Solon

Statesman, Lawmaker, Philosopher, Poet (c638 BC – c558 BC)

Solon was born in Athens from a wealthy family descending from the last legendary king of Athens Codrus. From an early age, Solon was a philomath but the unfortunate loss of his father’s fortune made him a merchant, travelling in Egypt and Cyprus and trading Athenian products. Throughout his travels, Solon became acquainted with the way of administration of various cities he visited. With his perspicacity and philopatry, Solon was motivated to become involved in Athenian politics and save Athens from the forecoming downfall which he was sensing.

When Solon gained full power as a legislator, wealth and power was in the hands of few while the majority of the Athenians were plunged into poverty, some of them forced to become slaves to repay their debts. For this reason, Solon introduced the law of Seisachtheia, a word that means “shaking off the burden”. This law cancelled pre-existing debts, ended debt-related imprisonment and slavery, which had become rampant in Athens and returned confiscated property to their respective owners. Other laws he introduced decreased the number of lands owners were allowed to have and forbade cereal and grain export except olive oil because so much had been exported that there was not enough for the Athenians. He promoted trade and minted a new coin, which proved to be more effective in trade with other cities.

As far as concerning his political reforms, Solon laid the foundations of Athenian democracy. Through a series of laws, he gave political privilege to the people, regardless of their wealth and obliged them to participate in the administration of their city. He divided the people into 4 classes depending on their wealth and on this basis he put taxation on the basis of their income. He founded the Council of the Four Hundred, something similar to the modern day parliament, the Assembly, the sovereign body of the state in which any citizen could participate and Heliaia, the supreme court. Other important political actions of Solon were the reclaiming of Salamis in 604 BC by the Athenians, which they had lost during a war with the Maegarians, reforms in the army, introduction of strict codes of Law against homosexuality and the abolition of most of Draco’s laws, including the death penalty.

Interestingly, Solon and Plato share the same descent, henceforth being distant relatives. He has a prominent role in Plato’s magnum opus Timaeus, where Critias narrates to Socrates and the others about Solon’s visit to Egypt. There, he has a conversation with a wise priest. This conversation provides us with a huge insight on Greece’s lost history many millennia ago. The priest says “O Solon, Solon, you Hellenes are never anything but children, and there is not an old man among you”. Solon in return asked him what he meant. He replied, that “in mind you are all young; there is no old opinion handed down among you by ancient tradition, nor any science which is hoary with age. And I will tell you why. There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes. There is a story, which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Phaethon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father’s chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals; at such times those who live upon the mountains and in dry and lofty places are more liable to destruction than those who dwell by rivers or on the seashore […]. When, on the other hand, the gods purge the earth with a deluge of water, the survivors in your country are herdsmen and shepherds who dwell on the mountains, but those who, like you, live in cities are carried by the rivers into the sea. Whereas in this land, neither then nor at any other time, does the water come down from above on the fields, having always a tendency to come up from below; for which reason the traditions preserved here are the most ancient”. […]

“Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves. As for those genealogies of yours which you just now recounted to us, Solon, they are no better than the tales of children. In the first place you remember a single deluge only, but there were many previous ones; in the next place, you do not know that there formerly dwelt in your land the fairest and noblest race of men which ever lived, and that you and your whole city are descended from a small seed or remnant of them which survived. And this was unknown to you, because, for many generations, the survivors of that destruction died, leaving no written word”. The dialogue serves as a prooemium to the priests’ narration of Atlantis, which is the core subject of Plato’s Timaeus.

Today, Solon is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of Athenian democracy. His reputation at the time of the peak of his career grew immensely. As a result, he was considered as one of the 7 wise men of Greece. He died in old age witnessing his homeland’s prosperity thanks to his legislative reforms.

Bibliography

1. Ayfantis, Georgios. Anthropos & Epistimi – Enimerosis: Prehistory and History of Man, Science & Civilization. Athens: Hellenikon Selas, 2009. Print.
2. Plato. Timaeus – Kritias. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.
3. ”Solon”. Helios. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Hippocrates of Chios

Mathematician (c470 BC – c410 BC)

Except from Hippocrates of Cos, the famous physician and philosopher of antiquity, Greek history has preserved another Great Greek with the name Hippocrates, this one being a renowned mathematician and geometer.

