Clepsydra

• Tanha Emita
• 08 Mar, 2019

Clepsydra, also called the water clock, is an ancient device, used for measuring time. It involved in its mechanism flow of water or mercury that escaped through a hole under a floating vessel.
The origin of the name comes from ancient Greek, where they called it water clocks Klepsydra or Water Thief which comes from Kleptin, (to steal) and Hydōr (water).
In ancient times people used to measure the passing of time by the help of sun and daylight. But it was not much of a help after dark. So it was necessary to invent an alternative mean for keeping track of the time.

Researchers suggest that Clepsydra may have been invented first by Egyptians. Specifically descendants of Egyptians, the Chaldeans, who ruled in Babylon between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BC. They invented the first water clock somewhat in the 14th century. With time the Greeks, the Romans, the North American Indians brought remarkable changes in its structure. The device flourished in the hands of Ctesibius of Alexandria, the first great figure of ancient engineering tradition. In his water clock, water dripped at a constant rate that raised a float which held a pointer to mark the indication of the hours.
In the social and religious life of ancient Greek, Clepsydra had significant participation. Special attention was paid to the device in public life and medical practice. There is evidence that a massive water clock was built at the sanctuary of the healer god, Amphearaus for medical purposes. The influential usage of water clock is also seen over in the Roman Empire in architectures and monuments. The tower of winds is a Pentelic marble clocktower, situated in the Roman Agora in Athens, which functioned as an horologion or Timepiece. The structure consists of sundials, a water clock, and a wind vane. Several buildings were built following the design of the tower of winds, such as The Carnaby Temple near Carnaby, East Riding of Yorkshire, built in 1770; The tower on St Luke's Church, West Norwood, in London, designed by Francis Octavius Bedford after he visited Athens on a Society of Dilettanti scholarship circa 1810; The 15th-century Torre del Marzocco in Livorno etc.

In modern times clepsydra has earned its place in movies and literature. Phil Solomon, an American experimental filmmaker made a lyrical film in 1992 by the name Clepsydra. This film envisions the strip of celluloid going vertically through a projector as a sprocket waterfall, metaphorical illustration of random events measured in discrete units of time, through which the silent dreams of a young girl can barely be heard under the clamor of an irresistible torrent, an irreversible torment.

A critical cinema, the glorifying monuments, and pinion to the ancient watchers, Clepsydra serves as a prodigious antique whatsoever.