Technology in the classic Greece

In this blog we are explaining how the classical culture was introducing technology to improve. In the current Broadband Society and cloud journalism, Internet is the great articulator. Information and knowledge guide production, as evidenced by large databases and industry 4.0.

In ancient Greece technology was developed throughout the 5th century BC. It extended until the Roman period. It even lasted a few more years. The inventions of the classical Greeks are many: screw, torsional catapult, gear, rotating mills, water body, shaft press, water clock, bronze casting techniques, steam to operate some experimental machines and toys, for example.

Peculiarly, some of the inventions saw the light towards the end of the Greek era, in order to improve weapons and war tactics. In the case of the water mill, he obtained a wholesale operation on the part of the Romans. The Greeks looked in topography and mathematics. Names like Archimedes and Herod of Alexandria reflect this.

Why did the Greeks fail to develop their technology? Well, because of the despised condition of those who did this job. In fact, manual work was underestimated. In this way, a scientific application could reduce social status. It can disincentive technological innovation. A peculiar situation To see the prestigious impact of technology, I recommend attending the DMTforum-XXVI Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CNMC, ​​19 May). Come in!

Classic culture and technology: a nice couple!

When the expression "classical culture" is mentioned, one associates it with issues far away in time. Keep in mind that technology starts in parallel to human evolution. Thus, the Greeks developed skills in commerce and shipyards, and surpassed the Persians largely thanks to the naval power, forged in technology. The manual work depended on the slaves, the workers of the time that guaranteed productivity over possible new sources of energy. In fact, Greek and Roman education did not focus on manufacturing or physical work.

The technology sought to save on efforts, although the technological advances of the Greeks did not fully agree with theoretical knowledge. Heró de Alexandria (creator of the dioptra, a topography instrument), Ctesias, Ptolemy, Tales of Miletus (and their navigation triangulation systems) and the well-known Archimedes (inventor of the hydraulic spindle) investigated the principles of technology. Devices such as fire pumps, handles, levers, pulleys, toothed wheels, siphons, turbines or valves. The first map of the world corresponds to Anaximander.

In the case of the Romans, they applied the technology in organization and construction, creating systems of public works. The introduction of cement and the beginning of the arch allowed the Romans to build more than 70,000 km. of roads A well-enclosed Roman Empire, with the addition of aqueducts, sewers and bridges. The public toilets and the circuses gave a playful nature. The water mill and hydraulic wheels with upper and lower thrust allowed grinding, sawing and cutting marble. In the warlike area, the creation of the javelin and the catapult placed the Romans in a stage of advantage in the struggles.

In the case of the Romans, they applied the technology in organization and construction, creating systems of public works. The introduction of cement and the beginning of the arch allowed the Romans to build more than 70,000 km. of roads A well-enclosed Roman Empire, with the addition of aqueducts, sewers and bridges. The public toilets and the circuses gave a playful nature. The water mill and hydraulic wheels with upper and lower thrust allowed grinding, sawing and cutting marble. In the warlike area, the creation of the javelin and the catapult placed the Romans in a stage of advantage in the struggles.

Another perspective on the relationship between technology and classical culture, jumping into the 21st century, comes from the Internet spreading. In the classic environment we find the roots of the Broadband Society, the scientific theory coined by Dr. Joan Francesc Fondevila Gascón, international leader in communication and telecommunications and author of the scientific blog Telecomunicaciones y Periodismo, also leader in his field.

Access to texts and documentation is simpler thanks to the international broadband networks. How they evolve and how they can disseminate content is a fundamental aspect for students of the classical world. That is why it is highly recommended to attend the XXVI Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (2022). Classic culture and technology: a nice couple!

From technology in the war to other technologies

The Greeks were very advanced in military technology. It is knows the evolution in technology sector provided from military experiences.

In the Greek history we find a lot of singular chapters in which technology was decisive. For example, the world's first flamethrower was used in one of the battles of the Peloponnesian War. It was used by the army of Boeotia, belonging to the Spartan side. They built it using the trunk of a straight tree, which split into two halves, emptied and then joined to get a hollow tube. They hung a container full of bitumen and sulphur on one end and a bellows on the other. The device was placed in an armoured car, to protect itself from the enemy arrows. When approaching the rival defence it was pointed with the tube and when pressing the bellows an immense flare came out of the container, lit fire and opened a gap that allowed the assailants penetrate enemy defences.

Furthermore, another of the Greek technological innovations in the military field occurred around 390 B.C. in the time of Dionysus I. Its engineers were the first to create artefacts capable of throwing large stones of up to 45 kg, the catapults, which would become increasingly important. With these catapults, large javelins and other projectiles could be thrown over high walls, pits and battlements. Rocking mobile bridge capable of overcoming obstacles such as bristles with sharp stakes, walls and enemy redoubts.

With these examples we discover the importance of Greek culture in the military technology evolution and in technology in general terms.
Technological evolution is analyzed in XXV Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CECABLE, Auditorium Blanquerna in Barcelona, 7th ​​June 2021). Come in!                

