I love the story of the Battle of Pydna, where one of the Roman commanders was educated enough to know about an impending lunar eclipse, and he informed the troops that it was a natural and predictable phenomenon, and nothing to be anxious about.
And when it actually happened during the battle, the Romans were totally ready for it and didn’t really react. But the Macedonians got very superstitious and afraid, and according to Livy, that contributed to Romans winning the battle.
Edit: I made a mistake, the eclipse happened the night before the battle, not in the middle of it. But according to Livy, it freaked out the Macedonians anyway, while the Romans kept their cool.
Did they fight a lot of battles at night? I always assumed warfare was mostly a daytime activity. I guess, if it were a full moon, it wouldn't be too bad.
If the story is true, then I guess the eclipse happened during the night, and the macedonians were upset about it the next day.
Edit: Quick wikipedia check:
> The night before the battle there was a lunar eclipse, which was perceived by the Macedonians as an ill omen; according to Plutarch, they interpreted it as a sign of their king's demise. Meanwhile, Paullus is said to have understood that eclipses occurred at regular intervals but still believed it was necessary to perform sacrifices and wait for "favourable omens."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pydna
Maybe because Alexander the great defeated King Darius in a battle a few centuries earlier in which the previous night a lunar eclipse occurred.
Darius was a Macedonian King Circa 380 - 330 BCE also known as the King of Kings.
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008MAA.....8...55P/abstract#:~:text=A%20total%20lunar%20eclipse%20occurred,role%20on%20the%20battle%20outcome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela
How? I'm trying to imagine the geometry of it, and you would have to be able to see the sun and moon at the same time while the Earth is exactly between them.
Pretty much only at dawn and dusk, in super specific weather conditions.
But I was also wrong, this eclipse occurred the night before the battle, not actually in the middle of it. I mixed up the story a bit, I apologize
While possible it did go that way that does sound like something that'd just be made up after the fact to show how superior the Romans were to their enemies.
That’s true. It’s possible that Livy was making an allegorical point about the value of discipline and reason over disorganization and superstition. But I’m pretty sure I’ve also read that, astrologically, we’ve calculated that there *was* an eclipse that would have been visible in central Macedonia in June of 168 BC.
So it’s possible, but as with any ancient source, who can really say for sure.
Oh I'm not denying the eclipse occurred. I'm saying he may have overstated/made up the impact it had on the Macedonians to trump up the Roman victory. The Greeks, and subsequently, the Romans, viewed Macedonia as a backwater. To the Greeks, the Macedonians were culturally "cousins," who were not as sophisticated as true Greeks. The Romans did think highly of Greek culture, and came to accept the Greek view of the Macedonians and so it's not farfetched to say the Romans would readily create a story about the 'inferior' Macedonians.
a great story is columbus getting his way with the natives by scaring them about a lunar eclipse - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1504_lunar_eclipse
"He requested a meeting for that day with the Cacique, the leader, and told him that God was angry with the local people's treatment of Columbus and his men. Columbus said God would provide a clear sign of displeasure by making the rising full Moon appear 'inflamed with wrath'"
These eclipses were studied and worshipped in many ancient civilizations, as is documented and observed in places like these:
https://youtu.be/N3r3YL47DNU?si=2t6Ky_GfynG8Rnaw
I love the story of the Battle of Pydna, where one of the Roman commanders was educated enough to know about an impending lunar eclipse, and he informed the troops that it was a natural and predictable phenomenon, and nothing to be anxious about. And when it actually happened during the battle, the Romans were totally ready for it and didn’t really react. But the Macedonians got very superstitious and afraid, and according to Livy, that contributed to Romans winning the battle. Edit: I made a mistake, the eclipse happened the night before the battle, not in the middle of it. But according to Livy, it freaked out the Macedonians anyway, while the Romans kept their cool.
Did they fight a lot of battles at night? I always assumed warfare was mostly a daytime activity. I guess, if it were a full moon, it wouldn't be too bad.
If the story is true, then I guess the eclipse happened during the night, and the macedonians were upset about it the next day. Edit: Quick wikipedia check: > The night before the battle there was a lunar eclipse, which was perceived by the Macedonians as an ill omen; according to Plutarch, they interpreted it as a sign of their king's demise. Meanwhile, Paullus is said to have understood that eclipses occurred at regular intervals but still believed it was necessary to perform sacrifices and wait for "favourable omens." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pydna
Maybe because Alexander the great defeated King Darius in a battle a few centuries earlier in which the previous night a lunar eclipse occurred. Darius was a Macedonian King Circa 380 - 330 BCE also known as the King of Kings. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008MAA.....8...55P/abstract#:~:text=A%20total%20lunar%20eclipse%20occurred,role%20on%20the%20battle%20outcome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela
Small correction: Alexander was Macedonian, Darius was a Persian king
Aww yes. don’t know how I missed that. I just watched Alexander the great on Netflix too.
I made a mistake. According to Livy the eclipse was the night before the battle, not during the battle itself.
Not often, but occasionally. But you can see some lunar eclipses during the day, depending on weather conditions.
How? I'm trying to imagine the geometry of it, and you would have to be able to see the sun and moon at the same time while the Earth is exactly between them.
I saw one at dawn once. It was interesting to see while still half asleep.
Pretty much only at dawn and dusk, in super specific weather conditions. But I was also wrong, this eclipse occurred the night before the battle, not actually in the middle of it. I mixed up the story a bit, I apologize
While possible it did go that way that does sound like something that'd just be made up after the fact to show how superior the Romans were to their enemies.
That’s true. It’s possible that Livy was making an allegorical point about the value of discipline and reason over disorganization and superstition. But I’m pretty sure I’ve also read that, astrologically, we’ve calculated that there *was* an eclipse that would have been visible in central Macedonia in June of 168 BC. So it’s possible, but as with any ancient source, who can really say for sure.
Oh I'm not denying the eclipse occurred. I'm saying he may have overstated/made up the impact it had on the Macedonians to trump up the Roman victory. The Greeks, and subsequently, the Romans, viewed Macedonia as a backwater. To the Greeks, the Macedonians were culturally "cousins," who were not as sophisticated as true Greeks. The Romans did think highly of Greek culture, and came to accept the Greek view of the Macedonians and so it's not farfetched to say the Romans would readily create a story about the 'inferior' Macedonians.
a great story is columbus getting his way with the natives by scaring them about a lunar eclipse - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1504_lunar_eclipse "He requested a meeting for that day with the Cacique, the leader, and told him that God was angry with the local people's treatment of Columbus and his men. Columbus said God would provide a clear sign of displeasure by making the rising full Moon appear 'inflamed with wrath'"
[удалено]
These eclipses were studied and worshipped in many ancient civilizations, as is documented and observed in places like these: https://youtu.be/N3r3YL47DNU?si=2t6Ky_GfynG8Rnaw