OF AGATHOCLES, THALES, AND XERXES. 199 
Greenwich Mean Solar Time of conjunction in R.A. — 480, April IS*^, 16^ 30“ 47®. 
R.A. of Sun and Moon at conjunction 21° 3' 37"’4. 
Sun’s North Declination at conjunction 8° 59' 5"‘0. 
Moon’s North Declination at conjunction 9° 18' 20"’0; 
Greenwich Mean Solar Time of Middle of General Eclipse .... 16*' 21“ 18®. 
And from these, 
Beginning of Central Eclipse on the Earth 14'* 41“ 47® 
in Longitude 49° 17^ East, Latitude 1° 25' North. 
Central Eclipse at Noon . . » ; 16’^ 30“ 47® 
in Longitude 111° 49' East, Latitude 27° 49' North. 
End of Central Eclipse on the Earth 18'’ 0“ 51® 
in Longitude 173° 13' East, Latitude 34° 2' North. 
51. If a diagram is constructed to exhibit the path of the shadow in this eclipse 
over the earth, and if it is remarked that the longitude of Sardes is about 28° East, it 
will be found that there could not be even a partial eclipse for Sardes, the whole 
penumbra having entered completely upon the earth before sunrise at Sardes. Nor, 
if the calculations above are correct (as I have great reason to believe), does it appear 
possible by alteration of secular movements to make an eclipse visible at Sardes, 
For if the moon’s longitude were diminished, to make this eclipse possible, it must 
also be diminished in b.c.585, and that w^ould make the eclipse of Thales impossible, 
as the moon would not then have entered upon the sun’s disk before sunset. 
52. Abandoning then the idea of explaining this account by a solar eclipse, I have 
examined into the possibility of referring it to some other phenomenon. First, I 
cannot doubt that there was something unusual and alarming, as the solemn con- 
sultation of the Magi by Xerxes seems to have been a matter of notoriety. Secondly, 
Herodotus repeatedly expresses himself doubtful on matters of detail which occurred 
during the movements of Xerxes on the eastern side of the vEgean sea. Thirdly, 
the notion that the Sun was the peculiar divinity of the Greeks and the Moon that of 
the Persians, is entirely opposed to all that we know of the religious ideas of the 
Persians generally, or of Xerxes in particular. For instance, when Xerxes was 
preparing to cross the Hellespont, he waited for. the rising of the Sun, and then 
addressed to the Sun his prayers for success. The Greeks however appear to have 
attached great importance to the appearance of the Moon, as is evident from their 
terror, and its calamitous consequences, at the lunar eclipse in the Syracusan war 
(Thucydides, book vii.). The reply of the Magi therefore, which (as given by 
Herodotus) is, on the face of it, absurd, would seem to be much more plausible if 
we suppose that the information received by Herodotus was wrong in one particular, 
and that the observation in question was an eclipse of the moon, instead of the sun. 
53. Now there was an eclipse of the moon on the morning of the 14th of March, 
B.c. 479, which answers well to the conditions of the history. The elements of com^ 
putation are, for — 478, March 13, 15'’, Greenwich Mean Solar Time, 
