Planetarium software discovers a date for ancient Greek poem

Using advanced planetarium software, researchers have precisely dated a 2,500-year-old lyric poem down to the season, according to a new report in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.

Using a piece of software called Starry Night version 7.3, the study team recreated the night sky over Greece from more than 2,500 years ago, as described by poet Sappho in her work titled, “Midnight Poem.”

“This is an example of where the scientific community can make a contribution to knowledge described in important ancient texts,” Manfred Cuntz, physics professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said a press release. “Estimations had been made for the timing of this poem in the past, but we were able to scientifically confirm the season that corresponds to her specific descriptions of the night sky in the year 570 B.C.”

Here’s the poem:

The moon has set

And the Pleiades;

It is midnight,

The time is going by, 

And I sleep alone.

Using details in the poem to date its sky

In the poem, Sappho talked about the star cluster Pleiades setting over the horizon at around midnight. Since the ancient Greeks didn’t have precise clocks, the study researchers identified the earliest date that the Pleiades would have set at midnight or earlier in 570 B.C.

“Use of Planetarium software permits us to simulate the night sky more accurately on any date, past or future, at any location,” said co-author Levent Gurdemir, director of the planetarium at the University of Texas Arlington.”This is an example of how we are opening up the Planetarium to research into disciplines beyond astronomy, including geosciences, biology, chemistry, art, literature, architecture, history and even medicine.”

The researchers found Pleiades set at midnight on Jan. 25, which would be the first date in that year the poem could relate to. As the year moved on, the Pleiades set earlier and earlier. The scientists also established the last date Pleiades would have been seen at the conclusion of astronomical twilight, when the Sun’s altitude is -18 degrees and the sky is considered to be perfectly dark, was March 31.

“From there, we were able to accurately seasonally date this poem to mid-winter and early spring, scientifically confirming earlier estimations by other scholars,” Cuntz said.

Sappho has been described as a rival of the iconic Greek poet Homer, and Cuntz noted that her love of astronomy often made it into her works.

“Sappho should be considered an informal contributor to early Greek astronomy as well as to Greek society at large,” he said. “Not many ancient poets comment on astronomical observations as clearly as she does.”

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Image credit: NASA, ESA, AURA/Caltech

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