According to ancient literature, he was a merchant. When he lost his goods, he travelled to Athens to earn a living. There, he came into contact with the Pythagoreans and became acquainted with mathematics.

According to Proclus, Hippocrates was the first who wrote treatises on geometry and which had a profound influence on geometry. These were termed Elements of Geometry. He discovered numerous theorems, his most important theorem being the so-called Lune of Hippocrates, which he discovered upon trying to square the circle and was preserved in Euclid’s Elements. Aside from its geometric importance, the Lune of Hippocrates is also presented as a solution to 3^rd degree algebraic equations.

Moreover, he attempted to solve the problem of “doubling the cube”. Even though he did not fully achieve it, he reduced its complexity making it simpler to solve for future mathematicians. Another of his great achievements that remains elusive to mathematicians is the use of a theorem that circles are to one another as the squares on their diameter, a theorem that was proved years later by Eudoxus, which paradoxically is already known to Hippocrates.

Hippocrates’ theorems today can only be found through references made in the works of other mathematicians or in German encyclopaedias of sciences. Hippocrates’ contributions to mathematics are but a sample of the level the ancient Greek mathematics had reached in the 5^th century BC.

Bibliography

1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Hippocrates of Chios.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 26 Feb, 2016.

Phaedon of Elis

Philosopher (c417BC – ?)

Socrates’ favourite student, he was born to an aristocratic family but was made a prisoner of war and sold as a slave until he was freed by one of Socrates’ friends after Socrates’ own decision. His name means shining one.

Little is known about Phaedon’s philosophic theories or his life. Based on the very few surviving excerpts of his works, Phaedon believed that through philosophy one reaches true freedom and is rid of his spiritual passions. In spite of the very little information about him, it can be certain that he was at the same level as all of Socrates’ other students, all of whom achieved widespread fame. The fact that he was Socrates’ favourite student shows that he was undoubtedly a brilliant philosopher with great intellect and creativity. Phaedon was a skilled warrior and patriot who had participated in the Eliospartan war.

After his teacher’s death, Phaedon returned to his homeland in Peloponnese and founded a philosophic school, the “Socratic School of Elis”, where he taught successfully for many years. Phaedon, however, became known in the world of philosophy as a result of one of Plato’s writings entitled “Phaedon” after the philosopher. In this book, Plato describes the final moments of Socrates with his students in prison before drinking the hemlock and his discussions with them and his friends. In it, Phaedon is the central figure of a discussion with a Pythagorean philosopher named Echecrates about Socrates’ ideas on the immortality of the soul, for which he spoke about during the final moments of his life in the presence of his students, including Phaedon. It is a book that deals with the continuity of life after death.

Bibliography

1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Phaedon of Elis” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
2. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print.

Hipparchus

Astronomer, Mathematician, Philosopher, Geographer, Inventor (c.190 BC – c.120 BC)

The greatest astronomer who ever lived. His massive work spans the fields of astronomy, mathematics, geography and philosophy, all of which contributed enormously to the revival of the sciences during the Renaissance as well as the development of modern technology.

He wrote numerous books, most of which were lost during the fire of the library of Alexandria. Fortunately, excerpts from some of his most important works were included in Ptolemy’s “Almagest” and were enough to know his work as well as to acknowledge him as one of the greatest geniuses of all time. Other scientists, such as Strabo, Pliny and Plutarch also saved some excerpts.

Hipparchus used many different instruments in astronomy, most important of which were the astrolabe, the plinthis and the quadrant. With the astrolabe he was able to make precise measurements on the coordinates of the asterisms, as well as discover the equinoctial precession, which is considered as the third most important motion of our planet, after the one around the sun and around its own axis. The plinthis was a simple astronomical instrument suitable to calculate the latitude of a place while the quadrant was a sophisticated instrument used in astronomy and navigation for the calculation of astronomical sizes. It was also used in topography and construction for the measurement of terrestrial distances. In addition, it could be used at any given hour of the day as a locator of place and as a sundial. Other instruments were the epipedosphairos, with which he could make stereographic projection, which he also discovered using the device and the dioptre, with which he was able to calculate precisely the distance between the sun and the moon. He also attempted to measure the size of the sun and the moon, but his instruments at the time were imperfect. Other instruments include the heliorologion, heliotropion, the hourglass, the solid sphere, the hydrologion and many more.

