Μουσείο Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Τεχνολογίας Κώστα Κοτσανά

Address: 6, Pindarou str. & Acadimias Av., Athens
Tel.: +30 211 4110044

Εmail: [email protected]
www.kotsanas.com

Working hours

Monday – Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00

The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology presents more than 500 inventions of the ancient Greek technological miracle. From the robot-maid of Philo to the cinema of Heron and from the automatic clock of Ctesibius to the analogue computer of Antikythera, covering the period from 2000 BC to the end of the ancient Greek world.

The contribution of the ancient Greeks in the fields of Philosophy, the ancient Sciences and the Fine Arts is well known. However, the Technology of the ancient Greeks is relatively unknown, as are their incredible achievements in this field. The Kotsanas Museum illuminates this relatively unknown aspect of ancient Greek civilization and shows that the technology of the ancient Greeks was shockingly similar to the beginnings of our modern technology.

Αρχαία Ελλάδα – Η προέλευση των τεχνολογιών / Ancient Greece- The Origins of Technologies

The scientific documentation of the exhibits is based on 30 years of research by the Museum’s creator, Kostas Kotsanas. The thorough study of the ancient Greek, Latin and Arabic literature, the pottery information and the few relevant archaeological finds constitute a solid basis and ensure the educational mission of the Museum.

With more than 143 exhibits and 24 thematic sections, the permanent and temporary collections offer a unique journey into the world of science and innovation. The exhibition “Ancient Greece – The Origins of Technologies” gives young and old alike the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge technology from the past, through the inventions of Ctesibius, Philo, Heron, Pythagoras and many other great scientists.

Τετράντας του Ιππάρχου / Astrolabe of Hipparchus

The exhibits presented are fully functional and interactive. Through their use, visitors have the opportunity to understand their usefulness in another time and explore the historical context and the social context surrounding each invention.

Temporary exhibitions, educational workshops for children and teenagers, experiential programmes for adults, thematic visiting experiences, guided tours and excursions, cultural routes, festivals and a series of new events every year are some of the things you can enjoy at the Kotsanas Museum!

The Museum’s four fixed educational programmes are implemented throughout the year, while more than 95 new educational activities for adults, teenagers and children are planned and carried out on weekdays and weekends throughout the year.

Αρχαία Ελλάδα – Η προέλευση των τεχνολογιών / Ancient Greece- The Origins of Technologies

The Museum presents 25 years of history with five branches in the Peloponnese, Athens and Crete. The Museum’s permanent collection has travelled to more than 250 destinations in Greece, Europe, America, Africa, Australia, Africa and Asia, bringing to Athens the favourite exhibits of visitors from all over the world!

The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology has been nominated as “European Museum of the Year 2019” by the European Museum Forum (EMF) and is a member of ICOM (International Council of Museums),

Four original entertainment workshops, specially designed for all ages, offer fun and knowledge, sharpen mental and intellectual abilities, and introduce us to the secrets of the ancient Greeks. The participants, under the guidance of the Museum’s staff, solve the “mystery” of telecommunications in ancient Greece, discover and operate the famous Antikythera Mechanism themselves, have fun playing with ancient Greek strategy games.

The workshops are for all ages – young, old and families.

Δημιουργικό εργαστήριο / Workshop Area

Telecommunications and cryptography: how did the ancient Greeks communicate and send coded messages?

On a special interactive map, place Agamemnon’s torches correctly and announce the fall of Troy! Learn and operate the ” pyrsia “, the first optical telegraph in history. Receive and send coded messages with your friends and… save the city or… play the broken phone. Learn and operate Aeneas’ “hydraulic telegraph”, the world’s first telecommunication device, and become the fastest “phryctoroi” in history. Build the ‘notebooks’ and ‘pencils’ of the ancient Greeks and write, send and read cryptographic messages using Polybius’ code. Build the “cryptic torch”, send useful messages to your “friends” and incomprehensible messages to your “enemies”.

Ancient Greek strategy games: from zatrikion to puzzles, tangram, “chess”, “backgammon” and “tic tac toe”.

Discover the most important intelligent strategy games from the Minoan to the Late Hellenistic Period. Learn about the “pessus” and the ” cybeia”. Compete in the ‘triad the ‘enniada’. Discover the rules of the “tilia” and “poli”. Practise Archimedes’ 14-piece “stomacheon”. Try to build a tangram with one of the 8 pre-selected (or other figures of your own) or a square with one of the 536 different ways of solving a puzzle and win a special prize from the Museum shop.

Computing machines of Antiquity: from the “little computer” of Salamis to the “computer” of Antikythera.

Discover the Greek (acrophonic) abacus, a special plate that allows the rapid placement of numbers of any number and size using the “Herodian” numbering system and the rapid publication of the result of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division between them. Practise, compete and win a special prize from the Museum shop. Rotate the knob of an Antikythera mechanism on a giant scale and unlock its “secrets” yourself. Go to the present, past or future and find the position of the sun in the zodiac, the position and phase of the moon, the month in the lunar calendar, the day and time of solar and lunar eclipses, the dates of ancient sporting events, etc.

Build yourself a working part of the Antikythera Mechanism out of metal and Plexiglas and take your creation to your office as a decoration.

Ο Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων / The Antikythera mechanism

“Air and water “: from the first “fountain” to the first “alarm” in history.

From the first “fountain” to the first “alarm” in history!

Are you ready to walk through the door of a house in ancient times? If you do, then a magical fountain invites you to take on it! Next up is a miracle that probably hides “underground secrets” to give way to a clever jug that takes orders according to your wishes!

I wonder how many more trials await us? A test will give us the answer! Secret Code: air and water! Our goal is to unlock all the secrets of the technological inventions of great inventors of antiquity such as Heron, Philo, Ktesibius, Pythagoras and many more!

As part of the educational programme, young and old will draw inspiration from the Museum’s exhibits, put them into operation and build their own inventions, discovering the techniques of the ancient Greeks and the secrets of their operation.