UHSP, we have a problem! On Wednesday, August 12th, at around 2:52 p.m. EDT, a warm, golden-amber tint spread across the atmosphere. A beautiful sight to see, with a bit of an apocalyptic aura to its presence. This firmament phenomenon is known as a Total Solar Eclipse.
A rare cosmic event where the Moon perfectly blocks the Sun’s surface, a brief moment causing the day to appear as night. Scientists have long established the orbital mechanics that determine the exact time and date the event will occur. One way to reference it is by examining the official NASA Eclipse catalog. Allowing the public to ramp up months or years of waiting before the event happens. This year, the eclipse was set to cross parts of the Atlantic, eastern Greenland, Iceland, and certain regions of northern Spain. Unfortunately, we may not have been able to see the event on our side, but on the opposite side of the world, the skies narrated a different story.
Now, if we were to map out the route the eclipse took, the shadow cuts off right over the Mediterranean Sea. On average, a total solar eclipse will only hit the exact same geographical location once every 360 to 410 years. Fortunately for moviegoers, when it comes to creating a highly anticipated epic adaptation without waiting four centuries for a film classic of this scale, Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan never disappoints. Nolan’s newest project, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, uses strategic film storytelling to depict the book’s flashbacks. Specifically, the Trojan Horse flashbacks show not only the heavy trauma of war but also reveal that Homer was hiding a real-world cosmic clock that points to a Total Solar Eclipse.
This has been a massive debate amongst the astronomy and history communities. The Odyssey is divided into 24 chapters, though chapter 20 is the one causing the divide. Long story short, the chapter describes how the prophet Theoclymenus warns the wicked of their impending doom, prophesying that evil will take over the land. Thinking the old man was just making up crazy claims, the bad people didn’t realize that ignoring him pretty much sealed their sudden end. A calm-before-the-storm moment where Odysseus finally snaps and decides to take revenge on all the bad that has led him to this point in the epic. Point being, historians have analyzed this specific chapter from front to back and concluded that the appearance of a solar eclipse was just a description Homer added for dramatic effect. However, in research published in 2008, scientists at Rockefeller University used orbital data to calculate the appearance of a total solar eclipse over the Ionian Sea.
Corresponding to the exact date, with Homer’s hidden clues- which, if we look at them, were the position of the planet Venus, a new moon appearing, calculating the date of Odysseus’s return, and specific constellations mentioned in the weeks leading up to the tragic ending. Estimating that the events in the book may have occurred during a real total solar eclipse on April 16, 1178 BCE. A fairly wild realization, if you ask me.
Other factors to mention when it comes to proving the existence of an actual total solar eclipse happening are that these heavenly events are viewed as powerful omens. In ancient times, these signs were not to be taken lightly and terrified enemies into dropping their weapons in surrender. Furthermore, in astrology, a solar eclipse signifies the loss of a monarch’s power and foreshadows plagues, war, and even the ruler’s death. That is why, at the end, when Odysseus shoots an arrow through all 12 axes during an eclipse, it symbolizes the massive reset the universe experienced, as a solar king simultaneously conquers the Zodiac wheel and reclaims his place at the center of the universe. In fact, the word eclipse literally means, in Greek, being abandoned or forsaken. Some pretty harsh words to civilization when the Sun god Helios turns his back on humanity out of anguish and disgust. However, you can see the evidence is pretty clear. If you want to check it out for yourself, their work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
From Homer to the Hollywood stage, The Odyssey is undeniably one of the most successful poems and movie adaptations in this timeline. I know, for me personally, as someone who enjoys a bit of Greek mythology here and there and with the addition of some astronomy, chef’s kiss.
So, the next time you head to your local theater, don’t forget to look up. Sometimes the real magic isn’t from the performances of a star-studded cast, but written in the stars in the sky.