Hipparchus is the father of trigonometry, a branch in mathematics that deals with the relationships of angles and triangles. Even though spherical trigonometry was already known and used by Apollonius of Perga before him, Hipparchus used this to calculate spherical triangles in order to solve various astronomical problems. He was the first to perform the stereographic projection of the sphere. Hipparchus was interested in meteorology and used his mathematical knowledge to establish some empirical prognostics which he used to predict the weather. In geography, he proved that the geographic latitude of a place is equal to the height of the polar star from the horizon of that place and that the geographic longitude of two places is equal to the difference of time between the two places. He created geographical maps based on mathematical calculations which advanced the science of chartography.

Hipparchus’ major field of interest was astronomy. One day, while he was gazing at the sky, he noticed a bright star which he had not seen before. Since he knew all the stars in the sky, he realized that it was a new star, the first “new” star ever recorded in astronomic literature. Then, Hipparchus made a decision, according to Pliny “to undertake a work before which even God will retreat”. He decided to make a catalogue of all the stars of the sky, providing them with their exact spot and brightness in such a way that future astronomers would know whether the stars they observed were new or existed thousands of years ago. Thus, Hipparchus introduced the fundamental notion in astronomy that “stars are not eternal in the sky”.

Hipparchus’ chart contained 1080 stars with their exact coordinates. Timochares, another astronomer had made a similar chart 166 years before him. Hipparchus compared his chart with that of his predecessor and concluded that the stars had shifted their position by two degrees. This is how he managed to discover and measure the equinoctial precession or axial precession, one of the greatest discoveries in the history of astronomy. Hipparchus calculated that the Earth completed a precessional rotation around its axis every 26.000 years. Furthermore, he calculated with exact precision the duration of the year, the duration of the months, the obliquity of the ecliptic, numerous measurements concerning the moon’s orbit, calculated the Earth’s longest cycle with extraordinary accuracy and precision, created models for the motion of the sun and the moon, discovered important aspects of the planetary orbits and many other discoveries.

Hipparchus is recognized worldwide as the father of scientific astronomy and trigonometry. His immense success was based on his brilliant observation of the star sky, followed by their calculation and then drawing conclusions based on his observations. His observations and his discoveries are still used today in a myriad of sciences, from engineering and navigation, to game development and crystallography.

Bibliography

1. Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. Ancient Greek Scientists. Georgiades: Athens, 1995. Print.
2. ”Hipparchus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.
3. Kotsanas, Kostas. Ancient Greek Technology: The Inventions of the Ancient Greeks.  Pyrgos: Kostas Kotsanas, 2013. Print.
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.”Hipparchus.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 4 Feb, 2011.

Archimedes

Mathematician, Physicist, Engineer, Inventor, Astronomer (c.287 BC – c.212 BC)

“Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth”. These were Archimedes’ spoken words when he discovered the mathematical principles of the lever. Archimedes’ discoveries where so groundbreaking that, had they not been lost for so many years, he would have moved the Earth toward the future long time ago. The world wouldn’t have been the same as it is today.

Born in the Greek colony Syracuse, Archimedes expressed his mathematical talent from a very young age. It was when the Golden Age of mathematics had reached its peak when Archimedes made his contributions. In the field of engineering, Archimedes invented the hydraulic endless screw, a mechanism for pumping water with a small distance in height still used today to transport fluids. He also invented the windlass, a device consisting of co-operating worm gears and gearwheels inside a box used for the elevation or the drawing of heavy objects with minimal manpower. He was eventually hired by the king of Syracuse, who was so amazed by his genius that he declared that everything Archimedes said, it had to be executed. Under his reign, Archimedes would combine knowledge and practice from mathematics, physics, architecture and hydraulics to construct his hometown’s defense systems. Namely, the “iron hand”, a defense war machine consisting of a grappling hook based on a rotating platform. When a ship approached, the hook would catch the ship and, following a series of mechanisms, elevate it and then release it, thus crushing against the water or rocks. Another invention was the stone throwing crane, which was used to face Roman ships by throwing stones. In addition, Archimedes invented the steam cannon and used mirrors to burn the ships of the Romans from afar, using the sunlight. The machines were so effective that even when a simple stick emerged from the walls of Syracuse, the Romans retreated in panic. In spite of Archimedes’ frightening machines, he was also the inventor of games. He created the ostomachion, a puzzle game widely played in antiquity.

