218:, sunrise occurs over the high brow of Mount Hymettos in the southeast. So from Meton's observatory the Sun appears to move along a 60° arc between these two points on the horizon every six months. The bisector of the observatory's solstitial arc lies in line with the Acropolis. These topological features are important because the summer solstice was the point in time from which the Athenians measured the start of their calendar years. The first month of the new year, Hekatombaion, began with the first new moon after the summer solstice.
196:. A Callippic cycle runs for 76 years, or four Metonic cycles. Callippus refined the lunisolar calendar, deducting one day from the fourth Metonic cycle in each Callippic cycle (i.e., after 940 synodic lunar periods had elapsed), so as to better keep the lunisolar calendar synchronized with the seasons of the solar year.
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are very nearly of the same duration. Consequently, a given day of a lunar month will often occur on the same day of the solar year as it did 19 years previously. Meton's observations were made in collaboration with
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Freeth, Tony; Bitsakis, Y.; Moussas, X.; et al. (November 30, 2006). "Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the
Antikythera Mechanism".
210:, the ancient parliament. Meton found the dates of equinoxes and solstices by observing sunrise from his observatory. From that point of observation, during the
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or table erected in Athens contained a record of Meton's observations, and a description of the
Metonic cycle. None of Meton's works survive.
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203:(2nd century BC), performs calculations based on both the Metonic and Callipic calendar cycles, with separate dials for each.
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Wright, M.T. (2005). "Counting Months and Years: the Upper Back Dial of the
Antikythera Mechanism".
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214:, sunrise was in line with the local hill of Mount Lycabetus, while six months later, during the
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The foundations of Meton's observatory in Athens are still visible just behind the podium of the
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in the 5th century BC. He is best known for calculations involving the eponymous 19-year
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What little is known about Meton is related by ancient historians. According to
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Pannekoek, A. "Planetary
Theories – the Planetary Theory of Kidinnu."
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Hannah, R. 'Greek and Roman
Calendars'. London: Duckworth, pages 52-55.
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expanded on the work of Meton, proposing what is now called the
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The world's oldest known astronomical calculator, the
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Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Biography and Mythology
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30:"Meton" redirects here. For the insect genus, see
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279:Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society
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401:. Vol. 9. pp. 337–40 – via
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148:, which he introduced in 432 BC into the
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231:(414 BC). He comes on stage carrying
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399:Dictionary of Scientific Biography
235:instruments and is described as a
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175:incorporates knowledge that 19
34:. For the lunar formation, see
27:5th century BC Greek astronomer
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854:Inferior and superior planets
967:Ancient Greek mathematicians
359:"Meton (second) by A. De M."
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728:On the Sizes and Distances
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957:Ancient Greek astronomers
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651:Sosigenes the Peripatetic
368:Little, Brown and Company
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952:5th-century BC Athenians
962:Ancient Greek engineers
646:Sosigenes of Alexandria
465:Ancient Greek astronomy
413:55, 10/1947, p 422
356:Smith, William (1867).
155:. Euphronios says that
718:On Sizes and Distances
829:Deferent and epicycle
758:Antikythera mechanism
201:Antikythera Mechanism
900:Babylonian astronomy
591:Hippocrates of Chios
671:Theon of Alexandria
318:10.1038/nature05357
310:2006Natur.444..587F
905:Egyptian astronomy
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121:.: Μέτωνος) was a
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411:Popular Astronomy
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751:Instruments
741:(Aristotle)
546:Cleostratus
511:Aristarchus
491:Anaximander
473:Astronomers
403:Archive.org
372:Archive.org
177:solar years
83:Occupations
73:Nationality
946:Categories
914:Influenced
893:Influences
864:Octaeteris
793:Triquetrum
681:Timocharis
666:Theodosius
626:Posidonius
586:Hipparchus
576:Heraclides
516:Aristyllus
501:Apollonius
496:Andronicus
382:References
130:astronomer
91:astronomer
768:Astrolabe
701:(Ptolemy)
621:Philolaus
611:Oenopides
596:Hypsicles
541:Cleomedes
536:Callippus
526:Autolycus
481:Aglaonice
233:surveying
228:The Birds
190:Callippus
150:lunisolar
869:Solstice
802:Concepts
698:Almagest
641:Seleucus
601:Menelaus
561:Euctemon
391:(1981).
326:17136087
237:geometer
186:Euctemon
179:and 235
138:engineer
134:geometer
99:engineer
95:geometer
773:Dioptra
636:Pytheas
631:Ptolemy
581:Hicetas
571:Geminus
566:Eudoxus
521:Attalus
486:Agrippa
394:"Meton"
334:4424998
306:Bibcode
244:Ptolemy
225:' play
157:Colonus
884:Zodiac
834:Equant
783:Gnomon
661:Thales
656:Strabo
506:Aratus
332:
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298:Nature
142:Athens
136:, and
67:Greece
56:Greece
690:Works
606:Meton
551:Conon
330:S2CID
254:Notes
248:stela
123:Greek
111:Greek
77:Greek
18:Meton
531:Bion
322:PMID
246:, a
208:Pnyx
171:The
167:Work
161:deme
63:Died
51:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.