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Camoes and the Dawn of Gama´s Ingress into India
Authors: Dos Santos, CP; Simoes, C
Ref.: Humanit. 86, 447-471 (2026)
Abstract: The goddess Venus is a main figure in The Lusiads, the protector of Vasco da Gama and his men throughout the epic poem. Moreover, the planet Venus, as Morning Star, accompanied Gama's armada during the whole crossing of the Indian Ocean, taking its leave at the moment of arrival in Calicut, astronomical phenomenon described in stanza 85, VI, and confirmed using computer models. Given that Cam & otilde;es was familiar with Pedro Nunes's Tratado da Esfera -as demonstrated by Luciano Pereira da Silva-and that he likely read classical authors-as suggested by Maria Helena da Rocha Pereira, the stanza in question must be interpreted with regard to both astronomical and mythological planes. Part of the stanza illustrates, in a non-fictional manner, the dawn sky on the day of Gama's arrival in India, while another part has mythological content. This paper proposes four interpretations of the stanza in question-two of them novel-derived from comparing astronomical data with classical myths.
