Time…

ANCIENT GREEKS: DID THEY USE CLOCKS IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE OR MAYBE THEY HAVE GONE FURTHER THAN THAT…?

SOLAR CLOCKS Solar clocks have been quite popular all over the world since 3500 B.C. They’ve always been cheap and easy to construct.

SOLAR CLOCKS IN GREECE

SOLAR CLOCK IN THE ACROPOLIS

SOLAR CLOCK IN CHALKIDIKI

The first solar clock that shows the correct time every day and not only for the specific place for which it was made (i.e. Chalkidiki), but also for every place in the world, e.g. Trutnov, Taurage, Madrid or Nurnberg etc.

SOLAR CLOCK IN MERBAKAS

SOLAR CLOCK IN CENTRAL GREECE

SOLAR CLOCK IN THE CHURCH OF MADONNA OF SKRIPOUS

SOLAR CLOCK IN THIVA

SOLAR CLOCK IN KITHERONAS

SOLAR CLOCK IN VLECHERNES

SOLAR CLOCK IN DRAMA

ARCHIMIDES PLANETARIUM

All the information we have from Cicero about the Archimides Planetarium concerns its function and not the way it was constructed. The remarkable thing about the Planetarium was that it could determine the position of the Sun, the Moon and six other planets and at the same time it could tell the time not only in hours, but also in minutes. Based on this Planetarium, many other similar Planetaria were made in the 15 th century.

ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM (ASTROLAVOS) A complicated mechanism consisting of approximately 80 gears, which could calculate the lunar month, as well as the eclipses in remarkable accuracy, something which would nowadays require calculations with 6 decimal digits. (0,000001)

LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA On top of the lighthouse there was a statue of Neptune, who moved his hand throughout the day and night, always pointing to the Sun. Another mechanism on the lighthouse announced the time with sounds.

HYDRAULIC CLOCKS Another interesting type of clocks are those which work with water, i.e. the hydraulic clocks, made by Archimides and Ktisivius.

CLEPSYDRA The simplest form of timer was clepsydra, which worked with sand or water. Plato was said to have constructed a clepsydra which also served as an alarm clock.