MovieChat Forums > Apocalypto (2006) Discussion > Confused on this

Confused on this

posted 10 years ago by Hillius
9 replies | jump to latest

If this film is supposed to be about the decline of the Maya- having already reached their peak- then if history can be trusted wouldn't they have already been able to predict eclipses-hundreds of years in advance-and understand what they were due to their awesome astrology skills? Instead they seem to act rather like neanderthals and just attribute the eclipse to their deity.

Also if this movie is historically accurate, IMO the ancient Maya were some pretty disgusting people, even for all their contributions to science and beyond.

[–] Harold_of_Whoa 10 years ago

I'm not going to pretend to be a Mayan scholar, but just looking at the movie, I think you misinterpreted.

The guys at the top of the pyramid do know how to predict the eclipse; the crowds at the bottom do not. Irrespective of whether or not there was ever general knowledge among the lower-strata population that solar eclipses are predictable natural events, by the time of what is being portrayed on screen, we are to interpret that only the elites know this, and they are using their knowledge to reinforce their power over the population by putting on the show of blood sacrifice and convincing people that they have engendered favor with a god or gods (Kukulkan?)

"Morbius, something is approaching from the southwest. It is now quite close."

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Harold_of_Whoa 10 years ago

Can you reference a source to back up your claim that the Mayans could predict eclipses?

No, nor am I claiming that the actual Mayans could predict eclipses. I don't know that.

I am interpreting what appears in the film Apocalypto, and nothing more.

Yeah, I'm sure all that common knowledge that ancient Mayans of the real world were advanced in astronomy is just propaganda and misinformation and such.

"Morbius, something is approaching from the southwest. It is now quite close."

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Harold_of_Whoa 10 years ago

I think they could predict eclipses as well as they could predict the end of the world (which happened on 12/21/12, remember?).

Can you reference a source to back up your claim that the Mayans predicted that the world would end on 12/21/12?

"Morbius, something is approaching from the southwest. It is now quite close."

[–] golfguy-12398 10 years ago

It's a known fact that the mayan's were masters of astronomy and the understanding of time, mostly as it pertains to cycles. Their long count calender was far more advanced than what we use in modern ages. Those are facts. Their calender didn't predict the end of the world as we know it, it just signified the end of one of their cycles, sort of like our "years", although they had (I forget the name, but I'll call it a kan) kans that would last thousands of our years. Someone interpreted this as the end of the world and everyone ran with it, probably to sell books. It's alot to write but I found a good article that explains it here that you can read if you like. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon

Did you see the preist nodding to the emperor when the sun eclipses as if he's saying "I told you so" and then the emperor nodding back as if he's saying "Damn, you were right"? I think that tells us that the priest does indeed know about the eclipse because of their knowledge of astronomy and cycles and confirms their power over the masses of uneducated people.

[–] vortexrider 10 years ago

I think they indeed were able to predict and knew that the eclipse were going to happen. The king, priests , and soldiers were not surprised when it happened. Only the lay people at the bottom of the pyramid were surprised. They probably would have no idea about full astronomical knowledge the king and his people knew. They could have used this knowledge to manipulate the people. However, they probably did believe that the gods were doing it and needed some kind of appeasement which is why they had the sacrificises in the first place, not to mention all the stone carvings preserved in history which suggest that these views were actually held by those who carved the stone.

[–] psdhart 10 years ago

did you also watch this on bbc2, vortexrider?

according to trivia

According to director Mel Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia's DVD commentary, the halting of the sacrifices at the onset of a solar eclipse is a carefully-timed ruse by the Mayan ruling class. As precocious astrologers, the Mayans used their knowledge of celestial phenomena to control the underclass.

[–] vortexrider 10 years ago

No, I've read somewhere about it some years ago when everyone was talking about the ridiculous 2012 Mayan calendar and the end of the world.