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The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is a fun and interesting museum focusing on the technological advances pioneered in ancient Greece. It features modern replicas of ancient Greek contraptions.
Visiting Info
The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Adult admission for select exhibits is 5€ and full admission for all exhibits is 10€. The museum is located in the Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens.
There are some interactive exhibits and the friendly and enthusiastic staff are always eager to explain how these amazing devices work. Give yourself at least an hour to go through the museum. You’ll be impressed and surprised at some of the technology that existed in ancient times.
Heron Hall
The first exhibits near the reception desk on the ground floor are in the Heron Hall. They cover religious technology. One device of note is the automatic holy water server with a coin collector. It was developed in the 1st century and is considered the world’s first vending machine. The device was placed outside temples. The coin fell onto a balancing disk, opening a conical valve to allow a small amount of water to flow out.
Philon Hall
Attached to the Heron Hall is the Philon Hall. It covers telecommunications, robotics, hoisting machines, athletic technology, automation and programming, and cryptography.
One of the most interesting contraptions is the hydraulic telegraph of Aeneas Tacticus, which was developed in the 4th century BC. It’s regarded as the world’s first telecommunication device, transmitting pre-agreed messages across the empire of Alexander the Great. Messengers used a system of burning torches to signal when to open the tap. When the correct message was reached, the messenger would signal to close the tap.
Another device is the automatic servant of Philon (c. 280 – c. 220 BC), developed in the 3rd century BC. The life-size female figure held a wine jug in her right hand. When a visitor placed a cup in her left hand, the robot automatically poured wine, then added water if desired.
Finally, there’s the fire signals and beacons method developed in the 2nd century BC by Cleoxenes and Democletus. It was the first coded letter by letter telegraphy in history. The number of torches put up in a certain position would indicate a certain letter.
Ktesibios Hall
On the opposite side of the Heron Hall is the Ktesibios Hall. It features a lot of gadgets: hydraulic technology, pulling machines, geodesy and cartography, hydropower and wind power, steam mobility and jet propulsion, measurement of time, measuring instruments, automation and automatic navigation, and military technology.
In the center is a model of the Tower of the Winds, which is an ancient water clock at the Roman Agora archaeological site.
The hydraulic technology on display is the endless screw developed by Archimedes (c. 287 – c. 212 BC) in the 3rd century BC. It was able to pump large amounts of water at a 30° incline and is still in use today. There’s an interactive model for visitors to try out.
Representing time measurement is the hodometer of Archimedes. It was the first road distance calculator in history. It consisted of a box with gears and was attached to a moving vehicle.
Hipparchus Hall
Upstairs on floor 0.5 is the small Hipparchus Hall. It covers medical technology, tools and machines, astronomy, pneumatics, computing mechanisms, and gadgets.
One of the highlights is a model of the Antikythera Mechanism. The Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest known example of an analogue computer. It was used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses as well as the four-year cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. In early 1900, Captain Dimitrios Kontos and his team of sponge divers from Symi discovered a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. The Hellenic Navy conducted a salvage mission from November 1900 through 1901. The device was identified on May 17, 1902, by Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais (1857-1923), who noticed a gear with legible Greek inscriptions. The inscriptions refer to astronomical and calendar calculations as well as instructions for its use. The actual pieces of the Antikythera Mechanism can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum.
Gadgets on display include the philosopher’s stone and the ingenious wine jug. The philosophers stone was invented by Heron in the 1st century. It consisted of two vessels connected by a small tube. When water was poured into the first vessel, air was forced through the tube to the second vessel, pushing out an equal amount of wine. The ingenious wine jug was invented by Philon in the 3rd century BC and was the first “smart appliance” in history. It would pour water, wine, or watered wine into a cup, depending on the drinker’s choice.
Hall of Gods
Heading down to the basement is the Hall of Gods. There’s a scale model of the Syracusia on display. It was the first cruise ship of antiquity. The Syracusia was designed by Archimedes and built around 240 BC. It could carry 1,600 to 1,800 tons and had a capacity of 1,942 passengers. Amenities included an indoor bath, garden, gymnasium, library, and temple dedicated to Aphrodite. The Syracusia only made one voyage, from Syracuse in Sicily to Alexandria in Egypt, where it was gifted to Ptolemy III Euergetes.
Archimedes Hall
Also in the basement is the Archimedes Hall, which displays replicas of ancient military uniforms. They’re displayed in chronological order running in a clockwise direction, starting with Mycenaean armor.
Spartan, Corinthian, and Athenian military gear is next, highlighting developments in armor and helmets around the 5th century BC.
Continuing along is Macedonian armor. There are replicas of the armor Philip II was buried in as well as a couple pieces worn by Alexander the Great.
Finally, after a row of breastplates is Byzantine armor. On display is the armor worn by a cataphract during the Middle Byzantine period.
Musical Instruments
Back through the main entrance and up a different stairwell to the first floor is a section featuring ancient Greek musical instruments.
String instruments include the pandoura (trichord), which was a “wooden three-stringed instrument with a small soundbox and a long neck with frets”. It was a predecessor of the lute. Nearby are the magadis and piktis of Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BC), which were harps. They had multiple strings of varying lengths and a wooden soundbox. Both instruments were usually played by a woman.
Continuing on are the kithara of Apollo (guitar), archaic guitar, and the lyre. The kithara of Apollo was played at music competitions and other public events. It required a great amount of skill. The archaic guitar had a wooden soundbox, often U-shaped, with three or four strings. The lyre was popular as far back as the Mycenaean period. It consisted of a tortoise shell soundbox with an ox or goat skin stretched over the open side, two arms made of goat horns or wooden rods, a wooden crossbar, and strings made of hemp, flax, or animal tendons.
One of the final two instruments of note is the Pythagorean sixchord (syntonon). It was a board instrument used to study musical notes in relation to the tension of the strings. The other is the hydraulis (water organ) of Ktesibios (285-222 BC), which was invented in the 3rd century BC as the world’s first keyboard instrument. It consisted of two pumps, a keyboard, and pipes.
Toys
In the same gallery are a few games and toys. One of the games on display is polis, which is an ancestor of chess. It was a popular strategy game played by two players.
Pindaros Hall
The final section of the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is the Pindaros Hall, which is also on the first floor. It’s an interactive area where visitors can try their hand at some ancient Greek games.
One of the most popular games is trias, which was the first form of tic-tac-toe in history. Each player had three pawns with the objective of forming a straight line or blocking their opponent from doing so. Don’t challenge the staff to a game – you’ll never win!
