KiwiHellenist

@KiwiHellenist@mastodon.nz

Kiwi Hellenist, Homerist, classicist, NZ. He/his/him/him.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

KiwiHellenist, to philosophy

Socrates and the ethics of criminals.

#philosophy #ethics
https://existentialcomics.com/comic/547

KiwiHellenist, to Astronomy

Did you know the weekday names come from the seven planets? And that they're attested in graffiti at Pompeii?

But do you know why they're in the order they're in? That one's a bit harder. A dive into the ancient evidence, and some modern theories.

(Reading time: 14 minutes)
#astronomy #classics https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2024/04/weekdays.html

KiwiHellenist, to random

1/10. Early Christians sometimes had a taste for naturalistic explanations of things that we today would regard as supernatural.

A topical example: Luke 23.45 specifically and explicitly states that the darkness at Jesus' death was a solar eclipse.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23.44-45&version=THGNT,NRSVUE

KiwiHellenist,

2/10. Or in Greek: τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος. Modern translations are very coy about translating this accurately, for reasons which you might already be able to spot.

The other gospels just say that there was a darkness (Mark 15.33, Matthew 27.45).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+15.33,Matthew+27.45&version=THGNT;NRSVUE

KiwiHellenist,

3/10. In the 2nd century, it seems some Christians drew on this supposed eclipse as a way of pinpointing the date of Jesus' death.

This mattered, because of a dispute over the correct date to celebrate Easter. But it was difficult, because they didn't have any better chronological data than we do.

KiwiHellenist,

4/10. Solutions were sought in several strategies --

  • Numerology: Jesus' ministry lasted 12 months to the day, one for each apostle!
  • Historiographical debate: we know when Jesus' ministry started; how many Passovers were there during it?
  • Astronomy: a pagan source, Phlegon, reported a solar eclipse in 29 CE. So that must be when Jesus died!
KiwiHellenist,

5/10. By the 3rd century, they realised some problems with the eclipse solution. Passover is at full moon; solar eclipses happen at new moon.

There's more. The 29 CE eclipse was in November, which is nowhere near Passover; solar eclipses don't last three hours. These points weren't noticed in antiquity.

KiwiHellenist,

6/10. Even so, the realisation was very strong.

Tertullian (ca. 200 CE) and Julius Africanus (220s) give specific explanations of why the eclipse interpretation doesn't work.

By the 400s, many manuscripts of Luke 23.45 were altered to remove the reference to an eclipse.

KiwiHellenist,

7/10. It continued to hang on in some quarters, though. Origen (ca. 250) and Eusebius (early 300s) both explain the darkness as an eclipse.

(Some modern apologists opt for a lunar eclipse instead. No ancient writers try to get away with that. They agree it happened at midday, and Luke specifically says it was a solar eclipse!)

KiwiHellenist,

8/10. The historiographical strategy ended up being the most important one. 3rd-4th century Christians agreed that Jesus' ministry started in 29 CE, but disagreed over whether it lasted one year or three years.

This strategy is the origin of the tradition that Jesus lived to the age of 33.

KiwiHellenist,

9/10. We don't know who first suggested the eclipse. Maybe Thallos (FGrHist 256 F 1), a lost historian. Tertullian lists him between Apion and Josephus: that could put him in the 50s-80s CE.

But the evidence for what Thallos actually wrote is very very poor. We can't know if he really mentioned the crucifixion.

KiwiHellenist,

10/10. Today the eclipse interpretation survives only in footnotes to Luke 23.45.

Translators know perfectly well that it can't possibly be right, so they don't put it in the main text -- but they can't cover up the fact that it's what the author of Luke wrote.

KiwiHellenist,

Further info and bibliography here. https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2021/09/dates-jesus-1.html

KiwiHellenist, to puns

In ancient Greece, puns were no joke. They were word magic.

A look at wordplay on Odysseus' name in the Odyssey, and a celestial chamberpot in Aeschylus.


https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/12/puns.html

KiwiHellenist, to geopolitics

How Eratosthenes measured the earth: part 4 of 4.

The angle of the sun is the last hurdle Eratosthenes had to overcome with his data collection methods.

Here we review the popularly believed story -- measuring shadows of sticks -- before looking at a more likely and methodologically simpler alternative.

Concludes with a bibliography.

(Reading time: 15 minutes)
#ancientscience #eratosthenes #geography #ancientgreece
https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/07/eratosthenes-4.html

KiwiHellenist, to geopolitics

The ongoing story of how Eratosthenes measured the earth, based on ancient evidence. Part 2b: distance.

How did Eratosthenes find out the distance from Syene to Meroë? What units did he use, and what do they mean in modern units? What's the difference between the 'metrological stadion' and the 'itinerary stadion'? (And how do they compare to the kilometre and the 'itinerary kilometre'?)

(Reading time: 18 minutes)
#ancientscience #eratosthenes #geography #ancientgreece
https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2023/06/eratosthenes-2b.html

KiwiHellenist, to space

Left: an ancient device for determining the azimuth of the sun at midday transit, described by Ptolemy.

First you use a gnomon aligned with the meridian to determine midday. You move the inner ring of the device until the shadow of ridge A falls on ridge B. Then you read the angle of the sun on the outer ring. Precision is to closer than 1 degree.

Right: a 2nd century BCE graffito from Meroe, Sudan, apparently depicting an astronomer using this instrument.

#astronomy #classics #eratosthenes

KiwiHellenist, to science

'"Too greedy": mass walkout at global science journal over ‘unethical’ fees'

The publisher is Elsevier, the journal is Neuroimage. The same team of editors is establishing a nonprofit open-access journal in its place.

#academia #publishing #science
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/may/07/too-greedy-mass-walkout-at-global-science-journal-over-unethical-fees

KiwiHellenist, to politics

Joel Christensen on how the misappropriation of ancient Greek literature is being used to fuel culture wars in education.

If someone wants students to learn to 'act like Odysseus', it'd be nice to think that doesn't mean learning to hang enslaved people or to make war on their own compatriots.


https://neoskosmos.com/en/2023/04/30/dialogue/opinion/classical-deception-us-conservatives-misappropriate-greek-classics-to-fuel-the-culture-wars-in-education/

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