The most interesting inventions of Ancient Greece

Experts of history argue that the development of European culture would be impossible without Ancient Greece. Indeed, the modern world owes much to Hellas.

Military mechanics and technology

Studying the discoveries and inventions of Ancient Greece, one should immediately say that the representatives of this ancient civilization made great emphasis on the development of military equipment and related disciplines. In particular, it was the Greeks who were among the first to learn how to create stenobit devices - catapults and ballistics. Many new siege devices appeared during the Peloponnesian War. At the same time there were battering rams to break through walls and turtle canopies designed to protect against arrows and spears.

It is interesting to know that siege weapons were used not only during the siege of cities, but also in sea battles. This, in turn, led to changes in the design of ships. Instead of old ships began to use multi-storey and multi-tiered structures. The number of tiers on the ship could reach five, eight or more!

The inventions of Ancient Greece were not accidentally related to the war, because in that turbulent time the enemies were surrounded on all sides. One of the most powerful siege engines was a nine-story gelepol. To move this machine, there were 3,500 people who were engaged in laying roads and equipping ditches, in addition, they cleared the territory for the gun.

Defensive devices were used against the siege weapons of the opponents. Thus, during the siege of Syracuse (213 AD), residents of the besieged city used mechanical devices designed by Archimedes, hooked the Roman ships with strong hooks and sank them.

Production technology

Simultaneously with the military, other types of equipment developed. In particular, considering the inventions of Ancient Greece, it is worth noting the creation of the Archimedean screw, which turned out to be a turning point. On its basis, the so-called Egyptian snail was designed - an impeller with buckets, which was driven by animal power and a water mill. This adaptation began to be actively introduced into the milling and mining industries - the main branches of Hellenic production.

Noteworthy are other inventions of Ancient Greece: a water mill, a horizontal loom, the improvement of forging hammers and forges.

A large number of achievements were made in the fields of paint manufacturing, leather dressing and glass blowing.

The Science of Ancient Greece

Let's talk about those scientists and inventors who have made the greatest contribution to the development of science not only of Hellas itself, but of the whole world. And there were not so few of them. But we, naturally, dwell on the most famous.

Astronomy

The first remarkable person is, undoubtedly, Thales of Miletus. It is believed that it was this man who was the first to study the movement of the Sun across the sky. He also advanced the theory that the moon only reflects light, and the eclipses of the Sun occur in those moments when a satellite passes between the Earth and the heavenly body. In addition, Thales suggested using the calendar on the Egyptian pattern, in which the year consisted of 365 days, divided into 12 months for 30 days each (5 days in this case fell out).

Separately, we should talk about Aristarchus, who is often called the Copernicus of Antiquity. The most famous and only surviving work of this scholarly husband is the book "On the dimensions of the Sun and Moon and the distances to them". The inventions of Ancient Greece, which are attributed to him, are evidence of the movement of the Earth around its axis and around the Sun. In addition, he is considered the founder of trigonometry and optics.

Hipparchus is another well-known ancient Greek scientist who introduced a coordinate network of parallels and meridians to determine the longitude and latitude of the place on Earth. He also compiled the first trigonometric table on the planet, and also learned to predict the eclipses of the Sun to within an hour.

And another philosopher, an astronomer and mathematician, Anaxagoras of Clazomen, was accused of atheism and expelled with disgrace for his assumption that the Sun is a giant glowing mass.

Geography

What else was famous for Ancient Greece? The inventions of this civilization still live. For example, Kratet Mall (Pergamon) is considered the creator of the first model of the globe.

Mathematics

One of the most revered sciences in Hellas is mathematics. Archimedes, which we mentioned above, made a huge number of discoveries in the field of geometry, and laid the foundations of hydrostatics and mechanics. Thales of Miletus also worked in this field. In particular, he managed to prove several theorems (the equality of vertical angles, the division of the circle in half along the diameter line, and others). Since the school, we all remember the Pythagorean theorem, which was also proved at that time.

Other discoveries of the Greeks

What else was famous for Ancient Greece? Achievements and inventions of this country are used even by us. For example, a talented inventor Geron invented an automatic machine for selling sacred water - a prototype of modern coffee machines.

The Hellenes' favorite pastime was the mechanical puppet theater, all the dolls in which moved automatically.

Well, if you need to highlight the most large-scale inventions of Ancient Greece, then, first of all, it is worth remembering the "Eolipile of Heron" - the first prototype of steam turbines, which appeared 2,000 years after the advent of the toy.