New moon?
The answers to the above two questions can be found and considered using solar charts created in a system-integrated astrophotography automated software program called Voyager that allows the user to observe the skies of 1178 BCE to demonstrate the phases of the moon and the solar eclipse of the same year. The simple process of essential linguistics can explain how a compound word of old Greek can be a word that doubles as a person’s name and a celestial event.
This project demonstrates a link between astronomical events in the year 1178 BCE and Homer’s story in his Odyssey.
The affirming answers to these questions suggest the Odyssey is not just a manuscript demonstrating Western literature’s foundation; it is also a foundation for ancient astronomical knowledge.
