In his book "Solar Eclipses" (Reaktion books, 2026), writer and historian of astronomy William Sheehan goes back to ancient times to discover what impact this awe-inspiring celestial dance between the sun and the moon had on ancient civilizations, and how over time we began to understand the science choreographing it.
Today, with the ability to predict the paths of eclipses to extremely high accuracy, to make quite successful long-range (ten days or more) weather forecasts, ease of travel and for many, plus a significant amount of discretionary income that never existed in previous times, seeing eclipses has become a passion for thousands of global eclipse-chasers. People seek out a connection with the larger universe that includes a huge rush of adrenaline and life-transforming emotions that have been described as "spiritual" in nature. Of course, eclipses have occurred since time immemorial, but until recent times people have experienced them on a somewhat haphazard basis. This is emphatically the case with total solar eclipses, which, despite being the most stunning, are rare from any given place and could hardly be expected (before eclipse prediction and travel became more convenient) to be seen in a human lifetime.
People working in fields or hunting and fishing have little incentive to stare at the Sun.
Even to be aware of the partial phases of a solar eclipse is difficult unless the eclipse is very deep — marked changes in the intensity of sunlight occur only minutes before totality. And in general, people working in fields or hunting and fishing have little incentive to stare at the Sun. Thus, for untold ages, partial solar eclipses must largely have been simply missed. Lunar eclipses, on the other hand, are much more frequent from any one location, since a total lunar eclipse is visible anywhere within the night hemisphere of Earth. Lunar eclipses are also highly impressive, involving as they do the Moon's light being encroached upon and swallowed in shadow as well as the colour of the Moon turning to blood red.
An illustration of a bust of Archilochus, whose poem written in the seventh century B.C.E. is the first-known account of a total solar eclipse. (Image credit: De Agostini/Getty Images)Until the second century B.C.E. (and then first in Babylonia after millennia of recording celestial phenomena and their associated omens), it was impossible to predict with any accuracy when a total solar eclipse would occur. The best one could do was to suggest that on such and such a date it was somewhat probable that an eclipse might occur, though whether partial or total — or no eclipse at all — could not be determined. Thus any supposed prediction of an eclipse would have been a matter of sheer luck. No one yet had a clear idea of what caused an eclipse. Moreover, at a time when the Sun and Moon were regarded as gods, who could possibly know the minds of deities, or set limits to their arbitrary sway?
We are lucky to have one very vivid first-hand account from an eyewitness of such an event. He was the Greek soldier and poet Archilochus, who lived on the island of Paros during the seventh century B.C.E., a century or so after Homer and Hesiod. Much of what we know about him (or think we know) is based on what he recorded in his poems. Thus without his poems, "we would never have found out that his mother Enipo was a slave … nor that he was an adulterer, that he was licentious and violent, and, most disgraceful of all, that he threw away his shield [during a battle]."
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Nothing is surprising anymore, nothing is deniable on oath;
Zeus, father of the Olympians, has turned midday into night,
with fear.
There is no longer any reason for amazement, even if you see
making the oceans their pasture, and taking joy
while the dolphins, for their part, think better of the wooded
(Translated by Michael Armstrong)
Excerpted from "Solar Eclipses" (Reaktion books, 2026) by William Sheehan.
Reaktion Books Solar EclipsesWilliam Sheehan's book is a fascinating insight into the history of solar eclipses and the impact it had on civilizations long before we understood what was happening in the skies above us. From ancient history to the modern day, the book is filled with incredible stories of the people that furthered our knowledge of one of the most extraordinary celestial events. — AM
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