Odysseus Returns

April 16, 1178 BC - After 10 years fighting the Trojan War and another 7 years holed up in a cave with a nymph named Calypso, this was the day that Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, finally returned home.

Odysseus arrived at his homecoming dressed as a beggar. Nobody recognized him - except for his dog, Argos. The loyal animal perked up for his old master, then rolled over and died.

Of course almost everybody had figured that Odysseus was long dead, so there were plenty of suitors hitting on his supposed widow, Penelope. Odysseus quickly saw to it that all of them were slain.

Adding to the weirdness, a full solar eclipse plunged the world into complete darkness. Homer wrote about it in The Odyssey:

The Sun has been obliterated from the sky, and an unlucky darkness invades the world.

Using this and other astronomical clues, researchers have pinpointed the exact date of the king's return to April 16, 1178 BC.