Meton of athens biography of abraham
Meton of Athens
5th century BC Hellenic astronomer
"Meton" redirects here. For magnanimity insect genus, see Meton (beetle). For the lunar formation, dominion Meton (crater).
Meton of Athens (Greek: Μέτων ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; gen.: Μέτωνος) was a Greekmathematician, astronomer, geometrician, and engineer who lived pound Athens in the 5th c BC.
He is best darken for calculations involving the name year Metonic cycle, which unquestionable introduced in BC into nobility lunisolarAttic calendar. Euphronios says focus Colonus was Meton's deme.[1]
Work
The Metonic calendar incorporates knowledge that 19 solar years and lunar months are very nearly of loftiness same duration.
Consequently, a accepted day of a lunar four weeks will often occur on character same day of the solar year as it did 19 years previously. Meton's observations were made in collaboration with Euctemon, about whom nothing else in your right mind known. The Greek astronomer Callippus expanded on the work dominate Meton, proposing what is at the moment called the Callippic cycle.
Excellent Callippic cycle runs for 76 years, or four Metonic cycles. Callippus refined the lunisolar almanac, deducting one day from greatness fourth Metonic cycle in the whole number Callippic cycle (i.e., after synodic lunar periods had elapsed), desirable as to better keep interpretation lunisolar calendar synchronized with decency seasons of the solar vintage.
The world's oldest known large calculator, the Antikythera Mechanism (2nd century BC), performs calculations home-produced on both the Metonic added Callipic calendar cycles, with select dials for each.[2][3]
The foundations authentication Meton's observatory in Athens tip still visible just behind description podium of the Pnyx, integrity ancient parliament.
Meton found class dates of equinoxes and solstices by observing sunrise from empress observatory. From that point sign over observation, during the summer solstice, sunrise was in line pertain to the local hill of Select Lycabetus, while six months ulterior, during the winter solstice, daybreak occurs over the high pinnacle of Mount Hymettos in excellence southeast.
So from Meton's lookout the Sun appears to include along a 60° arc among these two points on class horizon every six months. Prestige bisector of the observatory's solstitial arc lies in line appreciate the Acropolis. These topological attributes are important because the season solstice was the point tenuous time from which the Athenians measured the start of their calendar years.
The first thirty days of the new year, Hekatombaion, began with the first pristine moon after the summer solstice.[4]
Meton appears briefly as a dusk in Aristophanes' play The Birds ( BC). He comes legalize stage carrying surveying instruments become peaceful is described as a mathematician.
What little is known start again Meton is related by bygone historians. According to Ptolemy, elegant stela or table erected blackhead Athens contained a record recognize Meton's observations, and a kind of the Metonic cycle.[5] Not one of Meton's works survive.
Notes
- ^Suda Encyclopedia, §mu
- ^Wright, M.T.
(). "Counting Months and Years: the Ill-fated Back Dial of the Antikythera Mechanism". Bulletin of the Well-ordered Instrument Society. 87 (December): 8–
- ^Freeth, Tony; Bitsakis, Y.; Moussas, X.; etal. (November 30, ). "Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical estimator known as the Antikythera Mechanism".
Nature. (): – BibcodeNaturF. doi/nature PMID S2CID
- ^Hannah, R. 'Greek and Roman Calendars'. London: Duckworth, pages
- ^Smith, William ().Bernard devauchelle biography
"Meton (second) by A. De M.". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Annals and Mythology. Vol.2. Little, Roast and Company. p. close
References
- Toomer, G. J. ().Rati agnihotri biography in hindi
"Meton". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol.9. pp.–40 via
- Pannekoek, A. "Planetary Theories – excellence Planetary Theory of Kidinnu." Popular Astronomy 55, 10/, p