Ancient Greek science and technology exhibition kicks off in Beijing

The exhibition “Eureka! Science, Art and Technology of the Ancient Greeks” kicks off in the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) in Beijing, November 3, 2017. [Photo provided by CSTM]

The exhibition "Eureka! Science, Art and Technology of the Ancient Greeks" kicked off Friday morning in Beijing, featuring nine major themes to showcase the technological achievements of ancient Greece.

Ever imagine that a crane had already been used while the Parthenon Temple was being built? Can you believe a robot had served the Greek people over 2000 years ago?

All these ancient Greek technological models now can be found at the China Science and Technology Museum.

"It is really admirable that ancient Greece maintained its technological prowess for a such long time."

A local visitor to the museum is impressed after seeing the exhibit.

The exhibition "Eureka! Science, Art and Technology of the Ancient Greeks" is jointly held by the Museum Herakleidon, located in Athens, and the China Science and Technology Museum.

A total of 53 technical models are displayed, showing the ancient Greeks' creation and wisdom on measurements of space and time, mechanical engineering, astronomy, shipbuilding, military technology and more.

At the unveiling ceremony of the exhibit, Elisabeth Fotiadou, Minister of the Greek Embassy in China, explains that the word "Eureka" means "I find it" in Greek, which is a perfect illustration of this exhibition, as it gives visitors a chance to admire the ancient Greeks' spirit of exploration.

Pavlos Firos, the founder of the Museum Herakleidon, at the unveiling ceremony in the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) in Beijing, November 3, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

Pavlos Firos, the founder of the Museum Herakleidon, says he is amazed at the ability of the ancient Greeks to build such sophisticated equipment.

"We didn't know in ancient times, they could do such kind of thing. We looked at every object, and it's the result of a need. The society needed a solution, so someone thought of a solution."

Yin Hao, Director of the China Science and Technology Museum, says the Antikythera Mechanism, which can predict solar and lunar eclipses, is quite impressive.

"I studied mechanical engineering and materials science, so I can see the elaboration and sophistication of the Antikythera mechanism. It's like a calculator, which can predict solar and lunar eclipses. This is a mechanism made around the 2nd Century B.C., so it is really admirable."

The exhibition “Eureka! Science, Art and Technology of the Ancient Greeks” kicks off in the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) in Beijing, November 3, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

Earlier in September this year, an exhibition of ancient Chinese science and technology was held in the Museum Herakleidon in Anthens. It was one of the exchange activities to celebrate the current Year of Chinese-Greek Friendship.

The two museums aim to strengthen the relations of the two countries by promoting each other's important cultural heritage.

Pavlos Firos, the founder of the Museum Herakleidon, says the two sides have already made concrete plans about future cooperation.

"We are already talking about what is a next step, and there are many next steps that we have already identified. The first one is to see an exhibition side-by-side. We have the Greek, ancient Chinese ... we have another idea of taking inventions from each and how they evolved over time, and educational programs. We have a lot of things."

The exhibition in Beijing is free to the public and is running from November 3, 2017 to March 7, 2018.