Archimedes’ love, however, was in the field of mathematics. He invented the method of checking the purity of gold while in his bathtub, was the first to prove that π=3,14 by the polygonal approach and computed the volume of the sphere using the known volumes of the cone and the cylinder. This he considered as his greatest discovery and asked that it be inscribed on his gravestone. He is the father of calculus, a branch of mathematics which deals with change and which was not developed until the 17^th century. Archimedes set the foundations of this branch more than 2000 years ago by using very complex mathematics in his head when he was concocting a way to determine the volume of the sphere. He imagined cutting the shapes into an infinite number of slices and using them in balancing the scale to achieve his goal. This method of infinite slicing and summation is used today widespread in nearly all sciences, from calculating the movement of planets to the flight path of a spacecraft. Archimedes’ contributions were great in number and importance but they exceed the scope of this page for their complexity.

In the beginning of the 20^th century was discovered a book which contained works of Archimedes thought to have been lost forever. The book became known as the Palimpsest of Archimedes and deciphering it proved to be a very difficult task. Archimedes’ words lay under the words of a medieval prayer book, which was written over Archimedes’ original text. The original manuscripts were scrapped, rotated ninety-degrees and then refolded to make further double sheets, on which the Euchologion was written. On deciphering the ancient text, scientists discovered that Archimedes was closer to our age than was to his own. The Palimpsest contained seven treatises: The Equilibrium of Planes, Spiral Lines, The Measurement of the Circle, Sphere and Cylinder, The Floating Bodies, The Method of Mechanical Theorems and Stomachion. These treatises contained information that had the Palimpsest not been lost for so many years, the world would be a very different place today. One of them, The Method of Mechanical Theorems is unique in its kind. He did not just write the proofs of his theorems; he revealed the way he thought, the methods and the techniques he used to solve his mathematical problems. For the first time, it was as if delving inside Archimedes’ mind.

As of today, the entire Palimpsest has been deciphered. Scientists have acknowledged the fact that Archimedes not only made the first steps in calculus, but he developed it to an unimaginable depth, providing one of the most powerful tools of mathematics to humanity. Everything science uses today is a result of one man’s discoveries. If the Palimpsest had not been lost for more than a millennium, mathematics today would have been in a much higher level and since mathematics is the common language to all sciences, they as well would have been very different. Scientists believe that we could have been to Mars or have flown to the moon many years ago. Today’s humanity owes everything to the man who moved the Earth.

Bibliography

1. Cor Bric. ARCHIMEDES Forgotten Genius Documentary. YouTube. 15 April, 2015. Web. 29 December, 2015.
2. “Archimedes”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
3. Kotsanas, Kostas. Ancient Greek Technology The inventions of the ancient Greeks. Pyrgos: Kostas Kotsanas, 2013. Print.

 

Nearchus

Navarch (c. 360 – 301 BC)

Born in Crete around 360 BC, Nearchus is known for being Alexander the Great’s navarch, mentor, and one of his closest allies.

Before becoming a navarch, Nearchus took part in Alexander the Great’s campaigns in Greece, the war against the Persian Empire and the subsequent Indian campaign. He was appointed general of Alexander’s aides and fought in all the battles in Asia against the Persian Empire. In 332 BC he was appointed satrap of Lycia, where he remained for 5 years, successfully establishing the Greek governance. Following his rule in Lycia, he fought in all battles during the campaign in India, with Alexander distinguishing him for his leadership and courage.

