Meton was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, geometer and engineer, who lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. According to the testimonies of ancient historians, Meton installed in Pnyx (Πνύκα) the first Heliotropio / Helioscope (solar clock) of Athens, the foundations of which are still visible just behind the podium of Pnyx. Meton determined the dates of the equinoxes and the solstices based on the specific location of the Heliotropio. From this position, the sunrise during the summer solstice is seen from the top of Lycabettus, while six months later, during the winter solstice, the sun rises from the top of Mount Hymettus. The annual apparent movement of the sun on the horizon creates an arc of 60°, the bisector of which is aligned with the rock of Acropolis. In this way, at the equinoxes, the sunrise aligns with Acropolis’ rock. With his calculations, Meton introduced the Attic Calendar in which the summer solstice played an important role to ancient Athenians, because it marked the beginning of the new year. Also, the oldest known astronomical computer in the world the Antikythera Mechanism (ο Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων), constructed in the 2nd century BC, performs calculations based on the Metonic circle. Thousands of visitors come to Pnyx every year but almost none of them knows the importance of this small construction just above the main podium. (Pnyx, Thissio)
This seems made up...but it's not.
The clock stuff is awesome on a lot of levels.
There seem to be some people from our past that were way ahead of the curve.
I just wish everyone else could catch up.