That's a pretty weird article Peter, thanks for posting. Hope it's not a career-ender for the "multi-disciplinary team"!
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Originally Posted by article
"Between 1300BC and 1130BC, the years during which the two epics take place, there were 14 solar eclipses. Of the five that would have been visible in the Ionian, two of them had a rate of two per cent helium and therefore were not noticed. Another was west of the sun, so our concern is only with two..."
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Ah yes those damned 2% helium eclipses are exceedingly difficult to see.
New one on me, back to the schoolbooks?
And as for those other eclipses that are west of the Sun, well, no chance.
I hope they mean the disc of the Moon passed to the west of the Sun, ie not an eclipse at all, at least from Ithaca.
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Originally Posted by article
"Odysseus arrived in Ithaca on 25 October, 1207BC. Five days later there was an eclipse with 75 per cent coverage in the Ionian sea, and it is precisely when the massacre of Penelope's suitors took place."
"...And full of ghosts is the porch and full the court, of ghosts that hasten down to Erebus beneath the darkness, and the sun has perished out of heaven and an evil mist hovers over all."
"This is an account of the eclipse, which hid three-quarters of the solar disc," says Papadima.
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Eclipses must have been a lot more powerful in ancient times. Nowadays 3/4 coverage and you can't tell the difference from a normal sunny day.
Cheers -