Nearchus was appointed navarch of a massive expedition in 326 BC. He began his journey with 1800 ships from the Hydaspes river and sailed through the Indus River. Then, with 2000 ships, he set sail for the Persian Golf, sailing along the coast on a mission to explore the lands and cities, document the areas, and create maps. His documents, although lost, are still available through Arrianos’s Indica, a detailed account of his exploration of the Asian south which provided an entirely new view of the continent. The entire journey is estimated to be 650 nautical miles.

Following his contribution to the liberation, establishment and expansion of the Greek state to Asia, he was awarded the highest honor among all others by Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, he ruled as satrap of Lycia and Pamphilia, taking part in numerous other battles for the perpetuation of the Greek state.

Bibliography

1. ”Nearchus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
2. Pleuris, Konstantinos. King Alexander. Athens: Hilektron, 2015. Print.

Aristarchus of Samos

Astronomer (310 – 250 BC)

Aristarchus of Samos was of the brightest minds of science, being the first to mathematically prove that the Sun is at the centre of the universe and that all planets revolve around it. Although not the first to talk about the Heliocentric model of the universe, as Plato, Anaxagoras, Philolaos, Pythagoras, Archelaos, and Aanaximandros had before him, Aristarchos became the main proponent and supporter of the model.

Born around 310 B.C., Aristarchus became a student of Strato and conducted multiple astronomical studies during his stay at Alexandria. Early on, he measured Earth’s distance from the Moon and the Sun as well as their size.

What is one of man’s greatest scientific feats is the proof of the Heliocentric model. Aristarchus first provided scientific basis and proved that the Earth rotates around its axis and revolves around the Sun in a fixed position in the universe, almost 1600 years before Copernicus who is often incorrectly attributed of the feat. Therefore, he dismissed the Geocentric model of the universe in which the Earth was considered the centre of the universe. Moreover, he proved that the Earth makes an annual rotation around the Sun and a daily rotation around its own axis. He measured that the Sun’s diameter is 20 times bigger than that of Earth’s and the Earth’s being 3 times bigger than that of the Moon’s. Most of his work on astronomy has been lost but still survives through the writings of other ancient Greek philosophers such as Archimedes and Sextos Empeirikos.

His contribution to science and humanity proved to be immense by giving people an understanding of the laws of the universe. The scientific value of his studies contributed to the rise of the Renaissance and the development of mankind’s technology and reason.

Bibliography

1. ”Aristarchus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
2. Pleuris, Konstantinos. The Greeks, Issue 2. Athens: Hilektron, 2013. Print.

Herophilus

Physician (335 BC – 255 BC)

He was born in Chalcedon. He flourished in Alexandria, where he quickly became leader of the Medical School of Alexandria. Herophilus became well known for being one of the first anatomists, an excellent physiologist and pathologist. He was also a skilled pharmacologist, obstetrician, gynecologist and surgeon.

Herophilus was an important promoter of anatomy. He recognized the brain as the “seat of intellect” and emotions. He studied the ventricles of the brain, named the meninges of the brain and traced the junction where the sinuses of the dura matter, the toughest of the meninges, meet. It is named torcular Herophili in his honour to this day. He was the first to distinguish the nerves between motor and sensory and identify their function to conduct impulses. He is credited with describing the optic, oculomotor, the motor branch of the trigeminal, facial, vestibulocochlear and hypoglossal nerves.

Herophilus extensively studied the liver, the pancreas, the eye, including all its structures, the salivary glands and the genital system of both the male and the female. He named the duodenum and the prostate gland. He recognized that the spermatozoa were produced in the testis, although their existence was already known by Plato. He is also credited as being the first to show a direct relation of the pulse with the heart and measure it successfully using a water clock (depicted in the picture above). In addition, Herophilus sought to correct certain misconceptions of medicine that were widely prevalent at the time, such as that arteries carried blood instead of spirit and that the heart had 2 atria and 2 ventricles instead of 3 ventricles.

In the midst of an era where dissections were considered taboo, Herophilus conducted systematic dissections, often done in public, predating Andrea Vesalius for more than a thousand years. Unfortunately, Herophilus was accused of conducting dissections on living people and was named a “butcher”. All the works which he left behind were burnt during the destruction of the Library of Alexandria.

