5l8 TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



as before asserted, one year after the battle on the Halys, during 

 which a total obscuration of the sun happened there ; and this 

 Mandane was, at the time of marrying Cyrus's father, an adult 

 virgin of about 25 years ; consequently, the eclipse on the Halys 

 and that predicted to the Milesians by Thales must have been two 

 separate occurrences. If we refer the eclipse in — 584 to the 

 battle on the Halys, Cyrus, being born in — 596, would have been 

 born 13 years prior to his mother. The eclipse terminating the 

 battle oil the Halys near Lydia was that in — 621, May 17, 2oh. 

 25m. P. T., which happened, as Herodotus says, "some hours 

 after the beginning of the battle," and not with sunrise, ft 2° E. 

 of the sun ; but according to our Table, p. 429, 4° W. of the sun. 

 Consequently Mandane was born in — 620 ; and one year prior 

 to Cyrus's birth, in — 595, she was 25 years of age. About that 

 time no other eclipse of the sun could have been total on the south- 

 ern Halys; consequently Hind's eclipse of — 584 clearly refutes 

 the present theory of the moon's motions. 



No. 4. The notable total eclipse of the sun near Sardis, in 

 sight of the whole army of Xerxes, coincided with sunrise (Her. 

 viii. 51, vii. 37), for dure -^fiepat; uhq iyt^usro. It was, moreover, 

 a total one (6 -^^roc d<pau7]^ 9ju), and happened in the early spring, 

 I year and 6 months prior to the Olympian games. The latter 

 being celebrated, subsequent to the occupation of Attica by Xerxes, 

 during June in — 477, the epoch of this eclipse is evidently fixed. 

 In the year —478, Feb. 17th, i5h. 30m. P. T., the 15 lay 17°, but 

 according to my Table, p. 429, only 12° east of the sun, and the 

 conjunction happened almost four hours later. Petavius referred 

 Xerxes' departure from Sardis to — 480, but Hind, nevertheless, 

 had recourse to the eclipse in — 477, Feb. i6th, 23h. lom. This 

 eclipse, however^ did not coincide with sunrise, as Herodotus, 

 born in the same year, asserts, and it was not at all a total one 

 near Sardis, but partial and " annular," and it disagi"ees appa- 

 rently with the epochs of the Olympian games. Besides, the solar 

 eclipse of Cleombrotus, mentioned by Hind, and observed near 

 Corinth one year after the same Olympian games (Herod, ix. 10) 

 subsequent to the battle at Salamis, was that in — 476, Aug. ist, 

 ih. 30m., P. T., ft 5° west of the sun (p. 488). Hind, on the con- 

 trary, computed the eclipse in — 479, Oct. 2d, ih. P. T., ft 9° W., 

 which eclipse does not correspond with all other reports. It pre- 



