Sailing Under Greek Skies
Brad Carroll
Medea
Seeing Medea without
knowing the story of …
Jason and the Argonauts
is like seeing …
without having seen the first two Star Wars films!
Who is Luke Skywalker and what happened to his hand?
The story of Jason and the Argonauts
is told in the stars
Star chart by Johannes
Hevelius, 17th century
In 1752, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille split Argo Navis
into three smaller constellations.
from the French word (la poupe) for stern
the Poop
the Keel
the Sails
Greek Navigation
The philosopher Thales of Miletos taught Greek sailors to
navigate by the Little Bear constellation in ~ 600 B.C.
“Now to Miletos he steered his course
That was the teaching of old Thales
Who in bygone days gauged the stars
Of the Little Bear by which the Phoenicians
Steered across the seas”
As Earth turns, the stars appear to rotate around Polaris, the North star
Greek Navigation
“Follow the Coast”
Depth sounding: "When you get
11 fathoms and ooze on the lead,
you are a day's journey out from
Alexandria.“
- Herodotus (4th century B.C.)
Greek Navigation
The oldest map of anywhere in the western
world, dating from about 500 BC, is the
Soleto Map. It depicts Apulia, the heel of
Italy’s “boot.”
Greek Navigation
Greek Navigation
Antikythera Mechanism
dates from
150 – 100 BC
Greek Navigation
Antikythera Mechanism
Has as many as 72 gears. When a
date was entered via a crank (now
lost), the mechanism calculated the
position of the Sun, Moon, or other
astronomical information such as the
location of other planets..
Greek Navigation
Antikythera Mechanism
On 30 July 2008, scientists reported
new findings in the journal Nature
showing that the mechanism tracked
the Metonic calendar, predicted solar
eclipses, and calculated the timing of
the ancient Olympic Games.
Inscriptions on the instrument closely
match the names of the months on
calendars from Illyria and Epirus in
northwestern Greece and with the
island of Corfu. The concept for the
mechanism originated in the colonies
of Corinth in Sicily, which implies a
connection with Archimedes (287 –
212 BC)
Jason and the Argonauts –
the Quest for the Golden Fleece
http://www.mythweb.com/heroes/
jason/index.html
Jason was the son of the lawful king of Iolcus, but his uncle Pelias had
usurped the throne. Pelias lived in constant fear of losing what he had
taken so unjustly. He kept Jason's father a prisoner and would certainly
have murdered Jason at birth. But Jason's mother deceived Pelias by
mourning as if Jason had died. Meanwhile the infant was bundled off to
the wilderness cave of Chiron the Centaur. Chiron tutored Jason in the
lore of plants, the hunt and the civilized arts. When he had come of age,
Jason set out like a proper hero to claim his rightful throne.
Jason and the Argonauts –
the Quest for the Golden Fleece
Under the guise of hospitality, Pelias invited Jason to a banquet. "You
say you've got what it takes to rule a kingdom," said Pelias. "May I take
it that you're fit to deal with any thorny problems that arise? For
example, how would you go about getting rid of someone who was
giving you difficulties?“ "Send him after the Golden Fleece?" Jason
suggested. "Not a bad idea," responded Pelias. "It's just the sort of
quest that any hero worth his salt would leap at. Why, if he succeeded
he'd be remembered down through the ages. Tell you what, why don't
you go?"
Jason and the Argonauts –
the Quest for the Golden Fleece
A model of the Argo
Jason and the Argonauts –
the Quest for the Golden Fleece
Jason and the Argonauts set
out on a quest for the golden
fleece in order to place
Jason rightfully on the throne
of Lolcus in Thessaly.
Jason’s journey is traced by the Sun as it passes through the constellations of the zodiac.
The Sun passes through the 12 constellations of the zodiac in the course of a year.
Jason’s journey begins when the sun is between Scorpius and Sagittarius.
