Ancient Greece: An Odyssey of Technology
I love Greek history. I also love technology. Blending the two together creates an interesting combination that may seem unlikely to mix well together. However, when you dig deep enough into history, certain elements and themes that influenced our modern world begin to unfold, revealing the indisputable fact that without their contributions, life as we know it today would be drastically different. Just as you are a product of all the people who have come before you, the world was built upon the amazing technological contributions and philosophical ideas of the ancient Greeks. In our frantic business of living in the present and worrying about the future, it is easy to overlook the past. Many view history as if it were an obsolete piece of technology with no real value. But, when we look through the pages of Greek history, we can more fully grasp how technology has changed, comprehend factors that influenced the change, and identify what persists and learn how to improve our future.
Studying Greek history provides the story of us, laying the foundation for our identity. It is the grandest tale and an epic adventure that begins in Athens, Greece where the sun sparkles along the Aegean Sea, illuminating a land so rich in history it’s hard to comprehend or appreciate the grand impact the Ancient Greeks made on the world and the ways in which they continue to influence us today. Like the ripples in the sea, wisdom and knowledge traveled from this country, inspiring the world that we enjoy today. As you walk along the roads of Greece, you are walking among giants, following the same steps as some of the brightest individuals the world has ever known. Walk far enough down this road and you will discover the foundations of computer science. Today we venture into the past to discover the world of Ancient Greece and why understanding Greek history better informs our future.
Data Sharing and Language
Just as data flows through a computer, throughout history people have sought ways to pass along information and communicate better. Initially this was done through the oral tradition of storytelling and sharing information through voice. Stories such as The Odyssey were memorized verbatim and passed down from person to person. With the invention of papyrus, recording information became possible. Suddenly, a pen in one’s hand became a powerful tool, creating a more permanent record for knowledge and ideas to spread, which then paved the way for the creation of technologies such as the printing press and word processors to follow.
On the most basic fundamental level, before you can have a computer code, you need an alphabet, and the English alphabet is very much influenced by the Greek alphabet. Developed in 1000 BCE, the Greek alphabet is an ancestor to all modern alphabets and was the first writing system in which every letter represents a specific sound and had letters representing vowels (Violatti, 2015). The Greek alphabet today also serves as a source of technical symbols and labels in math and science, such as Δ (delta), representing difference and Σ (sigma), representing sum. The picture on the right shows the semblance in the Greek and English alphabet.
Additionally, the Greeks implemented placing spaces between words. Before this, you would have read sentences such as: Thankgoodnessthatwehavespacingbetweenwords. This was originally done to save space since papyrus was at a premium, but having to read like this sounds like something out of a nightmare to me. The Greeks also contributed punctuation we use in coding, such as the comma, which comes from the Greek word komma, meaning “something cut off, a segment”. Yet another contribution from the Greeks that we couldn’t live without in coding is the period, which comes from the Greek word teleía, meaning “to finish, to complete, to perfect ” (Norris, 2019). I smile every time I read that definition. Now every time I place a period, I remember that it is perfecting my sentences.
Computer Science Logic
Logic is the study of correct and incorrect reasoning. While we tend to think of logic as more of something used exclusively in the field of philosophy, logic is also vitally important in computer science, and this all began in Greece. Aristotle, known as the father of formal logic, laid the groundwork in the development of logical reasoning. Logic began as a way to understand thought, and then helped to create machines that can reason through performing sequences of operations (aka the computer’s “intelligence”).
One such process is Boolean logic, which is the basis of modern digital computer logic. This was developed by George Boole, who admitted to being inspired and influenced by Aristotle’s logic. He paid tribute to Aristotle saying, “In its ancient and scholastic form, indeed, the subject of Logic stands almost exclusively associated with the great name of Aristotle” (Dixon, 2017). Then, in the 1930s, researchers noticed that Boole’s logical system could be used to design electrical switching circuits, showing that numbers 0 and 1 combined through Boolean algebra could be used to analyze electrical switching and design electronic computers. Today, digital computers and electronic circuits are designed to implement this binary arithmetic. This would have been impossible without the groundwork provided by the Ancient Greeks and allows for computer sciences to keep posing new questions, which can only be answered by formal logic. What began, in Boole’s words, with an investigation “concerning the nature and constitution of the human mind,” could result in the creation of new minds—artificial minds—that might someday match or even exceed our own.
Artificial intelligence
The beautiful thing about history is the timeless link that we share between imagination and science. While we think of artificial intelligence as a recent concept, as we see ancient mythology, people have always dreamed of things that aren’t possible yet and there is a recurring theme of creating artificial life, such as artificial intelligence, robots, and self-moving objects. The earliest works appear from Greek authors Hesiod and Homer, who lived between 750 and 650 BCE (Hertzmann, 2019).