Nevertheless, his knowledge was passed down the generations and today he is recognized for his achievements and is justly named the Father of Anatomy. His aphorism “Wisdom is indemonstrable, art uncertain, strength powerless, wealth useless and speech impotent if health be absent” has guided the medical profession throughout the ages.

Bibliography

1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Herophilus” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 2 November. 2015.
2. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. Archigenethlos Helliniki Glossa. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.
3. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. O en tei Lexei Logos. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.

Heron of Alexandria

Mathematician, Physicist, Engineer, Inventor, Writer (c. 10 – c. 70)

Heron of Alexandria was an innovative engineer and a brilliant mathematician and physicist. Along with Apollonius of Perga, Aristarchus, Conon, Hipparchus, Ctesebius, Philon of Byzantium and many others, he was part of a group of prominent scientists who worked and flourished in the Museum in the Library of Alexandria, the most illustrious center of arts and sciences at its time. Together with the two latter, Heron’s inventions on automatons paved the way to the development of today’s automatic machines.

Among Heron’s greatest inventions recorded by history are the following:

• The dioptra were instruments built for the precise measurement of distances between two celestial or terrestrial bodies. According to Heron himself, it was possible using these instruments to chart islands and seas, in astronomy to calculate the distances between stars and predict eclipses.
• The nautical hodometre was an intricate device made of cogs and gears that could measure sea distances.
• The pantograph, an instrument designed for copying drawings and figures. The machine included a mechanism by which the operator could enlarge or reduce the size of the copy.
• The windpowered hydraulis demonstrated the world’s very first substantial use of wind powering a machine. It was a musical instrument that utilized air to function.
• The automatic servant was a humanoid robot which held a jug of wine in her right hand. When a visitor placed a cup on her left palm, she automatically poured wine. Afterwards, she poured water into the cup mixing it when desired.
• A device which permitted the automatic opening of the temple gates after sacrifice on its altar.
• A hydraulic automaton depicting Hercules launching an arrow against a dragon. When the viewer lifted the apple in the middle of the platform, Hercules’ hand was released and the arrow was launched at the dragon, which made it hiss giving a sense of death. It functioned by utilizing air and pressure.
• Heron’s “Philosopher stone” was an invention that could “change” one liquid, for example water, to another, such as wine. It consisted of two vessels which were connected by a small tube at the bottom and reached at their top. When water was poured in the first one, it caused the air to move to the second vessel and push out an equal amount of wine from the second one.
• Heron’s aeolosphere was the precursor of the steam engine. It consisted of a sphere with two curved nozzles, resting on a boiler. When water was boiled, the heat that was produced entered the sphere, then came out of the nozzles and forced te sphere into rotation. The aeolosphere is considered Heron’s most well-known invention.
• Numerous other inventions such as the sound alarm, a sound device that was activated by the opening of a door which it protected, the hovering sphere, the automatic cup with the counterweight, the magic fountain, which recycled water and ostensibly defied the hydrostatic principles, the magic horse of Heron, the self-controlled water boiler, the magic dance, the automatic tripods of Hephaestus. Heron’s static automatic theater was the “cinema” of the Ancient Greeks. Other inventions include elevating machines of remarkable technology, most notably the cranes for large load, the one-mast crane, the winches etc.

Heron was the DaVinci of antiquity, the Copperfield of machines. His works were reproduced by countless engineers and inventors throughout the ages, leading to today’s technological era. His work was admired so much by the Romans and the Arabs that nearly his entire work as been saved and translated. History has justly placed Heron of Alexandria among the world’s greatest, most cutting-edge engineers that walked this Earth.

Bibliography

1. Ayfantis, Georgios. Anthropos & Epistimi – Enimerosis: Prehistory and History of Man, Science & Civilization. Athens: Hellinikon Selas, 2009. Print.
2. “Heron Alexandreus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
3. Kotsanas, Kostas. Ancient Greek Technology: The Inventions of the Ancient Greeks.  Pyrgos: Kostas Kotsanas, 2013. Print.

