Thales and the Battle of the Eclipse

Apr 8, 2024

Thales of Miletus, a philosopher and mathematician, predicted a total solar eclipse in 585 BCE, which ended the battle between Media and Lydia. The podcast delves into Thales' enigmatic life, his mathematical contributions, and the historical interpretations of celestial events during the battle. It discusses the mystery of Thales' eclipse prediction and the challenges of aligning historical records with astronomical events.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Thales of Miletus and the Solar Eclipse Battle

01:53 • 11min

Thales: The Legendary Mathematician and Philosopher

12:48 • 15min

Historical Interpretations of Celestial Events in the Battle of the Eclipse

28:00 • 4min

Unraveling the Mystery of Thales' Eclipse Prediction

32:21 • 12min

Controversial Actions and Contact Information

44:25 • 3min

On May 28, in the year 585 BCE, there was a total solar eclipse during a battle between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. This eclipse had been predicted by Thales of Miletus, and it led to the ends of both the battle and the war. Maybe.

Research:

"Thales of Miletus." Math & Mathematicians: The History of Math Discoveries Around the World, edited by Leonard C. Bruno, UXL, 2008. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1669000047/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=941ff118. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.
"Thales." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 13, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008, pp. 295-298. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2830904273/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=78008eeb. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.
Airy, G. B. “On the Eclipses of Agathocles, Thales, and Xerxes.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 143, 1853, pp. 179–200. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/108561. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.
Batten, A. H. “The Saros Period and Halley's Comet.” Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol.76, NO. 4, P. 258, 1982. https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1982JRASC..76..258B
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Thales of Miletus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Dec. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thales-of-Miletus. Accessed 20 March 2024.
Cantor, Lea. “Thales – the ‘first philosopher’? A troubled chapter in the historiography of philosophy.” British Journal of the History of Philosophy. 2022, VOL. 30, NO. 5, 727–750. https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2022.2029347
Couprie, Dirk L. “How Thales Was Able to "Predict" a Solar Eclipse without the Help of Alleged Mesopotamian Wisdom.” Early Science and Medicine , 2004, Vol. 9, No. 4 (2004). https://www.jstor.org/stable/4130201
Downey, Ed. “Thales of Miletus.” Great Neck Publishing. 8/1/2017. Via EBSCO.
Gershon, Livia. “How Astronomers Write History.” JSTOR Daily. 3/10/2024. https://daily.jstor.org/how-astronomers-write-history/
Leloux, Kevin. “The Battle of the Eclipse (May 28, 585 BC): A Discussion of the Lydo-Median Treaty and the Halys Border.” Polemos 19 (2016). https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/264738
Miguel Querejeta, ‘On the Eclipse of Thales, Cycles and Probabilities’, Culture And Cosmos, Vol. 15, no. 1, Spring/Summer 2011, pp. 5–16. www.CultureAndCosmos.org
Mosshammer, Alden A. “Thales' Eclipse.” Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-2014). 1981, Vol. 111 (1981). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/284125
O’Grady, Patricia. “Thales of Miletus (c. 620 B.C.E.—c. 546 B.C.E.).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/thales/
Redlin, Lothar et al. “Thales' Shadow.” Mathematics Magazine , Dec., 2000, Vol. 73, No. 5 (Dec., 2000). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2690810
Stanley, Matthew. “Predicting the Past: Ancient Eclipses and Airy, Newcomb, and Huxley on the Authority of Science.” Isis, vol. 103, no. 2, 2012, pp. 254–77. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/666355. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.
Worthen, Thomas. “Herodotus’ Report on Thales’ Eclipse.” Vol. 3, No. 7. May 1997. https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V3N7/worthen.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.