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WOULD WE HAVE THESE THINGS IF IT WASN'T FOR ANCIENT GREECE

Added on: 20th Jun 2016

 

 

VENDING MACHINE

Vending Machine

Vending machines might look like modern marvels, but

they are actually pretty old. Greek inventor Hero of Alexandria

made one around 215 B.C. which dispensed holy water to temple

worshipers. A coin was dropped into a slot and came to rest on

a metal pan, where its weight pushed the pan down to open a

valve and dispense water. Once the coin’s weight made the pan

tilt at a severe angle, the coin would slide off and return the pan

to an upright position, shutting the valve off.

 

 

THERMOMETER

Thermometer

The original technology behind the thermometer is quite old, dating

back almost two thousand years. It was the Greeks of Alexandria

who first figured out how air expands when exposed to high

temperatures. It was Philo of Byzantium who first applied this

technique to determine air temperature, and Galileo later

improved on it by introducing the concept of a “scale”

to quantify the process.

 

 

CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE

Classical Architecture

Greek architects created the three major architectural orders of

antiquity (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian) that continue to influence

the world to this day. Greek architecture provided not only

many of the staple features of modern Western architecture,

but has also given the world magnificent buildings which have

literally stood the test of time and continue to inspire admiration,

the Parthenon being a prime example.

 

 

THEATRE

Theater

The city-state of Athens is where theatre was born. It was part of a

broader culture of theatricality and performance in classical

Greece that included festivals, religious rituals, athletics, music,

poetry, weddings, and even funerals. In fact, even the word

theatre is derived from the Greek word theatron,

which means “a place for viewing.”

 

 

ROBOTS

Robots

What is known as “the automatic servant of Philon” was the first

operating robot. It was a human-like robot in the form of a

maid that held a jug of wine in her right hand. When the

visitor placed a cup in the palm of her left hand, she

automatically poured wine and then poured water

into the cup, mixing it when desired.

 

 

WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

Western Philosophy

Arguably the three most famous, influential philosophers of all time;

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, are widely considered the fathers

of Western philosophy and freethinking. Even the term

philosophy derives from the Greek word (philosophia),

which was probably first coined by Pythagoras and means

“love of wisdom” or “friend of wisdom.” Through philosophy

the Greeks became the first people in recorded history

to try to interpret the world, nature, reality, and existence

from a human perspective.

 

 

THE FIRST ANALOG COMPUTER/CALCULATOR

The First Analog Computer/Calculator

Okay, we admit we might be stretching it a little by calling

“the Antikythera mechanism” an analogue computer,

but the fact remains that it is the earliest preserved portable

astronomical calculator in recorded history. It could display

the positions of the sun, the moon, and most probably

the four planets besides Earth known to antiquity: Mercury,

Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. It was also used to predict solar

and lunar eclipses and kept an accurate calendar of many years.

 

 

LOGIC

Logic

According to some historians, logic is an even more important

Ancient Greek contribution than philosophy. Logic was first

developed by Aristotle. Aristotelian logic became widely accepted

in science and mathematics and remained in wide use in

most parts of the world until the early nineteenth century.

Aristotle’s system of logic was responsible for the introduction

of hypothetical syllogism, temporal modal logic, and inductive

logic, as well as influential terms such as terms, predicables,

syllogisms, and propositions.

 


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