Homer

Epic Poet (c. 3000 BC)

The Greek Anthology writes that Homer is “the ageless mouth of the world entire”. He speaks to the reader through his works, the Iliad and the Odyssey, to imbue them with a sense of magic and to invite them to delve into the world of Achilles and Odysseus. A world of terrifying cyclopes, seducing sirens and lotus-eaters. The world of the beautiful Helen of Troy and the fair Nausicaa; where Gods battle alongside humans and get injured and where ships are piloted not by human arms, but through the mind.

Homer’s elusive identity led many researchers to the so-called Homeric problems. Did Homer really exist and if so, were there more than one person hidden behind his name? What does his name mean, where was he born and when did he live? Was Homer blind? Were his poems disseminated verbally or were they written down? Where is the Homeric Ithaca and did Odysseus travel to the Atlantic?

The answer to the first question is affirmative. Homer did exist. His name is mentioned by numerous Ancient Greeks in their works. Plato writes that Homer has taught all of Greece, Heraclitus states that he is the wisest of them all while Euripides writes for him that he is the best and most divine of the poets. Pindar calls him the King of Poets. Aristophanes says that Homer taught virtues while Aeschylus confesses that his own poems are nothing but dust compared to those of Homer. Seven cities claim Homer’s birthplace: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argus and Athens. The most probable of these are Ithaca, Pylos or Argus, with Asia Minor being excluded because Homer lived before Asia Minor was colonized by the Greeks. This is evident from the fact that he does not mention any Greek city or activities of the Greeks there, aside from Troy. In his epics, many of the Ancient Greek cities are called with different, more ancient names, for example Delphi are called Pytho, Chaeronea is called Arne, Peloponnesus is called Argus and the river Nile in called Aegyptus. Most importantly, he ignores the destruction of the Minoan civilization, which conventional history places at 1620 BC and mentions 100 thriving Cretan cities, which would have been destroyed after the earthquake eruption. Hence, we can say that Homer lived before 1620 BC. The fact that he uses many words which had become obsolete by the 9^th century also adds in favour to this.

Homer’s descent has long been a subject of study. According to Suda, one of the oldest surviving encyclopaedias, Homer is the son of Telemachus and Polycaste. There are numerous indications throughout the Odyssey that hint this, most notably the scene where Telemachus is bathed by Polycaste and which were intentionally put by the author. In addition, there exist a legend according to which Hadrian once went to the Oracle of Delphi to ask who was Homer, to which Pythia replied that he was the son of Telemachus and Polycaste. Homer is therefore the grandson of Odysseus. Odysseus wrote down his experiences during the battle of Troy and his journey home and passed this information to Homer through his son Telemachus. Homer, being an aoidos, composed the Iliad and the Odyssey in perfect dactylic hexameter and would travel to various cities singing excerpts of his works during celebrations. In the end, he would give them a copy of that excerpt. Homer travelled to many parts of Greece, teaching his works thus earning the title of teacher. Through his works, he managed to give all the Greek population a common foreground in education. Eventually, many manuscripts were lost and the excerpts existed separately from each other, until Onomacritus collected all of the excerpts and published them collectively as the Iliad and the Odyssey, during the 6^th century BC by order of Peisistratus.

Homer was not blind. Even though Herodotus specifically states it in his writings, it is practically impossible for a blind man to write down everything that is written in both the Iliad and the Odyssey with such fine and scientific detail. The verbs he uses, the colours, the movements and the scenes which he describes are all so finely portrayed in each and every shade that leaves even the most observant person in awe. Homer saw as much as all the others did not.

One of the major subjects of study is whether Odysseus travelled to the Atlantic or just in the Mediterranean during these 10 years. This has been meticulously studied by several researchers but the one who stands out is Henriette Mertz, an attorney, code-breaker and researcher who in her book “The Wine Dark Sea” attempts to prove the fact that the Iliad and the Odyssey were not fictions of Homer, but actual events and that Odysseus crossed the Atlantic ocean and travelled to the Americas. Mertz conducted numerous voyages throughout the Americas and visited herself every location that she believed Odysseus did, having the Odyssey as a guide, in much the same way as Heinrich Schliemann had the Iliad when he discovered the ruins of Troy, which was believed to be merely imaginary prior to its discovery. There, she found thousands of artefacts with Greek letters, as well as pottery with Greek decorations. Moreover, she did research based on the astrological observations described in the epics. Mertz deduced that Odysseus had travelled to the Americas by means of the Gulf Stream as part of a mission. It is known from the Ancient Greek manuscripts that the Greeks had already been to the Americas and had founded colonies, most notably the Argonauts, who are mentioned in the Odyssey. For her work, Mertz was awarded by the Government of Greece.

