Greek+Technology

"Roman aqueduct in Aspendos (Turkey)." Image. Corel. //World History:////Ancient and Medieval Eras//.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012 ** Overview ** The Greeks created a great deal of technology that is still used and redesigned today. They also caused many other civilizations to start building new technology. They created things such as aqueducts, the astrolabe, cranes, the crossbow, the water mill, and much more. =Aqueducts= Aqueducts are channels used for pumping water from one place to another across long distances. They created one aqueduct that stretched 1,036 m in Samos, Greece. It was called the Tunnel of Eupalinos. Commisioned in the 6th century by Polycrates, it was made in to allow water ways to be protected from enemies. It was used by the greeks for over a thousand years.
 * Greek Technology ** (Greek Technology)

media type="youtube" key="Y4tsr3I8IAk" height="315" width="420" =Astrolabe= Invented in 150 BC, it is a tool used by almost all explorers after it was invented. It was an analog calculator used for spherical astronomy. It quickly gained popularity among all civilizations that had accustomed themsleves to travel by sea. =Cranes= The ancient Greeks created the first cranes. They were powered either by men or by a beast of burden, such as a donkey. The cranes were later used in the Middle ages for the loading and unloading of cargo from ships and with their construction. They were originally built of wood frames, and they used a simple winch and pulley system to lift objects.

=Crossbow= The first reliable date is around the 5th century BC. First described as "a mechanical arrow firing catapult" 1, It was a composite bow that would be drawn with both hands instead of just one, allowing it to store more energy. From then one the crossbow became a vital weapon in the greek aresnal, as with other countries, too. They also invented the Ballista which was an artillery weapon shaped like a very large crossbow and used to launch projectiles using tension and springs, instead of the conventional counterweight system and swing systems used by catapults and trebuchets.

=**Water Mill**= Being the inventors of the two main components of the water mill, the Greeks were among the first to use the many versions of the waterwheel mills. Originating in around 3rd centrury BC, the water mill is a technological feat. It used the power caused by running water, with some conversion into gear and pulley power, and created one of the first non-human powered machines of the time. The water mill was used for many different purposes such as water milling and the grinding of grain into flour.

media type="youtube" key="f0ET5q7Sma4" height="315" width="560" =Other Contributions= Outside of this, the Greeks contributed to later technologies by studies in things such as math. Everyone knows of Pythagorous' contribution of the pythagorean theorem. Here are a few links to articles on such contributions. [|Archimedes] [|Pneumatics] [|Euclid's Elements]

= Here is a link to the Roman Technology page. =

1 Duncan Campbell: //Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC-AD 363//, Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2003 Sources: Burns, Alfred (1971). "The Tunnel of Eupalinus and the Tunnel Problem of Hero of Alexandria". //[|Isis]// **62** (2): 172–185. Evans, James (1998), //The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy//, Oxford University Press Duncan Campbell: //Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC-AD 363//, Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2003 Coulton, J. J. (1974), "Lifting in Early Greek Architecture", //[|The Journal of Hellenic Studies]// **94**: 1–19 [|Oleson, John Peter] (1984), //Greek and Roman Mechanical Water-Lifting Devices: The History of a Technology//, University of Toronto Press