The Antikythera Mechanism …… that ancient Greek astronomical analogue computer ......on the wireless ... today

It's the stuff of science fiction and pop history, and I might have turned my back on it, but the discovery of an ancient Greek, astronomical analogue computer is true

And the rest is a fascinating wireless programme on Radio 4.

"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 2000-year-old device which transformed our understanding of astronomy in ancient Greece. In 1900 a group of sponge divers found the wreck of a ship off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. 

Among the items salvaged was a corroded bronze object, the purpose of which was not at first clear. It turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in marine archaeology. 

Over time, researchers worked out that it was some kind of astronomical analogue computer, the only one to survive from this period as bronze objects were so often melted down for other uses. 

In recent decades, detailed examination of the Antikythera Mechanism using the latest scientific techniques indicates that it is a particularly intricate tool for showing the positions of planets, the sun and moon, with a complexity and precision not surpassed for over a thousand years.

With, Mike Edmunds, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University ,Jo Marchant, Science journalist and author of 'Decoding the Heavens' on the Antikythera Mechanism, and, Liba Taub, Professor Emerita in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Scholar at the Deutsches Museum, Munich

Producer: Simon Tillotson

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production"

And like all the programmes in the series it is available now and when ever you want to listen, by just following the link.

Pictures; The Pictorial History Book, 1952

*The Antikythera Mechanism, In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024x0g

Clytemnestra.... and other Greek women ....... courtesy of Natalie Haynes .... on the wireless

 Despite a lifelong fascination for all things Roman and Greek I missed out on classical mythology.

Clytemnestra

It was not top of the list of things to be taught at Samuel Pepys Secondary Modern, and by the time I got to Crown Woods I was pretty much locked into a variety of A level courses which did not admit time for the stories of ancient Rome or Greece.

I have tried to rectify this, but alas what I know is patchy and pretty much comes from comics, and those Sword-and-Sandal films, which were a genre of largely Italian-made historical and biblical epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965. 

And in them there are plenty of togas, swords, and semi naked classical statues and the odd Greek hero. 

All of which draws me to  Natalie Haynes who the BBC describes as  'Rock star classicist' and reformed stand-up is obsessed with the ancient world”. 

And she is back with another series "in which she explores (historical and mythological) lives from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. 

They are hilarious and tragic, mystifying, revelatory. And they always tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.

Aegisthus Discovers the Body of Clytemnestra Killed by Orestes

Today Natalie stands up for Clytemnestra, who has been characterised as the worst wife in Greek mythology. 

This is open to debate: she's certainly a good mother, if a little bit murderous of her husband. But it turns out that Agamemnon probably deserves it. 

After all he sacrifices one of their daughters to Artemis without a second thought and then turns up at home years later with Cassandra, the future-seeing woman he has 'won' as a prize (also read: trafficked and enslaved) at the Battle of Troy. 

These actions demonstrate a certain lack of respect for his wife, as well as cruelty of the highest order. Cassandra reads the room, obviously, but nobody listens to her. Clytemnestra has a good legal brain and states her case convincingly. But it's unlikely to end well.

With Professor Edith Hall.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery”.*

Pictures; Clytemnestra by John Collier, 1882, John Collier, Clytemnestra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clytemnestra,courtesy of Wikipedia, and  Aegisthus Discovers the Body of Clytemnestra Killed by Orestes - Charles-Auguste Van den Berghe (1798-1853), 2014,this file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

*Clytemnestra, The Long View, Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wrk4

The Iliad, some rather dark Greek tales, all wrapped up with humour ……. on the wireless

Now I found this by chance, and in less than a minute I was hooked.

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics Series 5 Episode 4 of 4

Walls of Troy

Natalie Haynes stands up for Homer's Iliad, in an extraordinary tour-de-force performance recorded in the BBC's Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House. 

The original epic story would most probably have been performed from memory, and Natalie does the same: her only prompt is the voice of Dr Adam Rutherford to number the twenty-four books.

It's a vivid, cinematic tapestry of extraordinary stories: of gods, Greeks and Trojans, men and women, mothers and fathers and lovers. 

There's fighting and trickery, and touching domestic detail (when Hector's wife Andromache and son Astynax bid a final goodbye to him). 

The great Greek hero Achilles spends quite a lot of time in a sulk, refusing to fight, because King Agamemnon forces him to give up his trophy girlfriend, Briseis. But his vengeance is merciless when he hears of the death of his beloved Patroclus at Hector's hands. 

There's a child frightened by the plumes on his father's helmet; a magic bra, which Hera uses to seduce Zeus (unnecessary encouragement, to be honest) and there's the reason why the phrase 'rosy-fingered dawn' is so-often repeated. It's a breathtaking story that echoes down the centuries, inspiring each generation with new interpretations of this epic work.

Natalie is a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome. Each week she takes a different figure from the ancient world and tells their story through a mix of stand-up comedy, extremely well-informed analysis, and conversation. Natalie picks out hilarious details and universal truths, as well as finding parallels with modern life, or those parts of life which are still influenced by ancient thought.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery"*

Later today I will go back and listen to the previous episode on Suetonius, the Roman biographer of the Caesars and friend of Pliny the Younger, who is one of my favourite Romans.

Picture; Walls of Troy, Hisarlik, Turkey, author, CherryX,this file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

* Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics Series 5 Episode 4 of 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000czlf