In the one story story, Hephaestus (Greek god of fire and metalworking) was commissioned by Zeus (king of Greek gods), to build something that would protect the island of Crete from invaders (Talos, 2020). Hephaestus then built Talos, a giant bronze automation who marched around the island three times every day and threw boulders at approaching enemy ships.
Hephaestus also created other self-moving objects, including a set of automated servants, who looked like women but were made of gold. According to Homer’s recounting of the myth, Hephaestus gave these artificial women the gods’ knowledge. Some argue that these stories could be considered an ancient mythical version of artificial intelligence (Shashkevich, 2019).
It’s also interesting to note that no happy ending exists in myths that involve artificial beings on earth. Why? In her book Gods and Robots, researcher Adrienne Mayor states, “It’s almost as if the myths say that it’s great to have these artificial things up in heaven used by the gods. But once they interact with humans, we get chaos and destruction” (Mayor, 2018). Perhaps this was an ancient warning that we should not place all our trust in the artificial and instead have more faith within the living. It reminds us that, while artificial technology is fun and novel, we must never lose sight of the most important piece–the people behind the technology. I can’t help but wonder what the Greeks would think about the technology that we have today?
The 2,000 Year Old Computer
In 1900, divers excavating the wreckage of an ancient ship off the coast of Antikythera, Greece discovered something quite odd (Bruderer, 2020). Among the many glamorous treasures of pottery, money, and statues that were discovered, a small clump of copper turned out to be the most significant finding. This artifact, now known as the Antikythera Mechanism, was revealed to be the oldest mechanical analog computer and could predict future solar and lunar movements, eclipses, and planetary movements, and was also capable of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division-all with the crank of a handle.
While today the programming of computers is written in digital code with a series of ones and zeros, this device had its code written into the mathematical ratios of its gears. All the user had to do was enter a date on one gear, and through a series of subsequent gear turns, the mechanism could calculate things like the angle of the sun crossing the sky. A main gear would move to represent the calendar year, and would, in turn, move many separate smaller gears to represent the motions of the planets, sun, and moon. See images below of the original and computer image recreated device:
Researchers are still not sure who used or assembled it. Did scientists build it for their calculations or was it a type of a teaching tool? Was it unique? Or are there more similar devices yet to be discovered? These questions may never be answered, but one thing is for certain; this discovery changed our understanding of human history and is a reminder that there is still so much genius throughout history to be discovered.
Tragically, the Antikythera Mechanism is thought to have been constructed just before the fall of the Golden Age of Greece. They were ahead of their time and so close to a breakthrough. One can’t help but wonder what else they would have devised if not for the untimely fall of this great civilization.
Check out a modern reconstruction of the mechanism in the video below:
Educational Structure and Coding
The Greek method of designing a standard education model involved three main disciplines: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. This model was known as the Trivium (translated as “Three Ways”).
When you think a little deeper into these disciplines, they share many similarities with coding:
- Grammar: definition of terms, language, limits, data etc.
- Logic: how to arrange your data, build arguments, test them, link them and test them again.
- Rhetoric: how to deliver the final output in a succinct, engaging and compelling way.
So, in coding this translates to:
- Input (Grammar): Having a solid grasp on the fundamental codes
- Process (Logic): Following logical arguments and rules to get things to work correctly
- Output (Rhetoric): Executing the operation and persuading people that it works.
Though this is not a direct link per se, it is still fun to think that this could be the basic beginnings of the logic behind coding. Pretty cool, right?
συμπέρασμα (Conclusion)
In many ways, Greek history and philosophy have informed programming and technology as we know today. The Greeks attempted to describe reality through logic and reasoning, leading us to today’s world of programming where codes and systems are built that reflect how we logically think through addressing and solving problems. Just as the Greeks created a better alphabet and use of language to communicate, people now can communicate with technology by feeding instructions into a computer, which creates a whole new language and a way to express ourselves in the world. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the Greeks is that they were just ordinary people who worked their way through tough times using their intellect and an unquenching thirst for knowledge to better understand and make their mark on the world. You don’t have to look very hard today to see glimpses of their brilliance and influence. In fact, UALR’s mascot, the Trojan, comes from Greek history. This spirit of having the “heart of a Trojan” is described well in one of my favorite passages from Edith Hamilton’s book The Greek Way:
To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful and delightful to live in was a mark of the Greek spirit which distinguished it from all that had gone before. It is a vital distinction. The joy of life is written upon everything the Greeks left behind. The Greeks knew to the full how bitter life is, as well as how sweet. Joy and sorrow, exultation and tragedy, stand hand in hand in Greek literature, but there is no contradiction involved thereby. The Greeks were keenly aware, terribly aware, of life uncertainty and the imminence of death. Over and over again they emphasize the brevity and the failure of all human endeavor, the swift passing of all that is beautiful and joyful. But never, not in their darkest moments, do they lose their taste for life. It is always a wonder and a delight, the world a place of beauty, and they themselves rejoicing to be alive in it (Hamilton, 1942).
