Machine Room of the Gods

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Author: Vinzenz Brinkmann (ed.)The ancient cultures of East Asia, the Near and Middle East and the Mediterranean were characterised by spectacular scientific findings and advances, which are mirrored in their mythology. This book deals with the latest research on science and technology in myth and art from antiquity to the golden age of Arab-Islamic culture. Light is shed on early precise records of astronomical events, and the technology of automata and kinetic sculpture. Hesitantly in the late Gothic period, but more insistently during the Italian Renaissance, this knowledge gradually permeated Europe, although initially meeting with resistance from the Christian Church. The latest findings relating e.g. to the famous Greek Antikythera mechanism, a form of analogue computer, or the sophisticated revolving ceilings and floors of the banquet halls in the Roman Emperor Nero’s palace illustrate the significance of sculpture’s automatisation in reference to the natural sciences in Islamic-Arabic culture. ISBN 9783422996366. Deutscher Kunstverlag. hb. 280 pages. 350 colour ills. 25.5 x 17.5 cm.available to order Show more