Ancient Greek Inventions

Michael Lahanas

Εφευρέσεις των αρχαίων Ελλήνων

Scallop dredgers

according to Aristotle.

Screw
around 550 BC by Archytas who also invented the pulley and a child's rattle. (Later further developed by Archimedes)

References. Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Water resources technologies in the ancient Greece, School of Civil Engineering National Technical University of Athens

The Archimedes Elevator, based on the Archimedes screw

Sea Mines

The Greeks developed the first sea mine in the seventh century BC. A hellish discovery credited to Callinicus its formula is lost to history, but may have contained sulphur, naphtha and nitre. The Greeks filled barrels with their fomular and set them on fire, tide or current would move them toward an enemy ship and upon contact set the vessel on fire. Interestingly, this first sea mine could also be used as a land-based or ship-based weapon. The Greeks learned that they could use a device called the "Petrary or Petad," a type of early catapult. They would light the "Greek Fire" and launch it from a ship or from land to hit targets on land or at sea. The flaming barrels must have struck fear in enemies. Robert-Ian Salit A SHORT HISTORY OF MINE SWEEPING 4TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TECHNOLOGY AND THE MINE PROBLEMNaval Postgraduate School, Monteray, CA. – March 12-16, 2000

Sequence Control