Archaic artifacts resembling celestial spheres

Abstract

We present several bronze artifacts from the Archaic Age in Greece (750-480 BC) that resemble celestial spheres, or forms of other astronomical significance. They are studied in the context of the Dark Age transition from Mycenaean Age astronomical themes to the philosophical and practical revival of astronomy in the Classical Age, with its plethora of astronomical devices. These artifacts, mostly votive in nature, are spherical in shape and appear in a variety of forms, their most striking characteristic being the depiction of meridians and/or an equator. Most of those artifacts come from Thessaly, and more specifically from the temple of Itonia Athena at Philia, a religious center of pan-Hellenic significance. Celestial spheres, similar in form to the small artifacts presented in this study, could be used to measure latitudes, or estimate the time at a known place, and were thus very useful in navigation.