Astronomical Find: Ancient Greek Wine Cup May Show Constellations - Polidicks

[IMG]http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/071/453/iFF/greek-wine-cup-constellations-1.jpg?1414405405[/IMG] [quote]A 2,600-year-old two-handled wine cup currently on display at the Lamia Archaeological Museum in Greece has long been thought to depict a random assortment of animals. But the piece of ancient pottery, called a skyphos, may actually contain one of the earliest Greek depictions of the constellations, a new analysis shows. The study researchers suggested that other ancient artistic representations of animals may also portray constellations, and hold clues to what the early Greeks knew about astronomy, said study researcher John Barnes, a classical archaeology doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri. [Image Gallery: World's Oldest Astrologer's Board] "If we go back and re-evaluate other animal scenes that might have been originally categorized as hunting scenes or animal friezes, then maybe we can find more [depictions of constellations] and get a greater understanding of how the ancient Greeks viewed the night sky," Barnes told Live Science.[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.livescience.com/48464-ancient-greek-wine-cup-reveals-constellations.html[/url]

The Greeks were so far ahead in a lot of fields, it only took ~2000 years to prove scientifically.

I think it's more of an archaeological find.

[QUOTE=SebiWarrior;46543427]The Greeks were so far ahead in a lot of fields, it only took ~2000 years to prove scientifically.[/QUOTE] Ya the problem was in the places they were considerably wrong, their beliefs stuck around well past when they should have died [editline]21st November 2014[/editline] Like how Aristotle's beliefs on matter stubbornly clung to scientific models until the 20th century

[QUOTE=Sableye;46544861]Ya the problem was in the places they were considerably wrong, their beliefs stuck around well past when they should have died[/QUOTE] Nonetheless, their theories gave a baseplate for much of modern astronomy to work with, such as Ptolemy's theory of orbiting. Yes, he hypothesized they orbited the Earth, but he was correct when it came to the circular movement of heavenly bodies.

Don't forget that the modern idea of "Ancient Greeks" were fairly small groups within the larger area we now know as Greece. The idea of a Greek national identity is fairly recent.

the name in itself Skyphos sounds very cool even if it's just a wine cup. Greeks just knew how to get stuff done it seems.

[QUOTE=kaine123;46545023]Don't forget that the modern idea of "Ancient Greeks" were fairly small groups within the larger area we now know as Greece. The idea of a Greek national identity is fairly recent.[/QUOTE] Ancient Greeks definitely had a deep sense of belonging that is very similar to nationalistic sentiment, but it included areas of the Mediterannean that are outside of modern day Greece: southern Italy, the east coast of Turkey and a small part of the coast of Egypt.

While newer, this device still impresses the most. It's basically a mechanical computer used for astronomy. [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/NAMA_Machine_d%27Anticyth%C3%A8re_1.jpg/300px-NAMA_Machine_d%27Anticyth%C3%A8re_1.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;46543450]I think it's more of an archaeological find.[/QUOTE] Archaeoastronomy is a legit field, this would be up there alley. If only I lived in the UK so I could attend universities that teach it.

[QUOTE=itak365;46546051]Archaeoastronomy is a legit field, this would be up there alley. If only I lived in the UK so I could attend universities that teach it.[/QUOTE] Holy shit, the Ancient Greeks and astronomy are my two favourite things to learn about :v:

[QUOTE='[IT] Zodiac;46545208']Ancient Greeks definitely had a deep sense of belonging that is very similar to nationalistic sentiment, but it included areas of the Mediterannean that are outside of modern day Greece: southern Italy, the east coast of Turkey and a small part of the coast of Egypt.[/QUOTE] no they felt more attached to their own city state than any sense of "Greece". if you spoke Greek you weren't hated as much, but man, if you didn't speak Greek you were a dirty little Barbarian.