Are the Greeks the "Mill Vanilli" of astronomy? Well, perhaps not in that they did not "lip sync' their way through astronomy; they did indeed make contributions to the science. But, it appears they may have had a lot of help from the Babylonians. Perhaps one of the more dramatic pieces of evidence is Thales' (c. 630-550 B.C.) prediction of a total solar eclipse that is reported to have stopped the battle between the Medes and the Lydians. There is no direct evidence to support that Thales did not make the prediction. As a matter of fact, his forecast was referred to in the writings of notable people more contemporary to Thales' time. These writers include Herodotus, Eudemus, and Pliny to name a few. It should be noted though, that none of the writers claim Thales made the prediction with the intention of stopping the battle but, rather, that was pure chance. To make his prediction of a total eclipse that would be visible in specific parts of the world required more detailed information than Thales would likely have had available at the time. Thales may have visited Babylon during his lifetime; there was evidence that he did visit Egypt, so a visit to Babylon was certainly possible. Thales was not likely the only way Babylonian astronomy made its way to Greece. There have been objects such as boundary stones, vases, stone slabs, and pillars that indicate there was travel between the countries of the Middle East, the cradle of civilization, and other countries. Countries such as Babylon had long histories and would have had established cultures and trade routes that would have attracted visitors or ambassadors. The Greeks likely amassed their knowledge of Babylonian astronomy by co-opting it while occupying the land. An intriguing tale associated with this is that perhaps Aristotle instructed his nephew, Callisthenes, the military commander in Babylon, to send back the astronomical records from Babylon. The statement is generally considered fable, but none the less, the Greeks had full access to tens of thousands of years of Babylonian records. A conquering nation typically took everything, but may allow the conquered people to continue their own culture and practices. The conquering nation may have needed them to continue as they (the conquerors) may not have been able to do it themselves. However, all the results and credit is attributed to the victors. So, the Greeks may not have "lip synced their way to a Grammy" as they indeed parlay their acquired information to advance astronomy, but they would not have been able to do it without a head start and boost from the Babylonians! [1] -- Reported by Julie Johnston, Webb City Junior High [1] Clarke, L. (1962). Greek Astronomy and Its Debt to the Babylonians. The British Society for the History of Science. Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 1962), pp. 65-77. Other Sources: Pingree, D. (1992). Hellenophilia versus the History of Science. The History of Science Society. Vol. 83, No. 4 (Dec. 1992), pp. 554-563. Jones, A. (1991). The Adaptation of Babylonian Methods in Greek Numerical Astronomy. The History of Science Society. Vol. 82, No. 3 (Sept. 1991), pp. 441-453. Goldstein, B.R., & Bowen, A.C. (1983). A New View of Early Greek Astronomy. The History of Science Society. Vol. 74, No. 3 (Sept. 1983), pp. 330-340. |