An Archimedes Museum!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Syracuse – Home of Archimedes

The home of Archimedes was on the island of Sicily in a city named Syracuse. Archimedes is probably one of the best engineers and mathematicians ever. He spent much of his time working on mathematics and creating his inventions. Many of his machines were considered war machines – they were developed and used to help defend the city of Syracuse from the Romans.

We were lucky enough to find an Archimedes museum with many replicas of his inventions. The museum was closed…..it was probably quite a sight to see 6 adults climb up the wall to look over the fence. I’m sure we looked like we were about to break-in. After a few minutes, the care-taker came out. When it was explained to her who we were and why we were interested in the museum, she was more than happy to let us in to look around.

Click on the pictures to enlarge for reading

One of the Brightest Places on Earth

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Island of Delos and the Delian Problem

Today was spent visiting the island of Delos, one of the brightest spots in the world. Delos is home to the Temple of Apollo where the altar the Athenians were told to double is located. This is known as the Delian Problem. It wasn’t proven until the 19th century that doubling the cube using a compass and straight edge is impossible. So why then did the oracle at Delphi give this order? The legend says it was because the gods wanted the people to spend more time gaining wisdom and seeking knowledge. It was to keep their minds busy trying to solve the problem.

 Apollo's Altar

Delos is a very intriguing island. It is one of the brightest spots on earth and also shows no signs of earthquake activity even though it is surrounded by land that has had much quake activity. Oddly enough the Greek myths named Delos the birth place of Apollo – god of light. Apollo and Artemis were born from Leto, one of Zeus lovers. Hera, his wife, was not happy about Leto’s pregnancy and made it impossible for Leto to give birth on any land. One of the stories (there are several) is that Leto’s sister, Asteria, had been pursued by Zeus. In order to escape him, she threw herself from the sky into the ocean becoming a floating island known as Delos. Leto went to her and told her the land would become very useful if she would ignore Hera’s threats and allow Leto to give birth there. Asteria agreed. As soon as Leto arrived on the island, the seabed rose up and anchored the floating island.

So let's see..…..
According to a study done by the University of Athens, Delos is considered to be one of the brightest places on earth.  According to the ancient Greeks, Delos happens to be the birthplace of Apollo - god of light.

Delos shows no signs of earthquake activity yet it is surrounded by areas with activity.  According to mythology, Delos just happens to be anchored to the seabed by Leto’s sister Artemis

Is all this coincidence?……makes you wonder about those ancient Greeks and their ‘myths’……..

A Visit to the Asian Continent

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Today was spent in the country of Turkey visiting the historical site of Ephesus. This ancient city is very near the birth and death place of the first mathematician, philosopher, and scientist – Thales of Miletus.

Temple of Artemis



Ephesus was established with the Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - built in the 6th century BC. It was one of the 12 cities of the Ionian League during Thales time. Ephesus fell to the Romans and became the 2nd largest city in the Roman Empire having a population of more 250,000 people.

Library

This city also has significant Christian ties. Saint Paul arrived on the scene to spread Christianity to the Ephesians who were worshipping Artemis. He sent one of his famous letters to the Ephesians. It is also possible the Gospel of John was written at Ephesus.

The theater at Ephesus held 25,000 people.  It was only used for drama when the Greeks were in control of the city.  However, when the city fell to the Romans, the type of entertainment changed.

Free Wi-Fi on the ferry!

I have some time to catch up a little.  I'm on the ferry for the next 5 hours and there's free Wi-Fi.

July 13th Tuesday

After our talk - just outside the Acropolis - on Greek History and mathematics, we visited a museum with areas dedicated to Thales, Pythagoras and other ancient Greek mathematicians.
It was intended for children because of the displays and hands on activities available but it was interesting to see the methods used to show and explain the proofs and theorems of the ancient mathematicians. It was also great to see the amount of effort put in place to teach the children of Greece about the important contributions to math and science originating in their own country.

July 14th Wednesday

After a 9 hour ferry ride from Athens to the island of Samos, we headed to the village of Pythagorio, birthplace of Pythagoras. On the way we stopped at The Temple of Hera which - built in 6th century BC. Amazingly there is one column still standing today after more the 2500 years.

Then it was on to the Tunnel of Eupalinos. This tunnel was built in the 6th century BC to run an aqueduct through the mountain rather than around it to keep it from exposure to enemies. Built by one of the best engineers (Eupalinos) this tunnel started on opposite sides of the mountain at the same time. After about 10 years, when the 2 sides finally met, they were only about 60 cm off. This was an incredible engineering feat for constructing a tunnel over 3400 feet through a mountain.

Finally, we ended up in the fishing village of Pythagorio, birthplace of Pythagoras.

