# The inventions and discoveries of ancient Greece

The Antikythera mechanism, the first analogue computer, Ctesibius's alarm clock, Archimedes' screw, the lighthouse of Alexandria and even the Olympics and democracy: what the world owes the ancient Greeks. Which was the greatest contribution?

- 6 votes · 15 items
- Jun 4, 2023 · Juliana Lopes
- https://even.best/en/l/3468/the-inventions-and-discoveries-of-ancient-greece

## Top 15

1. **The lighthouse of Alexandria** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Between 100 and 130 metres tall, it guided ships with fire and mirrors.
2. **The value of pi** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Archimedes devised a method to calculate it.
3. **Theatre** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Tragedy and comedy were born in Greek theatres.
4. **The Antikythera mechanism** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Bronze gears that predicted eclipses: the first analogue computer.
5. **The water mill** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Described by Philo of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC.
6. **The alarm clock** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Ctesibius's water clocks dropped pebbles on a gong at the set time.
7. **The odometer** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It measures distance travelled; credited to Archimedes or Heron of Alexandria.
8. **Archimedes' screw** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — A rotating helix for lifting water.
9. **The astrolabe** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — An instrument for tracking the heavens, credited to Apollonius of Perga.
10. **The world map** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Anaximander drew one of the first maps of the inhabited world.
11. **Euclid's Elements** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The standard geometry book for two millennia.
12. **Hippocratic medicine** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The scientific study of disease and the Hippocratic Oath.
13. **The Olympic Games** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The first recorded ones date from 776 BC, at Olympia.
14. **Democracy** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Athens created government by the citizens around 508 BC.
15. **The crane** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Around 515 BC, it saved labour on building sites.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.