The author, after a long period of study, introduces the reader of this volume to the technology and engineering of Byzantium.
The Byzantines, despite contrary opinions, made significant progress in these fields and produced remarkable achievements, either in the form of simple and specialized instruments or as buildings that functioned as complex hydraulic installations.
Christos D. Lazos (1949–2016) studied engraving at the Athens School of Fine Arts and had been involved in writing books since 1968. Between 1975 and 1981, he served as publisher and editor-in-chief of the popular science magazine Mysteries of the Universe.
Between 1986 and 1989, Christos D. Lazos played an active role in the establishment of the Historical Archive of Greek Youth (IAEN) and contributed to the creation of the Museum of the History of the University of Athens, receiving special mention in the commemorative volume published by the institution.
He was also a member of the COLUMBUS ’92 Committee (1988–1992). In 1992, he became a founding member of the Society for the Study of Ancient Greek Technology (EMAET) and later served as vice president of the exhibition Ancient Greek Technology, organized in Thessaloniki when the city was designated European Capital of Culture in 1997. In 1999, he also contributed to the release of a special CD by the Technical Museum of Thessaloniki dedicated to Ancient Greek Technology.
Lazos was a founding member of the Society for Civic Culture and served as scientific advisor to the “EUREKA” group for the study and promotion of Ancient Greek Technology and its related exhibitions.
His many other activities included the publication of twenty-four books — among them an illustrated volume on ancient Greek games in 2004 — as well as a series of seven documentaries for ERT titled Unknown Greece, focusing primarily on ancient Greek technology and its traces across Greece. In 2004, he also appeared in three documentaries produced by the History Channel, speaking mainly about Archimedes.
In April 2000, he represented Greece at an international conference in Marseille dedicated to Pytheas of Massalia, presenting a paper on the great navigator.
He participated in numerous conferences and gave many interviews to both Greek and international publications.
Twenty of his books are published by our house, sixteen of which focus on ancient Greek technology.
The development of astronomy led to the solution of the problem of time measurement through various types of mechanisms, as well as to the establishment of astronomical instruments such as astrolabes.
Research into time measurement and astronomy in Byzantium has provided an initial record of the technology and science of this period. The documentation of scientific progress in other fields, which will follow in subsequent volumes, will offer a more complete picture and shed further light on this era.