Sailing Under Greek Skies

Brad Carroll

Medea

Seeing Medea withoutknowing 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 JohannesHevelius, 17th century

In 1752, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille split Argo Navis into three smaller constellations.

the Poop

the Sails

the Keel

from the French word (la poupe) for stern

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 courseThat was the teaching of old ThalesWho in bygone days gauged the starsOf the Little Bear by which the PhoeniciansSteered 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 NavigationThe 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 NavigationAntikythera Mechanism

dates from 150 – 100 BC

Greek NavigationAntikythera 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 NavigationAntikythera 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

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.

http://www.mythweb.com/heroes/jason/index.html

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.

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Sunstarts here

1. Sun between Scorpio and SagittariusAbove Scorpio is Ophiuchus = JasonAbove 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 = theArgonauts visit with Chiron, Jason’s old master andteacher.

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 Samothracewhere 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 forhis friend Hylas, who was drowned by the waternymphs, the Hyades.

7. When the sun arrives in Pisces (the fishes), atsunset Leo rises, followed by Virgo. The representsthe visit at Cybele (who has a lion in front of herchariot).

8. As the fishes set, Orion is high in the sky representing the giant Amycus (slain by Castor andPollux).

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 ofthe Harpies at the palace of King Phineus.

10.When the sun sets in Aries (the ram), the Argonauts are at the Symplegades. The Pleiades representthe 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 inthe 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 wasreluctant to part with the Golden Fleece. He challenged Jason with a quest: “You must yoke thefire-breathing bulls andplough a field for me to sowsome dragon’s teeth.”

Venus made Medea, the king’s daughter, fall in lovewith 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 dismemberedbody 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 tobypass Scylla and Charybdis (sea monsters depicted by Hydra, the watersnake). One of thecrew falls overboard. When Cancer rises in the east, Bootes falls below the horizon in the west. In theevening, 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 theNereids, which we see when the sun in Leo risesin 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 threegoddesses (Andromeda and Cassiopeia).

20.Sun arrives in Scorpio, which depicts the Argonauts’ trek through the Lybian desert, where one of thecrew was killed by a scorpion. This is representedby Orion setting in the west as Scorpio rises in the east.

21.The sun arrives at its starting point, and the Argohas returned home.

Medea

Jason leaves Medea tomarry a princess.

Much mayhem ensues.