The Moon was not a God

Anaxagoras was one of the first persons to state that the moon was a rock. His theory was that the moon had been flung into space by the Earth. The Sun, in turn, was labeled as being a burning rock. The philosopher probably was born in 499 BC in Klazomenai, when Asia Minor was still under Persian rule.

His greatest merit was his attempt to describe the occurrence of eclipses, meteors, rainbows, and the behavior of the Sun and the Moon. The eclipse that he witnessed in 463 BC while he was travelling through Greece may have contributed to his further in-depth observations.

His most surprising “discovery” – that certainly was very disconcerting to people in antiquity – was his statement that the moon’s face was illuminated from the Sun on the opposite side of the Earth. He realized that the phases of the moon resulted from the alignment of the Moon, Sun and Earth. In short, he described the solar eclipse.

He wrote a book about this and other theories but, as so often, his knowledge only percolated through fragmentary work by later scholars among which we find Aristotle. As a consequence, Anaxagoras’ concepts may have been part of Alexander’s schooling baggage.

Contrary to the generally accepted theory of the time, he declared that the Moon and the Sun were objects (rocks) and not gods. The Athenians deeply resented this impiety and Anaxagoras was accused of blasphemy. Consequently, the philosopher was arrested and sentenced to death. However, thanks to the personal intervention of Pericles, Anaxagoras was exiled to Lampsacus on the Hellespont.

None of his contemporaries could have imagined that Anaxagoras’ ideas about the eclipses and lunar phases would live on for 2,600 years, that is until this day.

Knowledge about atoms in Alexander’s days

The knowledge of people in antiquity, and in this case, of Alexander the Great, never ceases to amaze me.

This time, I came across the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, who lived in the 5th century BC. The information about this brilliant mind, often called the father of modern science, is very scanty. Some claim he was born in Abdera, in modern Thracian Greece, around 460 BC, whereas others state that he was born in Miletus in 490 BC. His death is also shrouded in mystery, as some sources tell us that he died at the age of 104 or maybe 109. Well, we should not be picky about such details, should we?

Critical, however, is his theory that the universe is made up of tiny “atoms”. On this topic also, historians differ as a similar theory is being attributed to the contemporary philosopher Leucippus, although each one is based on a different principle. Nonetheless, the very concept of ‘atoms’ became the staple of the modern scientific tradition.

According to Democritus, everything in the universe is composed of “atoms”, a kind of invisible building stones. Atoms are in constant motion and are separated by empty space. Their number is endless, and they all differ in shape and size. Noticeable is that Democritus described atoms in different shapes, sizes, and arrangements, connected to each other with some kind of hooks and eyes, balls, and sockets. Most importantly, the concept provided an explanation as to why the idea of a void was necessary in nature. Unlike philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, who were more concerned about the soul, Democritus looked at the world from the practical point of view.

Democritus came from a wealthy and noble family that had strong ties with the Persian King Xerxes. Eventually, he was influenced and/or instructed by Chaldeans and Magi. Democritus traveled extensively to Asia and Egypt. He may have gone as far as India and Ethiopia. On the road, he may have met Anaxagoras, Hippocrates, and Socrates, although his real mentor was Leucippus of Miletus, who shared his theory of atomism.

As such, Democritus was an incredibly fascinating figure, but when we realize that he lived a good century before Alexander, our view of antiquity takes an entirely different twist. If only because of his teaching by Aristotle, we have no reason at all to doubt that the king was totally familiar with this atomic theory (and many others for that matter).

We still like to file our knowledge away in separate boxes by country or ideology, while in reality, the world in antiquity was at least as vast as ours is today.

Those who want to dig deeper into the atomic theory and the role played by Democritus may want to read this article published in The Universe Today.

[Picture of Democritus from The Universe Today]

A good reason to visit Klazomenai

Klazomenai (or Clazomenae) was one of the many Greek cities that dotted the coast of Ionia, i.e. the western coast of Turkey. Originally the city was located on an island and it is said that Alexander the Great connected it with the mainland by building a causeway whose remains are still visible. It makes me wonder if this was an exercise in view of the major dam he built about a year later when he besieged Tyre.

Klazomenai, founded about 6,000 years ago, underwent the same fate as so many of its neighbors, suffering in the 5th century BC attacks from the Lydians subject to Athens till they revolted during the Peloponnesian War. In 387 BC the city fell under Persian rule, to be taken by Alexander when he arrived here in 334 BC. In Roman times, it became part of the province of Asia, enjoying an exceptional immunity from taxation. Most people may however link the city to the philosopher Anaxagoras of Clazomenea who was born here around 500 BC and the first to bring philosophy to Athens.

Since 2000, diving excavations at modern Klazomenai, roughly 20 miles west of Izmir, revealed the presence of many ship remains ranging from the 7th century BC to Ottoman time. An Ottoman ship from the 17th century, for instance, was transporting an estimated thousand plates from the Dutch Republic – proof of the heavy commercial exchanges that existed at that time. Plans are to start removing the Dutch plates which are believed to be really valuable. In a second step, the remaining parts of the ship will be brought to the surface, requiring their own restoration and conservation. In the end, the archaeologists hope to exhibit the ship with its plates inside, just as it was found originally.

This operation is not a first, of course, for the diving and reconstruction of the shipwreck of Uluburun, now at the Archaeological Museum of Bodrum (see The shipwreck of Kizilburun) and recent excavations at Yenikapi during the construction of Istanbul’s Marmaray Project served as examples. The authorities hope to exhibit the Ottoman ship from Klazomenai in nearby Urfa in a specially monitored room.

The wide range of rescued artifacts needs desalination before being exhibited, as they would otherwise easily disintegrate - a lengthy and meticulous job. To this purpose a new advanced laboratory will be opening next year. Meanwhile another ship has been located by fishermen about 400 meters from the excavation site, so there is more work to do. Eventually, the entire pier of Klazomenai, which is still underwater offshore, could be unearthed.

Klazomenai was famous for its olive oil and its painted terracotta sarcophagi that ranged among the finest of its kind in the 6th century BC. It is interesting to hear that it was here that the only surviving example of a level and weights press was found. It has recently been reconstructed through a close collaboration of Ege University, a Turkish olive oil exporter and local artisans resulting in the production of high quality oil even according to our modern standards. It’s hard to imagine.

The city was also prized for its garum (fermented fish sauce generally used as a spice) a delicacy that was especially valued by the Romans.

Another story about Klazomenai has come to us through Aristotle, who mentioned that its citizens were financial pioneers in economic history. When they suffered from a shortage of grain and money around 350 BC, the city officials called on the people to pass a resolution to loan them their oil supplies against interest. It so happened that they could purchase grain against the pledged security of the value of their oil.

Enough fascinating stories to go around and it is up to us to prove what is historically correct and what is not. For instance, I have no way to check the sources used by Wikipedia about Alexander building a causeway here and I personally have not heard about it before. It is entirely possible that he stopped at Klazomenai on his march along the west coast of Anatolia, so … who knows … Maybe there is somebody out there who can tell me?

[Pictures: Remains of a vessel dating from the seventh-century B.C Greek perfume vase in the form of a head of a helmeted warrior from Archaeology News Network]