The Museum has permanent collections and pieces that are on display on rotation.
The moving automatic servant of Philo and Heron (Therapaenis)
Scale: 1:1
Study: T.P. Tassios, M. Korres, S. Oikonomopoulos
Construction: M. Korres, S. Oikonomopoulos
This automaton combines two mechanisms, separately, described by Philo from Byzantium and Heron from Alexandria. It functions in two stages:
1. A break is released and the statue moves towards a participant of the symposium. Motion is achieved by means of a counterweight that descends slowly inside the statue. The rope that holds it winds around a pivot that is thus forced to turn and give motion to two hidden wheels. When the counterweight reaches the bottom of the vessel, movement is interrupted.
2. After the participant has placed a heavy cap on the left hand of the Servant, her arm turns and activates an horizontal latch which slides slowly allowing for the atmospheric pressure to enter a hidden closed vessel of wine. Wine will now pour from the jar that the Servant holds in her right hand. After a while, as the latch is till moving, the air will stop entering the vessel and wine will no longer run. The latch, however, is still in motion and will now repeat the same process from a closed vessel of water this time.
Heron’s automated temple gates
Scale: 1:1
Study: D. Kalligeropoulos
Construction: D. Kalligeropoulos, B. Nikolis, P. Vasileiadis
"A temple is constructed such that as soon as a fire is lit on the altar before it, and the sacrifice is made, the doors of the temple open automatically; and as soon as the fire is quenched, they close again" (Heron, Theorem 38, “Pneumatika”). In this mechanism, Heron exploited the expansion of air heated beneath the altar. The pressure of the air forces a liquid to move from a fixed vessel into a movable one, after which a system of pulleys and counterweights is activated to pivot the doors of the temple.
The Antikythera Mechanism
Scale: 3:1
Research: Prof. K. Efstathiou, Prof. J. H. Seiradakis, A. Basiakoulis, M. Efstathiou, Dr. M. Anastasiou
Design & Construction: 3D Solidforms powered by the Hellenic made Laser systems Steelburner
Copyright @ 2017. All rights reserved by 3D Solidforms
This is a large scale didactic model, made of transparent materials, fully operational as the prototype.
The Antikythera Mechanism was an analog computer of astonishing technical capacity. It was constructed 2,000 years ago and could accurately calculate the position of the sun, the moon and possibly the planets in the sky. It calculated the phases of the moon, predicted eclipses of the sun and the moon and determined the dates on which the ancient Olympic and the other “Crown” games (called “Stefanites”) were held. On its covering plates and on its interior front and rear surfaces it bore astronomical, geographical and technical inscriptions, all written in Greek characters. The height of most of the letters is between 1.5 and 2.5 mm. Thanks to innovative investigative techniques these texts, lost for more than 2,000 years, have now been read (about 3,400 letters).
The mechanism was enclosed in a wooden case with dimensions approximately 30 x 20 x 10 cm, a bit larger than a modern laptop, and contained at least 30 cooperating gears. It had a double circular dial on the front surface and two helical spiral dials on the rear surface.
John H. Seiradakis | Kyriakos Efstathiou | Magdalini Anastasiou
Siege of fortifications
In addition to field battles, a large part of war technology development was devoted both to the siege and the defense of cities. There are many written sources describing siege machines like onagers, catapults or even flame-throwing weapons!
The first known reference to the construction of siege machines dates back to the 17th cent. B.C. by the Hittites in Mesopotamia. It is probable that the Achaeans knew about the use of such machines. Moreover, many ancient writers considered the Trojan Horse to be a poetic metaphor for such a siege machine.
The elementary protection means of a city under siege were the walls.