In today's blog, we will take you to the site of an Ancient Greek special gathering place, that was also the site of the first observatory and its founder, Meton! It's also the place where the word "idiots" originated from. It all had to do with a place in Athens, Greece called "Pnyx Hill." Here's the story.
ABOUT PYNX HILL - The Pnyx is a small, rocky hill surrounded by parkland in central Athens. Even from a large distance away (where we viewed it) you can see it has a large flat platform of eroded stone set into its side, and there are also steps carved on its slope. The flat stone platform was called the bema, the "stepping stone" or speakers' platform. It looks down on the ancient Agora, which was the commercial and social centre of the city. It can be seen from high points in Athens, and is less than 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) west of the Acropolis.There was enough standing room for up to 20,000 people!
(Photo: Side view of Pnyx Hill.
HOW WAS IT USED? - it has used as early as 507 BC (Fifth-century Athens) the Pnyx was used to host assemblies and for ancient governmental functions. It was the meeting place of one of the world's earliest known democratic legislatures, the Athenian ekklesia (assembly). This was the oratorical platform from which noted politicians such as Pericles. 
(Image: Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece is on the lower-left corner on this map. Credit: whyathens.com/hills-of-athens/)
WHAT DOES IT SYMBOLIZE? - The Pnyx is the material embodiment of the principle of isēgoría (Greek: ἰσηγορία), "equal speech", i.e. the equal right of every citizen to debate matters of policy (according to wikipedia). The other two principles of democracy were isonomía (Greek: ἰσονομία), equality under the law, and isopoliteía (Greek: ἰσοπολιτεία), equality of vote and equal opportunity to assume political office.
ORIGIN OF THE WORD "IDIOTS" - The word "idiot" was coined on Pnyx hill, referring to people who refused to show interest in their ancient government and didn't vote. According to Dictionary.com, the word "Idiot" comes from the Greek noun ἰδιώτης idiōtēs 'a private person, individual' (as opposed to the state), 'a private citizen' (as opposed to someone with a political office), 'a common man', 'a person lacking professional skill, layman', later 'unskilled', 'ignorant.'
WHAT FORMER STRUCTURES WERE THERE? - Excavations at the site were begun in 1910 by the Greek Archaeological Society. These excavations discovered the foundations of the important buildings at the Pnyx, although nothing else remains of them. These included the two large stoas, erected between 330 and 326 BC, the Altar of Zeus Agoraios, erected at the same time, but removed during the reign of Augustus (first century BC), and the Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos. Most of these buildings were erected after the Pnyx had lost its real significance.
(Image: Rob's sketch of Pnyx Hill, the observatory and Temple of Hephastus.Credit: R.G.)
SITE OF OLDEST KNOWN ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY! - West to the Altar of Zeus are the foundations of Meton's heliotropion, the oldest known astronomical observatory, where he performed several of his measurements that led to the calculations involving the eponymous 19-year Metonic cycle which he introduced in 432 BC into the lunisolar Attic calendar, a calendar that appears in the Antikythera Mechanism.
WHO IS METON? - the figure who promoted Astronomy and laid the foundations of the Greek Calendar was Meton of Athens. He was a renowned mathematician, astronomer, geometer and engineer who lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. Meton’s teacher was Phaeinos, a metic who had established his own observatory on Lycabettus Hill (Theophrastos). Meton introduced the Metonic Cycle, according to which 19 solar years correspond to 235 lunar months and 6.940 days. According to the Metonic Cycle, every 19 years full-moon dates are repeated with a slight deviation. For more about Meton, visit: https://theheartofancientathens.gr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Heliotropion-of-Meton-on-the-Pnyx.-The-first-Observatory-in-Europe.pdf
NEXT: Climbing the Acropolis Hill to the Historic Parthenon and other Temples
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