Saturday Scenes

On the 28th of August 413 BC, the moon disappeared.

It was a lunar eclipse, when the sun, Earth and moon align exactly so that the sun’s rays are blocked by the earth. But they didn’t know that in 413 BC. The Athenians were in Sicily as a part of the Peloponesian War and were prepared to retreat and regroup if this sudden message from the Gods had not arrived.

Sicilian Expedition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just as the Athenians were preparing to sail home, there was a lunar eclipse, and Nicias, described by Thucydides as a particularly superstitious man, asked the priests what he should do. They suggested the Athenians wait for another twenty-seven days, and Nicias agreed. The Syracusans took advantage of this, and seventy-six of their ships attacked eighty-six Athenian ships in the harbour. The Athenians were defeated.

This decisive loss put the Athenians into a desperate position and it was not long after that they were thoroughly defeated by the Syracusan, ending the expedition. They lost tens of thousands of trained men and the entire fleet. This resulted in many neutral states allying with Sparta against a now-weakened Athens and revolts in the city which led to the government being overthrown within a few years. The lunar eclipse on the 28th of August was the beginning of the end for Athens. By 404 BC it was occupied by Sparta.

However, do not despair! On the 28th of August 2010, SatScenes was only just beginning! The moon was waning but clearly visible in the skies and the photographs taken are all, I am sure, portents of good times to come.

See for yourself:

And these are our victorious submitters:

• RacingHippo
• RAFairman
• raumsinn
• PCurd
• pewari
• JanetIsserlis
• dlewis1701
• akrabat
• jamesnnb
• pixelfreund
• icklemouse
• DaughterofLir
• sahfenn
• akaSylvia
• thermalhound
• UKMelia
• fembat
• tashenubaste
• NevilleFenn
• katiejmac09
• timewind
• brooks_beauty
• CliffStanford
• ingridf
• twasntme

You can find out what all of these great people are up to simply by checking the Saturday Scenes list which includes everyone who has participated this year.

And if you’d like to join in, just take a photograph on Saturday and send the link to @SatScenes with the location! It’s easy and fun and we love seeing new sights.