Product Description

In "The Iliad", battles between Greeks and Trojans mirror the movements of stars and constellations as they appear to fight for ascendancy in the sky. This astronomical content has been rediscovered and is unlocked in this book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #833372 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From the Author
Ancient astronomical learning preserved in mythology
Astronomy was vital to the lives of ancient peoples; they invented calendars from observations of the sun and moon and used the stars for navigation. The heavens were also a focal point of their myths and religious rituals. The peoples who lived in Crete and Greece from 2000 - 750 BC did not have an efficient writing system, and how they passed astronomical learning down through the centuries has, until now, been a mystery. This reading of Homer’s Iliad reveals how mythology and the great epic of the Siege of Troy was used to preserve vast knowledge about the stars and constellations, the Moon and planets and ancient ideas about the universe.

Customer Reviews

This book will change how we view the early Greek epics.
Well, no one else has written a review yet and I don't want to bog down the casual reader who happens to be flitting through this screen. However, I have to try and get across the sheer wonder that this book will instill in the reader. The amount of research the Woods put into this book is impressive and the idea is definitely revolutionary. I have just graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University and I recently took this book to many of the professors in the English department; many of them expressed a keen interest in it. Most want to borrow it when I am through, and although I have finished it I can't lend it out; I keep looking up at the stars and putting together pieces of one of the greatest stories ever told.

Intriguing theory
This book contains a valuable addition to the way ancient texts such as the Iliad are viewed.

It is noteworthy to remember that until some decades ago the Iliad was regarded as pure fantasy - a work of literature about ficitional events. It was only when the ruins of Troy were uncovered that the work was taken seriously in a historical context.

Now we see, in this book, that the work may also have had serious astronomical roots. Although ruins have been found that are believed to be those of Troy, the theory presented here raises the question again of the historical accuracy of the Iliad.

The writing plods through in certain places and it takes some
determination to read on, but it is eventually worth it.

Astrology meets Archeology
The book itself arrived without incident in perfect condition. The book itself looks so good, you know it's going to be more than a little bit interesting.....especially having read it before!!