^
^
^
^
Sun
starts
here
1. Sun between Scorpio and Sagittarius
Above Scorpio is Ophiuchus = Jason
Above Ophiuchus are Hercules and Bootes
(Argo’s crew)
Virgo = Atalanta, the only woman on the Argo
2. When Ophiuchus = Jason rises in the east, the
stars of Argo Navis lies in the west. The Milky Way
represents the waters of the sea.
3. The journey of the Sun through Sagittarius = the
Argonauts visit with Chiron, Jason’s old master and
teacher.
4. When the sun sets in the west, the Pleiades (visit to
the Amazons) rise in the east.
5. When the sun sets, the Twins, Castor and Pollux,
rise in the east recalling their visit to Samothrace
where they were adorned with the two stars.
6. The sun passes through Aquarius (water carrier),
and just before sunrise Hercules is high in the
south. When the sun sets, the Hyades rise in the
east. This recalls the search by Hercules for
his friend Hylas, who was drowned by the water
nymphs, the Hyades.
7. When the sun arrives in Pisces (the fishes), at
sunset Leo rises, followed by Virgo. The represents
the visit at Cybele (who has a lion in front of her
chariot).
8. As the fishes set, Orion is high in the sky
representing the giant Amycus (slain by Castor and
Pollux).
9. When the sun rises in the fishes, the three birds –
Cygnus (swan), Aquila(eagle), and Vega (vulture) –
pale in the light of dawn, representing the defeat of
the Harpies at the palace of King Phineus.
10.When the sun sets in Aries (the ram), the Argonauts
are at the Symplegades. The Pleiades represent
the dove sent through the two rocks to give the
Argo safe passage. When the Pleiades set in the
west, the Argo culminates and Lyra (Orpheus’ harp)
rises in the northeast. This recalls the safe journey
of the Argo through the Symplegades.
11.When the sun sets in the ram, Virgo comes up in
the east. This represents the slaying of the wild
boar by Atalanta.
12.The sun passes through Taurus as the Argonauts
arrive in Colchis.
Jason and the Argonauts –
the Quest for the Golden Fleece
Medea
In Colchis, King Aeetes was
reluctant to part with the
Golden Fleece. He
challenged Jason with a
quest: “You must yoke the
fire-breathing bulls and
plough a field for me to sow
some dragon’s teeth.”
Venus made Medea, the
king’s daughter, fall in love
with Jason and help him.
13.Perseus = King Aeetes stands above Taurus. Algol
(the demon star) = Medea. Aries the ram = golden
fleece. The fleece is guarded by a dragon (Cetus
the whale). Taurus represents the plowing of the
field.
14.Sun arrives in Gemini (twins), opposite Sagittarius.
This starts the homeward journey.
15.Medea kills her brother and throws the dismembered
body into the sea. This is represented by Auriga
(the charioteer) in the Milky Way (sea).
16.Sun arrives in Cancer (crab), when the Argo has to
bypass Scylla and Charybdis (sea monsters
depicted by Hydra, the watersnake). One of the
crew falls overboard. When Cancer rises in the east,
Bootes falls below the horizon in the west. In the
evening, Cancer sets in the west as Bootes rises
in the east, rescued by the music from Orpheus’ lyre.
17.Sun passes through Leo (lion) as the Argo passes
through Scylla and Charybdis with the help of the
Nereids, which we see when the sun in Leo rises
in the morning. The Hyades represent the Nereids.
18.Sun passes through Virgo (Circe the enchantress).
19.Sun enters Libra, the scales, representing the
wedding of Jason and Medea. A golden horse
(Pegasus) rises from the sea carrying three
goddesses (Andromeda and Cassiopeia).
20.Sun arrives in Scorpio, which depicts the Argonauts’
trek through the Lybian desert, where one of the
crew was killed by a scorpion. This is represented
by Orion setting in the west as Scorpio rises in the
east.
21.The sun arrives at its starting point, and the Argo
has returned home.
Medea
Jason leaves Medea to
marry a princess.
Much mayhem ensues.