Evaggelos Vallianatos has written an article of scholarship which provides us with information about the extraordinary achievements of ancient Greece.

We have long known that western civilisation could not have come into existence without the contribution made by the giants of ancient Greek learning. Perhaps less widely known is the contribution made by Greek science, particularly in the fields of astronomy and mathematics.

This article whets the appetite to know more of our inheritance and those who bequeathed it. If that was Vallianatos intention, he has succeeded brilliantly.

Marvelous!

In the last four centuries, calculating machines have been invented several times, often with little or no reference to other instances.

Given the state of the art of the Antikythera Mechanism, mechanical computers somewhere between Schickard's (or Pascal's) and that of Konrad Zuse may have been technically feasible two thousand years ago.

How's that for steampunk?

The difference was establishing a need, and perhaps the greeks had no pressing large computational projects requiring the handling of numbers in a large number of operations. They certainly had the capacity to design and build a non-analogue calculating machine.

Rusty

What a wonderful article. No wonder Australia became a thriving nation - it was all the wonderful Greeks who emigrated to Oz. I think we got the best. Have been to Greece many times over the years and once considered settling permanent there. Why, then aren't the modern Greeks in Greece very good at basic economics? They are now having to suffer for decades of economic mismanagement. Pity the old spark of ingenuity and genius seems to have gone.

Always good to be reminded that our ancestors were as intelligent as us. There is also a mention in passing of the bad effect of being part of the Roman empire had on Greek science.
This is a theme well explored by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira in their book "Barbarians" which presents an alternate view of Rome not as civilisers but destroyers.

Wisdom of ancients

Very often forgotten

Reinventing wheels

Excellent article!

The Antikythera Mechanism, indeed is probably the most important technical artifact of all times. It proves that the roots of science go before Archimedes and Hipparchus.

Our present day world, science, technology and philosophy, has its foundation in this mechanism, which come from the transformation of Aubery holes of Stonehenge to teeth in the Antikythera Mechanism gears.

Bravo Evaggelos Vallianatos!

______________________

Dear Australians,

would you be interested for an exhibition of the Antikythera mechanism and Greek Astronomy in Australia? We have had several very succesfull ones worldwide.

The exhibition presents this intriguing device and Greek Science centered around it in some 20 panels and computer 3D interactive models, a short film and several 3D interactive photos. It is an excellent Great Attractor of children to science, technology and philosophy.

In establishing this exhibition I need your help. Please be sure that it will be for the benefit of the children of Australia and not only.

Xenophon Moussas, associate professor in Space Physics
Director of Astrophysics Laboratory
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Panepistimiopolis, GR 15783 Zographos, Greece
Tel +30 210 7276853, mobile +30 6978792891
e-mail: xmoussas AT phys DOT uoa DOT gr
http://www.cc.uoa.gr/physics/sections/astrophysics/hellenic/space00.html
http://www.cc.uoa.gr/~artemis/
http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr
cv: http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/project/team/academic/xenophon-moussas