The passage of time has always been a preoccupation of human beings, whether it be a question of satisfying basic needs such as when to eat and sleep, the importance of seasons for migratory and agricultural purposes or a more sophisticated measuring of time into defined periods of weeks, days and hours.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1600 BCEEarliest Egyptian water clocks in use.
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c. 450 BCEParapegma star calendar invented in Greece by Meton and Euctemon.
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c. 450 BCEFirst klepsydra - water timekeeping device - used in Athens.
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c. 275 BCECtesibius invents first sophisticated multi-cogged water-clock.
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c. 159 BCEFirst water-clock set up in Rome.
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c. 110 BCE - c. 50 BCETower of The Winds by Andronicus constructed in Athens.
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c. 50 BCEAntikythera instrument invented, an astronomical measuring device.