The Homeric Ithaca is not the modern Ithaca. Its name is symbolic, and means to go and to come back (Ἰθάκη = ἴθι +ἄγε). For every individual, Ithaca is something different. Odysseus’ Ithaca was where he had begun and where he had to return so that he did not feel nostalgia anymore. The Homeric Ithaca most likely corresponds to today’s Cephalonia for numerous reasons, one of them being because in the Trojan War Odysseus leads the Cephallenians. Other equally probable candidates for Odysseus’ Ithaca are Leucas and Corfu.

The Iliad and the Odyssey were not disseminated verbally but written. They were written with Pelasgian alphabet in a time when the Greek language had reached perfection. The Homeric language contained therapeutic capacities with Homer’s and Hesiod’s works being used in antiquity to treat psychiatric disorders as told by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Only recently did modern science come to verify what Homer and the Ancient Greeks already knew. The American Journal of Physiology published a research where they established the fact that reciting Homer has positive effects on the heart and the breathing by synchronizing both and helping the body find its “inner rhythm”. They concluded that they can be used to alleviate cardiac diseases. In addition, they increase the intellect and the cognitive function of students as well as used to treat dyslexia.

Homer is regarded as the eternal educator of all Greece. From antiquity, Homeric Studies comprised an important part in one’s education. Aristotle taught Alexander the Iliad and the Odyssey and it is said that Alexander slept with the Iliad under his pillow. He considered Achilles his idol and had succeeded in learning by heart numerous lines from it. Pythagoras credits Homer as his first teacher. Pythagorean arithmosophy can be traced within the works of Iliad and the Odyssey, thousands of years before Pythagoras’ birth. The works of Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, Bacchylides and Orpheus occupy a very special place in the Greek literature. Greeks from a very early age learned by heart excerpts from their works. The messages, the ideas and the symbolisms all passed down to their memories and were engraved in their mind. When they became men this information was activated by their soul and immediately they would enter the world of nous (νοῦς). Nous, that is the mind, would conceive this information and transform it into thought that guided the Greek to meditation (Διαλογισμός). Throughout the ages, the Iliad and the Odyssey have taught all Greek generations, eventually crossing the frontiers of Greece and spreading throughout the entire world, where they are still studied in schools and universities.

The Homeric Epics are not simply mythological stories. They depict actual events, blended with mythological elements which hide powerful symbolism and philosophy behind them. The epics acted as mystic educators that connected the reader, the meditator with the Divine by means of optic presentations in their mind. Homer has been called many things, from teacher to poet of the poets. All spiritual personalities throughout the ages have expressed their remarkable respect to him. Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres in his painting The Apotheosis of Homer writes: “If Homer is a god, that one honours him among gods; if he is not, that he be regarded as one“.

Bibliography:

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi Kentauroi, Amazones, Medousa. Athens: Georgiades, 2005. Print.
2. Ayfantis, Georgios. Anthropos & Epistimi – Enimerosis: Prehistory and History of Man, Science & Civilization. Athens: Hellenikon Selas, 2009. Print.
3. Mertz, Henriette. The Wine Dark Sea. Athens: Nea Thesis, 1995. Print.
4. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. Archigenethlos Helliniki Glossa. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.
5. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. Homeros Telemachou Odysseides. Athens: Georgiades, 2003. Print.
6. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. O en tei Lexei Logos. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.

7. ”Ο Όμηρος, η αριστεία στα Μαθηματικά και ο μυστικός αριθμός 3 στην Οδύσσεια και την Ιλιάδα”. mixanitouxronou.gr. 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.