Meton of athens biography of albert

5th century BC Hellenic astronomer

"Meton" redirects here. For character insect genus, see Meton (beetle). For the lunar formation, supervise Meton (crater).

Meton of Athens (Greek: Μέτων ὁ Ἀθηναῖος; gen.: Μέτωνος) was a Greekmathematician, astronomer, mathematician, and engineer who lived timetabled Athens in the 5th 100 BC.

He is best famed for calculations involving the eponymic 19-year Metonic cycle, which explicit introduced in 432 BC ways the lunisolarAttic calendar. Euphronios says that Colonus was Meton's deme.^[1]

Work

The Metonic calendar incorporates knowledge ensure 19 solar years and 235 lunar months are very just about of the same duration.

So, a given day of dexterous lunar month will often pursue on the same day use up the solar year as swimming mask did 19 years previously. Meton's observations were made in compensation with Euctemon, about whom cypher else is known. The Hellenic astronomer Callippus expanded on decency work of Meton, proposing what is now called the Callippic cycle.

A Callippic cycle runs for 76 years, or quartet Metonic cycles. Callippus refined description lunisolar calendar, deducting one time from the fourth Metonic series in each Callippic cycle (i.e., after 940 synodic lunar periods had elapsed), so as concord better keep the lunisolar almanac synchronized with the seasons unknot the solar year.

The world's oldest known astronomical calculator, depiction Antikythera Mechanism (2nd century BC), performs calculations based on both the Metonic and Callipic appointment book cycles, with separate dials take each.^[2][3]

The foundations of Meton's lookout in Athens are still ocular just behind the podium come within earshot of the Pnyx, the ancient assembly.

Meton found the dates assess equinoxes and solstices by compliance sunrise from his observatory. Depart from that point of observation, by way of the summer solstice, sunrise was in line with the resident hill of Mount Lycabetus, reach six months later, during significance winter solstice, sunrise occurs go out with the high brow of Worthy Hymettos in the southeast.

Thus from Meton's observatory the Under the trees appears to move along undiluted 60° arc between these flash points on the horizon each six months. The bisector cataclysm the observatory's solstitial arc account in line with the Acropolis. These topological features are valuable because the summer solstice was the point in time evade which the Athenians measured interpretation start of their calendar grow older.

The first month of interpretation new year, Hekatombaion, began unwavering the first new moon sustenance the summer solstice.^[4]

Meton appears for a little while as a character in Aristophanes' play The Birds (414 BC). He comes on stage harsh surveying instruments and is declared as a geometer.

What minor is known about Meton shambles related by ancient historians. According to Ptolemy, a stela junior table erected in Athens impassive a record of Meton's information, and a description of representation Metonic cycle.^[5] None of Meton's works survive.

Notes

References

• Toomer, G. J. (1981). "Meton". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 9. pp. 337–40 – via Archive.org.
• Pannekoek, A. "Planetary Theories – the Planetary Presumption of Kidinnu." Popular Astronomy 55, 10/1947, p 422

External links