Notes on Homeric Cosmography, Geography and Navigation (Od. 10. 507; 3. 318-322; 13. 28-30)
The Odyssey locates the realm of the dead in the far south where the sun never shines. The combination of these two features reflects an idea of a solar disc that shines with only one (right) side, its other side being dark. Such an idea is known from the two opposite parts of the Indo-European world, Denmark (where it is exemplified in the so-called Trundholm solar chariot) and India (where it is directly stated in the Aitareya Brahmana and the Rig Veda). The words of the Odyssey about enormous expanse of the sea reflect the exploration of oceanic waters, and the much-debated passage of the Aethiopes (“that are sundered in twain, the farthermost of men, abiding some where Hyperion sets, and some where he rises”) are likely to reflect reports about black population found on both eastern and western coasts of Africa. Sailing at night, repeatedly mentioned in the Odyssey, implies a good knowledge of the starry heaven.