Statue of Pythagoras

So much to do and see....sleep needs to wait

I have so many facts, details, thoughts, pictures etc. that I want to share on this blog but my days have been completely filled with activity.  Writing something up quickly without giving it much thought will not do this experience justice.  What I can say right now is that this has been the most amazing experience ever!  I will share pictures and details ASAP, but I'm now off to a new location without Wi-Fi capabilites. 
We have been in Samos for the last 2 days.  One of the days was spent going to Turkey to visit the ruins of Ephesus.  This is one of the most preserved ancient sites exisiting today.  It is absolutely amazing to see this 2nd largest city of the Roman Empire in such condition today.  I promise more facts and photos will be posted soon.

Parthenon & Museum

Wow! Seeing the Parthenon actually gave me chills. It is amazing to see a structure built over 2000 years ago. I didn’t want to leave.

After the Parthenon we visited the National Archeological Museum. It is unbelievable how detailed the marble is carved. I’ve seen pictures in books, but until I saw the real thing, I did not realize how life-like the bodies look. The detail and definition is unbelievable. I took close-up pictures and I’m hoping they will give a better glimpse of how they actually look.

 

 See description above for information on this statue.  Click on picture and enlarge to read

 

This was just a cloth draped over the body.  It too looked so real but had been carved from marble over 2000 years ago.

Is it Zeus or Poseidon?  Up until recently it was thought to be Poseidon, but not so sure anymore.

 

It's quite possible Homer's Odyssey was based on truth.  Scientists believe he was not describing events taking place during his life time but rather events from about 200 years before his time.  He has described some things in great detail that have been uncovered from the Mycenaean time period.

 

Tomorrow we are going to have a lecture from a Greek mathematician/philosopher under an olive tree, just outside of the Acropolis…..very Plato-Socrates like.  In the afternoon it's a visit to a musuem with a specific area dedicated to ancent Greek mathematics.

Finally, tomorrow night we take a ferry to Samos.  I hope the hotel in Samos will have internet service so I can continue.

I have so much more to tell about the parthenon but I need sleep.  More to come soon.

Finally made it!

After a 6 hour layover in Rome due to a delayed flight, I finally made it to Greece.  Today was spent traveling but tomorrow will be a tour of the city. 
Here's a view from the roof of my hotel.

Today's the Day!

I'm in Newark at this time where my flight leaves this evening at 5:30 pm.  After a connection in Rome, I should arrive in Athens on Sunday around 1:30 pm Athens time (6:30 am Eastern time). 
The itinerary is as follows - Athens until Tuesday and then on to the island of Samos via overnight ferry.  After 2 days in Samos, I will take a ferry to Mykonos on Friday morning.  Two days and nights are spent exploring Mykonos and the island of Delos and then it's back to Athens on Sunday.
 A very early flight on Monday morning takes me to Sicily.  On Thursday, it's off to Rome for the last several days of the trip.

I will keep the blog updated as often as possible.

αντίο for now

Philosophy of the Ancient Greeks

As part of my Math History course, a lecture on Ancient Greek Philosophy was given by Professor Ah Tua Teo at SUNY Ulster.

Many civilizations had their own philosophical ideas well before the Greeks. But it was the Ancient Greek Philosophy that has shaped the Western World. Before the significant turn in their attempt to understand the Universe, the Greeks were Fatalists (Fatalism - everything is fate - whatever happens has been predetermined and cannot be changed). They believed in the gods and used them as their explanation for natural occurring events.

Starting around the 8th through the 5th century B.C., there was a worldwide shift in thinking. It was a universal awakening of the mind, an Intellectual Revolution so to speak. Not only was this the time when the ancient Greeks began to philosophize, but it was the time when Confucianism and Taoism in China and Buddhism in India were established.

During the 6th century B.C., the Greek culture took a significant turn in their attempt to understand the Universe. They started developing the Philosophy (science) and Mathematics that we are familiar with today. (At the time, ‘science’ and ‘philosophy’ had the same meaning – philosophy was science).

These early philosophers were known as Pre-Socratics and their time span was about 150 years from Thales to Socrates. (You can read more about Thales, the first philosopher, in one of my previous posts)

The 3 steps which started the turn in Greek Philosophy were:
1. Wondering and pondering with reason and observation
2. Denial of the mythical and mystical religious way of thinking
3. Acceptance of Materialism (everything happens for a reason – no divine intervention) and Naturalism (all phenomena can be explained naturally).

The Pre-Socratic philosophers were seeking to understand what is ultimately real and what is reality made up of (also known as Metaphysics).
The focus of their main question was:
        What is the single substance that makes up everything? (This is also called Metaphysical Monism or Material Monism.)

The following are the answers from some of the significant philosophers of the time.
1. Thales – Everything is made of Water
2. Anaximander - Everything is made out of indeterminate boundless Infinite
3. Anaximenes- Everything is made of Air
4. Heraclitus – Everything is made of Fire
5. Pythagoras – Everything is made of Numbers
6. Democritus – Everything is made of Atoms

To learn more about this time period and Greek Philosophy click on the link below to hear Professor Teo’s lecture.
Ancient Greek Philosophy Lecture

The following links give more information on Greek Philosophy.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The Pre-Socratics

The Big View - Greek Philosophy