List of Greek inventions and discoveries

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The School of Athens, a famous fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, with Plato and Aristotle as the central figures in the scene. Vaticano 2011 (88).JPG
The School of Athens , a famous fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, with Plato and Aristotle as the central figures in the scene.

Greek inventions and discoveries are objects, processes or techniques invented, innovated or discovered, partially or entirely, by Greeks.

Contents

Greek people have made major innovations to mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, engineering, architecture, and medicine. Other major Greek contributions include being the birth of Western civilization, democracy, Western literature, history, [1] Western logic, political science, physics, theatre, comedy, drama, tragedy, lyric poetry, biology, Western sculpture, Olympic Games, Western philosophy, ancient Greek law, Greek mythology, Greek food and the Greek Alphabet. [2] [3]

The following is a list of inventions, innovations or discoveries known or generally recognized to be Greek.

Alphabetical list of Greek inventions

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Z

Discoveries made by Greeks

Astronomy

Geography

Mathematics

Philosophy

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archimedes</span> Greek mathematician and physicist (c.287–c.212 BC)

Archimedes of Syracuse was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Considered the greatest mathematician of ancient history, and one of the greatest of all time, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying the concept of the infinitely small and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems. These include the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, the area of an ellipse, the area under a parabola, the volume of a segment of a paraboloid of revolution, the volume of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution, and the area of a spiral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euclid</span> Ancient Greek mathematician (fl. 300 BC)

Euclid was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the Elements treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely dominated the field until the early 19th century. His system, now referred to as Euclidean geometry, involved new innovations in combination with a synthesis of theories from earlier Greek mathematicians, including Eudoxus of Cnidus, Hippocrates of Chios, Thales and Theaetetus. With Archimedes and Apollonius of Perga, Euclid is generally considered among the greatest mathematicians of antiquity, and one of the most influential in the history of mathematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thales of Miletus</span> Ancient Greek philosopher (c. 624 – c. 545 BC)

Thales of Miletus was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages, founding figures of Ancient Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd century BC</span> One hundred years, from 300 BC to 201 BC

The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC. It is considered part of the Classical Era, epoch, or historical period.

Greek literature dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water clock</span> Time-piece in which time is measured by the flow of liquid into or out of a vessel

A water clock or clepsydra is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into or out from a vessel, and where the amount of liquid can then be measured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ctesibius</span> Greek inventor and mathematician

Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. Very little is known of Ctesibius' life, but his inventions were well known in his lifetime. He was likely the first head of the Museum of Alexandria. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps. This, in combination with his work On pneumatics on the elasticity of air, earned him the title of "father of pneumatics." None of his written work has survived, including his Memorabilia, a compilation of his research that was cited by Athenaeus. Ctesibius' most commonly known invention today is a pipe organ (hydraulis), a predecessor of the modern church organ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Greek literature</span>

Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, are the two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, set in an idealized archaic past today identified as having some relation to the Mycenaean era. These two epics, along with the Homeric Hymns and the two poems of Hesiod, the Theogony and Works and Days, constituted the major foundations of the Greek literary tradition that would continue into the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek mathematics</span> Mathematics of Ancient Greeks

Greek mathematics refers to mathematics texts and ideas stemming from the Archaic through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly from the 5th century BC to the 6th century AD, around the shores of the Mediterranean. Greek mathematicians lived in cities spread over the entire region, from Anatolia to Italy and North Africa, but were united by Greek culture and the Greek language. The development of mathematics as a theoretical discipline and the use of deductive reasoning in proofs is an important difference between Greek mathematics and those of preceding civilizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science in classical antiquity</span>

Science in classical antiquity encompasses inquiries into the workings of the world or universe aimed at both practical goals as well as more abstract investigations belonging to natural philosophy. Classical antiquity is traditionally defined as the period between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD. It is typically limited geographically to the Greco-Roman West, Mediterranean basin, and Ancient Near East, thus excluding traditions of science in the ancient world in regions such as China and the Indian subcontinent.

<i>De architectura</i> Treatise on architecture by Vitruvius

De architectura is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects. As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissance as the first known book on architectural theory, as well as a major source on the canon of classical architecture.

During the growth of the ancient civilizations, ancient technology was the result from advances in engineering in ancient times. These advances in the history of technology stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastraphetes</span> Hand-held crossbow used by the Ancient Greeks

The gastraphetes, also called belly bow or belly shooter, was a hand-held crossbow used by the Ancient Greeks. It was described in the 1st century AD by the Greek author Heron of Alexandria in his work Belopoeica, which draws on an earlier account of the famous Greek engineer Ctesibius. Heron identifies the gastraphetes as the forerunner of the later catapult, which places its invention some unknown time prior to c. 420 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of ancient Greece</span> Musical traditions of ancient Greece

Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. This played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greeks. There are some fragments of actual Greek musical notation, many literary references, depictions on ceramics and relevant archaeological remains, such that some things can be known—or reasonably surmised—about what the music sounded like, the general role of music in society, the economics of music, the importance of a professional caste of musicians, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Greek astronomy</span>

Ancient Greek astronomy is the astronomy written in the Greek language during classical antiquity. Greek astronomy is understood to include the Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Greco-Roman, and late antique eras. Ancient Greek astronomy can be divided into three primary phases: Classical Greek Astronomy, which encompassed the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and Hellenistic Astronomy, which encompasses the subsequent period until the formation of the Roman Empire ca. 30 BC, and finally Greco-Roman astronomy, which refers to the continuation of the tradition of Greek astronomy in the Roman world. During the Hellenistic era and onwards, Greek astronomy expanded beyond the geographic region of Greece as the Greek language had become the language of scholarship throughout the Hellenistic world, in large part delimited by the boundaries of the Macedonian Empire established by Alexander the Great. The most prominent and influential practitioner of Greek astronomy was Ptolemy, whose treatise Almagest shaped astronomical thinking until the modern era. Most of the most prominent constellations known today are taken from Greek astronomy, albeit via the terminology they took on in Latin.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to classical studies:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of engineering</span>

The concept of engineering has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental inventions such as the pulley, lever, and wheel. Each of these inventions is consistent with the modern definition of engineering, exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop useful tools and objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydraulis of Dion</span>

The Hydraulis of Dion is a unique exhibit of the Archaeological Museum of Dion. It is the earliest archeological example of a pipe organ to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern influence of Ancient Greece</span>

Modern influence of ancient Greece refers to the influence of Ancient Greece on later periods of history, from Medieval times up to the current modern era. Greek culture and philosophy has a disproprtionate influence on modern society and its core culture, in comparison to other ancient societies of similar settings.

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