Introduction

Compared with the careful observations of similar age which are recorded on the Late Babylonian astronomical texts, many of the eclipse records in ancient Greek and Roman history come as something of an anticlimax. Although numerous descriptions of both solar and lunar obscurations are preserved in these sources, commencing as early as the seventh century BC, most accounts are too vague to be suitable for investigating the Earth's past rotation. The majority of writings which mention eclipses are literary rather than technical, and include historical works, biographies and even poems. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century authors such as Nevill (e.g. 1906a), Ginzel (1899), Cowell (e.g. 1906b), and Fotheringham (e.g. 1920b) paid much attention to these observations. However, this was largely because little other material was available at the time.

As noted in chapter 3, the mainstay of investigations made around the beginning of the present century was undoubtedly untimed observations of large solar eclipses. Attempts to date the various records and identify the places of observation proved an almost irresistible challenge to Fotheringham and his contemporaries, and much effort was expended in these pursuits. Considerable interest was also shown in using ancient eclipses to date historical events. (For a recent summary, see Stephenson, 1993.)

There seems little doubt that many records in Greek and Roman history relate to eclipses which were either total or fell not much short of this phase.