Time in Antiquity

by Robert Hannah

Overview

Time in Antiquity offers a detailed survey of the science of time and its measurement in the Greek and Roman worlds, including Babylon and Egypt where many of the first advances were made. Robert Hannah focuses on the physical aspects of time measurement, locating the means of measurement, and the astronomers who developed these mechanisms, within their scientific context for the first time. This is a unique contribution to the understanding of the ancient world and its thinking, and is of interest to classicists, historians of the ancient world and of science, philosophers, and anthropologists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134323159
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/26/2008
Series:	Sciences of Antiquity
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robert Hannah

Table of Contents

1. Time in Antiquity: An Introduction 2. Cosmic Time 3. Marking Time 4. Telling Time 5. Measuring Time 6. Conceptions of Time 7. Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

‘Before the invention of clocks, what did time mean to people? Time in Antiquity is a fascinating look at how ancient Greeks and Romans marked the seasons and told the time - from checking the length of their shadows to tracking the rising and setting of the stars. The book is packed with technical detail that might put some people off, but Robert Hannah peppers his account with lively anecdotes from plays and poems, such as a greedy guest who arrives hours early for dinner when he measures his shadow at dawn instead of dusk.’ – New Scientist

'This book is well written, accessible, scholarly and thorough, and will be of the greatest value to anyone interested in ancient notions of time, and in ancient ways of measuring it.' - Brent Davis, University of Melbourne

From the Publisher