This same gritty spirit resides in each of us today, and reminds us that as we walk along the path of progress seeking answers to the future, sometimes the best place to look is in the past.
I hope you have enjoyed this journey into the past. If you find yourself inspired to learn more about the brilliant influences of the Greeks, please check out my references below. I highly recommend reading anything by Edith Hamilton who is one of the most prolific writers of Greek history and mythology. She brings history to life in a way like no other author.
References:
Bruderer, H. (2020). The Antikythera Mechanism. Communications of the ACM, 63(4), 108–115. https://doi.org/10.1145/3368855
Hamilton, E. (1942). The Greek way. W.W. Norton.
Mayor, A. (2018). Gods and Robots. Princeton University Press. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691183510/gods-and-robots
Norris, M. (2019). Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen. W.W. Norton & Company.
Talos. (2020). https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Talos/talos.html
I love your reference to Hephaestus. By the time the myths were codified and transcribed, they were already ancient, which points to the fact that it goes back even farther than we could possibly conceive. I find it interesting that the ancient Greeks recognized the power that technological advancements provided them over more primitive counterparts, but were keenly aware of it’s isolating effects. Sure, Hephaestus was able to wield fire and iron into massive weapons, but he had to be isolated to do it. I think the ancients were clever in their skepticism of technology. They appreciated its potential, but knew how it could be detrimental.
I’ve read that the ancient Greeks had some basic knowledge of electricity and could even use it in coin production. Obviously, what I read could be completely inaccurate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the case. I tend to agree with you that the Greeks were on the verge of breakthroughs before their civilization faded. Perhaps, the stories of ancient aliens aren’t too far off.
Great read!
-Benjamin
Thanks! Yeah, Hephaestus is one of my favorites of the Greek gods. The title of “Devine Engineer” fits him perfectly. I do wish we had more backstory on the people who came up with these myths. It always fascinates me when I think about how creative they must have been coming up with stories like that and how they realized the importance of passing these stories down from generation to generation. If only they would have gotten along better with the Spartans there’s no telling what they would have been able to accomplish. Ha, I often think about the ancient alien theories too. Maybe they took Alexander the Great’s body with them. They still haven’t found his burial site. Disney+ has a cool documentary on the technology they are using to try to find it. Pretty neat!
I like how you used Greek history to share how information technology has evolved from the spoken word, to art creation, to development of the written word, and now to coding and AI technology. I think it is important to understand the history of information technology to better understand the direction of our future. I enjoyed your blog!
I LOVED how you related modern tech to the ancient ways of sharing information! I loved learning about the Greek alphabet and all the correlations that can be made between ancient Greek civilization and modern times. I normally wouldn’t point anyone toward Wikipedia, but the page regarding Ancient Greek technology was fascinating and had some great links that pertain to some of this info in your post:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_technology#:~:text=Inventions%20that%20are%20credited%20to,chart%20to%20find%20prime%20numbers.
I liked how you were able to relate the Greeks (specifically their education philosophy) back to coding and design. You drew interesting parallels. I love history and mythology, so I found your post especially interesting. Great work!
This is a very intriguing topic I especially enjoyed your connections between greek history and modern tech you presented them very well and you related them well to one another.
WOW, just WOW! This article was very informative and very interesting. You captured my attention from the start. I have always enjoyed learning how the past influences the present. As you stated, it is hard to imagine where technology would be today if the Greek civilization hadn’t met its demise. One could argue that we are in such an era today. Especially, if you believe the past repeats itself, perhaps the building of the Greek empire with its technological advances was the beginning of the end for them. If you follow climate control issues, and the world setting itself up for self-destruction, we could very well be pushing ourselves toward extinction. If that were to happen with only a few remaining people left on earth to repopulate, we could be back to “the garden” and starting over. Not much would be left of our technology today, as cell phones, computers, and everything housed in the “cloud” would be gone-erased forever. It is certainly worth taking a look at.
Thanks for the great references at the end for further reading. This is greatly appreciated, as I would love to research how similar our advances are, and how modern day has benefited from the past.
Great read! Great job!!
Very informative post! I loved how you relate the modern technology to greek history. I have never knew anything about greek. I was a learning point for me. I’m amazed how a 2,000 old computer could predict future solar, lunar movements and eclipses WOW. I feel like greek has a lot of rich history and very fascinating