Ancient Greek technology
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Ancient Greek technology developed at an unprecedented speed during the 5th century BC, continuing up to and including the Roman period, and beyond. Inventions that are credited to the ancient Greeks such as the gear, screw, rotary mills, screw press, bronze casting techniques, water clock, water organ, torsion catapult and the use of steam to operate some experimental machines and toys. Many of these inventions occurred late in the Greek period, often inspired by the need to improve weapons and tactics in war. However, peaceful uses are shown by their early development of the watermill, a device which pointed to further exploitation on a large scale under the Romans. They developed surveying and mathematics to an advanced state, and many of their technical advances were published by philosophers like Archimedes and Hero.
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[edit] Inventions
- Antikythera mechanism
- Cranes
- Screws
- Gears
- Pipe Organs
- Odometers
- Wheelbarrows
- Diving bells
- Parchment
- Crossbows
- Torsion catapults
- Showers
- Cannon
[edit] Water technology
One of the ancient Greeks foundations for many modern technological achievements would include water resources. Some fields that were encompassed in the area of water resources (mainly for urban use), would include such areas as groundwater exploitation, construction of aqueducts for water supply, stormwater and wastewater sewerage systems, flood protection and drainage, construction and use of fountains, baths and other sanitary and purgatory facilities, and even recreational uses of water.[1]
[edit] Mining
The Greeks developed extensive silver mines at Laurium, the profits from which helped to support the growth of Athens as a city-state. It involved mining the ore in underground galleries, washing the ores and smelting it to produce the metal. Elaborate washing tables still exist at the site using rain water held in cisterns and collected during the winter months.
[edit] Technology
The failure of the Greeks to develop their technology has sometimes been attributed to the easy availability of slave labor, removing the need to develop labor-saving devices. However, slavery in Egypt apparently did not inhibit technological development. A more likely explanation was the Greek attitude to the social status of people providing labor. Manual labor was despised, and anyone attempting to apply science to it was likely to lose status in society, removing much of the incentive to seek technological innovation. A sophisticated tunnel built for an aqueduct in the 6th century BCE by the engineer Eupalinos at Samos has led to some reevaluation of the engineering skills of the Greeks.
[edit] Ancient Greek technology
| Technology | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Cartography | ca. 600 BC | First widespread amalgamation of geographical maps developed by Anaximander. |
| Crane | ca. 515 BC | Labor-saving device which allowed the employment of small and efficient work teams on construction sites. Later winches were added for heavy weights. |
| Tumbler lock | ca. 5th century BC | The tumbler lock, as well as other varieties, was introduced to Greece in the 5th century BC. |
| Gears | ca. 5th century BC | Developed further than in prehistoric times for a variety of practical purposes. |
| Plumbing | ca. 5th century BC | Excavations at Olympus as well as Athens have revealed extensive plumbing systems for baths and fountains as well as for personal use. |
| Rutway | ca. 600 BC | The 6 to 8.5 km long Diolkos represented a rudimentary form of railway.[2] |
| Urban planning | ca. 5th century BC | Miletus is one of the first known towns in the world to have a grid like plan for residential and public areas. It accomplished this feat through a variety of related innovations in areas such as surveying. |
| Crossbow | ca. 5th century BC | The Greeks made use of a handheld crossbow called the gastraphetes. |
| Central heating | ca. 350 BC | Great Temple of Ephesus was warmed by heated air that was circulated through flues laid in the floor. |
| Lighthouse | ca. 3rd century BC | The Lighthouse of Alexandria was designed by Sostratus of Cnidus. |
| Astrolabe | ca. 300 BC | First used around 200 B.C. by astronomers in Greece. Used to determine the altitude of objects in the sky. |
| Odometer | ca. 3rd century BC | Odometer, a device used in the late Hellenistic time and by Romans for indicating distance traveled by a vehicle was invented sometime in the 3rd century BC. Some historians attribute it to Archimedes, others to Hero of Alexandria. It helped revolutionize the building of roads and travelling by them by accurately measuring distance and being able to illustrate this with a milestone. |
| Cannon | ca. 3rd century BC | Ctesibius of Alexandria invented a primitive form of the cannon, operated by compressed air. |
| Levers | ca. 260 BC | First described about 260 BC by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. Although used in prehistoric times, they were first put to practical use for more developed technologies in Ancient Greece. |
| Dry dock | ca. 200 BC | Invented in Ptolemaic Egypt some time after the death of Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned 221-204 BC) as recorded by Athenaeus of Naucratis. |
| Air and water pumps | ca. 2nd century BC | Ctesibius and various other Greeks of Alexandria of the period developed and put to practical use various air and water pumps which served a variety of purposes, such as a water organ. |
| Surveying tools | ca. 2nd century BC | Various records relating to mentions of surveying tools have been discovered, mostly in Alexandrian sources, these greatly helped the development of the precision of Roman Aqueducts. |
| Analog computers | ca. 150 BC | See Antikythera mechanism |
| Automatic doors | ca. 1st century BC | Hero of Alexandria, a first century BC inventor from Alexandria, Egypt, created automatic doors for a temple with the aid of water pumps. |
[edit] References
- ^ Angelakis, A. N., and D. Koutsoyiannis, Urban water engineering and management in ancient Greece, The Encyclopedia of Water Science, edited by B. A. Stewart and T. Howell, 999-1007, Dekker, New York, 2003.
- ^ Lewis, M. J. T., "Railways in the Greek and Roman world", in Guy, A. / Rees, J. (eds), Early Railways. A Selection of Papers from the First International Early Railways Conference (2001), pp. 8-19 (8 & 15)
[edit] Further reading
- Lewis, M. J. T., "Railways in the Greek and Roman world", in Guy, A. / Rees, J. (eds), Early Railways. A Selection of Papers from the First International Early Railways Conference (2001), pp. 8-19 (10-15)
[edit] External links
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