Technology rooted in the fields

The evolution in agricultural technology is interesting in the Greek culture. We are analysing in this blog impacts of technology in the Greek world, and we find exciting steps in these period.

The first one was the oil, not only used as a culinary condiment. Furthermore, it was also the fuel used to illuminate. This oil was applied to sunburn and it even had a cosmetic application in lotions and perfumes.

In a quantitative or qualitative Greek agricultural practices we have to analyse the social and economic profile of the direct producer. In the ancient Greece, there was a slave society, based on a slave mode of production.

Therefore, the analysis of agriculture departs from slaves, and their work organization, the conditions of exploitation and the tools they used. From some years ago, the analysis was focused on the importance of independent farmers, in the productive and in the political-social fields. The last objective was the development of the polish.

The base was slavery, but in the active presence of a class of free farmers. They could incorporate some slaves, but always within farms based on family labour. It differed substantially from the landowner slave farms. These peasants were owners full of their land. It was not subject to exploitation. However, it was oriented to subsistence but which in certain circumstances could produce surpluses. The technical advances favoured the improvement of results.

Technological evolution will be analyzed in XXV Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CECABLE, Auditorium Blanquerna in Barcelona, ​​2021, with permission of COVID-19). Go ahead!                 

Navigating in technology

One of the outstanding conquests of Greeks was the introduction of improvements in naval technology. The interest of the Greeks in navigation led them to build the first lighthouse in history that was realized around the year 300 B.C.

In the war background, naval technology is essential. Greece came the first use of the ship as a decisive weapon in the war, especially in the battle of Salamis against the Persians. The warship should be narrow to go faster and also propelled by oars. This warship was endowed with the necessary weapons to sink other ships, such as the bronze ram at the beginning of the 7th century B.C.

It is interesting to analyse the figure of Ameinocles. He was a builder from Corinth. He had manufactured the bireme. It was a ship with a deck that had two floors for a hundred rowers. Later, the same builder created the trireme, which would constitute the bulk of the naval forces in the war of Sicily against Carthage, in the warlike conflicts against the Persians and in the clashes between Athens and Sparta.

The main virtue of the trireme was the speed, since it had the most suitable length and shape of the hull to present the minimum resistance to the advance of water. With the trireme, the naval technique reached one of its highlights. One example of the transcendence of naval technology is Samos, Island built a large breakwater and a seawall to protect the bay.

Technological evolution is analyzed in XXV Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CECABLE, Auditorium Blanquerna in Barcelona, ​​31 March-1 April 2020). Come in! 

Building technology and happy 2020!

The technological evolution in the modern world is rooted in the Greek world and in zones like Sicily. We find a lot of examples in a lot of sectors, for example architecture.

In this sense, in the fourth century B.C. wood, adobes and tiles were used for the construction of normal houses. There were small windows for ventilation that when it was cold or rain were clogged with anything. The walls of the houses were simply lined with lime and only in the richest houses were mosaics or wall paintings.

In general, the houses were built facing south, to take advantage of the sun. The furniture was made with wood, although the seats of chairs and stools were usually made with rope or with leather. The houses used to have baths made of clay, stone or brick for adults and smaller containers for children.

About the construction of temples, although the ancient Greeks already used cranes, the main problem to solve was that sometimes the marble blocks were too heavy, for example between 5 and 10 tons. To solve it, ramps with sandbags were built. In addition, as they could not be transported with cars, a very ingenious transport system was used that consisted of fixing the columns to central pivots within a round wooden structure, so that the oxen pulled it as if it were an immense roller. The handling of the blocks was facilitated by leaving a kind of projections on the outside, which were made of handles and polished once placed in place.

We can observe the use of technology was essential to improve all the mechanisms and to offer nice buildings. Technological evolution is analyzed in XXV Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CECABLE, Auditorium Blanquerna in Barcelona, ​​31 March-1 April 2020). Come in and happy 2020!                 

Textile Terrassa, textile Greece

The Greeks were aware that technology must be in all the sectors. It explains the evolution of textile technology. In Terrassa (Barcelona, Spain), textile has been a motor of evolution.

About raw materials, leather was one of the most worked materials in Ancient Greece, both in the primary tanning industry and in the manufacture of manufactured goods such as footwear, which used to have a leather sole, hats or fans.

However, the fabric manufacturing was based on the simple darning process, whereby a series of threads with the weft name crossed at right angles with another series of threads called warp. On the Greek loom the warp was hung on a horizontal pole mounted on two wooden supports that were fixed directly to the ceiling, or through a horizontal pole. The dyeing and hardening of the fabrics was especially unhealthy, since toxic substances such as purple and indigo were used. Nevertheless, the work was done manually.

From the Greek textile era till now, when it is essential for sports, the evolution has been relatively fast. However, we can’t understand the actual stage of textile sector without the Greek improvements.

Technological evolution is analyzed in XXV Cable and Broadband Catalonia Congress (CECABLE, Auditorium Blanquerna in Barcelona, ​​31 March-1 April 2020). Come in!