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Odysseus's Return From the Trojan War Dated

Posted by kdawson on from the how-oddyssey dept.

srothroc writes "Scientists have used astronomical data from the Odyssey to attempt to pinpoint the time of Odysseus's return from his eponymous journey after the Trojan War. From the article: 'The scientists then searched for potential dates that satisfied all these astronomical references close to the fall of Troy, which has over the centuries been estimated to have occurred between roughly 1250 to 1115 B.C. From these 135 years, they found just one date that satisfied all the references — April 16, 1178 B.C., the same date as the proposed eclipse.""

4 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. phew.. by agendi · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can sleep at night now.

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    I just can't be bothered.
    1. Re:phew.. by 4D6963 · · Score: 5, Funny

      As far as other myths go, don't forget that a lot of people claim that Jesus was an actual person, but in an era that had an extensive bureaucratic system and census, no record was ever made of him

      Wait, you forgot about the record of the execution by hanging of a guy named vaguely like him about a decade after his presumed death for wizardry. Not to mention the extensive writings of his life all written at least a couple of generations after his presumed death! I mean with evidence like that who could reasonably doubt that Jesus ever existed, son of God or not? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to think that all (except a few heretics) of modern scholars and historians accept his historicity as a fact!

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      You just got troll'd!
    2. Re:phew.. by NoobixCube · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know much about verifying myths, but I have to go feed my minotaur now. He gets grumpy when adventurers don't stumble into my labyrinth.

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      Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
  2. Re:what I figured! by value_added · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's how I've always felt (as an English minor)... that the stories of Homer were dated.

    As an English Major, it's worth pointing out that Homer's contributions to ... ah, fuckit. Just read the Derivative Works section in the Odyssey Wiki article. You'll find everything from Dante to James Joyce to Stargate and Sponge Bob there.

    For the rest of the kids, the funny word ("eponymous") used in the submission means "giving one's name to", as in Romulus gave his name to Rome. Romulus, of course was ... ah fuck that too. It happened a long time ago, before Star Trek the original TV series, even.