Human society is technological; primitive humans were making tools and weapons, and making things long before the agricultural revolution and humans settled into villages and began to farm, cultivating their food rather than just going out and picking it or hunting for it. Humans are the talking animal, the cooking animal, the counting animal … but above all, we are the technological animal. Yes, termites’ mounds have a really impressive system of air-conditioning, and yes, beavers make really amazing dams … but we do both, and a great many other things as well, and we don't just make the same things, we innovate. You don't really have to ask questions about “technology and society” because you can't separate them: human society is technological and you don't get humans getting together without it being done in a technological context.
In these lectures we will look at a number of very different technological feats of Ancient Greece, both from the point of view of understanding how the technology works, and from the point of view of what this technology can tell us about contemporary ancient society, thinking, and lives. Much of what we know about the ancient world is from literary or artistic sources, and much of it revolves around one form or other of conflict, politics or entertainment. Thinking about what their technology tells us can give a very different perspective on ancient life and society. The ancient Greeks are often portrayed as “a philosophical society” … but instead they were supreme engineers and technological innovators. Poetry is nice to talk about, but a new gizmo is seriously cool, and they loved a new gizmo. We will look at some technology that is relatively mundane (well, if you think vending machines in the ancient world are mundane!), and some of it is technology that changed the world (the Trireme and how they were used is the most dramatic example), and some of it you will just not believe was made in the ancient world it is so sophisticated.
If you don't already have background knowledge about the history of Ancient Greece then any general historical text that gives you a very general overview of the history of Ancient Greece will help you fit together the pieces we will be talking about. Otherwise, you will probably find doing some reading during the course will mean you get a lot more out of the lectures. The lecturer lectures, and does not Power Point … and a good sense of humour is essential. (Virtual!) crash helmets need not be worn, but we are going to go through a lot of material quite fast, so elbow and knee pads are advised.
