Greeks In Antiquity - Technological Advancements

The Greeks are often looked at and studied in relationa day (that's 250 kilometers per hour!) and was built to
to their methods of civilization. Ancient Greeks,protect the area from its enemies. While Talos's actual
however, are also known for their rather amazingexistence is not documented, coins with his likeness
technological advancements.have been found in various parts of Greece.
Greeks In Antiquity – Technological AdvancementsAnother advancement that is quite astounding is the
When we think of technological innovations, we tend toinvention of automatic doors. This technology was not
think of the future. A world where robots work forstarted in grocery stores and shopping malls, rather, it
humans, computers are everywhere and the Earth iswas first employed in the service of gods and
a clean, intelligent place seems to be something thatgoddesses. In order to reinforce devotees' beliefs in
could only be seen at some future date. However,specific god figures, some temples were built (mainly
there was once a civilization that had already achieveddesigned by Heronas and Ktsivios) with doors that
many of the things that we are just now seeing aswould automatically open after an offering was made
possible for society: the ancient Greeks. Thousands of– this was to show the believer that their god was
years ago, the Greeks had already achieved feats ofthere and performing miracles right in front of them.
science that we are now seeing as possibilities.Heronas of Alexandria was not just the originator of
One of the interesting advances that is just now beingthe automatic door. A Greek mathematician, he also
replicated is the robot. Robots may be seen today asdesigned many other simple machines and hydraulic
an invention of the late 20th century, but actually, onedevices. Heronas was also responsible for the first
of the first automatons spoken of was Talos, asteam engine, which he designed and operated in the
mythical robot figure. This robot, whose name meansfirst century BC. The device he designed ran off of
“sun”, was a gift to King Minos of Crete. Talosthe same principles that jet engines do today!
was said to have been able to tour Crete three times