--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Complex astronomical instruments like the…" description: "\"Complex astronomical instruments like the Antikythera Mechanism and the Nebra Sky Disk were made by Pagans. Our Pagan intellectual heritage includes po..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/brendan-myers-21425_books_complex-astronomical-instruments-like-th_2723638.jpg" --- # Complex astronomical instruments like the Antikythera… ![“Complex astronomical instruments like the Antikythera Mechanism and the Nebra Sky Disk were made by Pagans. Our Pagan intellectual heritage includes poets and scientists and literary intellectuals of every kind, especially including those who wrote some of the most important and influential books…” quote by Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/brendan-myers-21425_books_complex-astronomical-instruments-like-th_2723638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/brendan-myers-21425_books_complex-astronomical-instruments-like-th_2723638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/brendan-myers-21425_books_complex-astronomical-instruments-like-th_2723638.jpg) > “Complex astronomical instruments like the Antikythera Mechanism and the Nebra Sky Disk were made by Pagans. Our Pagan intellectual heritage includes poets and scientists and literary intellectuals of every kind, especially including those who wrote some of the most important and influential books in all of Western history.” [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pagan traditions contributed significantly to science, literature, and the arts throughout Western history. **In simple terms:** Pagan heritage shaped Western culture. Key Takeaway Acknowledge diverse historical contributions. Themes history culture science Mood respectful inquisitive Type historical educational When to use this quote - education curricula - public discourse Key Concepts intellectual history religious studies Questions to Reflect On - How do we integrate diverse histories? - What impact did pagan scholars have? A Different Perspective May overlook other influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex/) [Disk Pagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disk-pagans-2901462/) [Every](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every/) [Heritage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heritage/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Includes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/includes/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Influential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influential/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism/) [Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Pagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagan/) [Pagan Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagan-intellectual-2901460/) [Pagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagans/) [Pagans Pagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagans-pagan-2901461/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [The most important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-most-important/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) ## Related quotes > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [The pagans do not know God, and love only the earth. The Jews know the true God, and love only the earth. The Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-pagans-do-not-know-god-and-love-only-the-earth-the-jews-know-the/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [No one returns from Christianity to the same state he was before Christianity but into a worse state: the difference between a pagan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/no-one-returns-from-christianity-to-the-same-state-he-was-before/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Tell me, as a pagan, who do you worship?' 'Worship?' 'That's right. I imagine you must have a pretty wide open field. So to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/tell-me-as-a-pagan-who-do-you-worship-worship-that-s-right-i-imagine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What it is coming down to is who runs the country. It's us against them. It's the good guys versus the bad guys. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/what-it-is-coming-down-to-is-who-runs-the-country-it-s-us-against/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) > [By pagans the Jews (and later Christians) were seen as perverse, almost indeed as atheists, for they denied the very existence of other gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-goldsworthy/by-pagans-the-jews-and-later-christians-were-seen-as-perverse-almost/) [Adrian Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-goldsworthy/) > [Treasured Pagan Deities were misrepresented and distorted by the Christians for political and religious gain. Dressing their own Satan, who has remained one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-cabot/treasured-pagan-deities-were-misrepresented-and-distorted-by-the/) [Laurie Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-cabot/) > [I want to be where there are out and out pagans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-want-to-be-where-there-are-out-and-out-pagans/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [Pagans exalt sacred things, the Prophets extol sacred deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pagans-exalt-sacred-things-the-prophets-extol-sacred-deeds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pagan paths, of which there are many, more often than not, are based upon an acknowledgement of a Divine presence within nature, as acknowledged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-carlton/pagan-paths-of-which-there-are-many-more-often-than-not-are-based/) [Carole Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-carlton/) > [Let us not fool ourselves - without Christianity, without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated into young life, we are simply rearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/let-us-not-fool-ourselves-without-christianity-without-christian/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“The concepts of mercy and humility were not just unappreciated in pagan culture, they were ridiculed by men of the highest learning. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-carroll/the-concepts-of-mercy-and-humility-were-not-just-unappreciated-in/) [Vincent Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-carroll/) > [At the risk of sounding like a spoilsport, I'd say that pagans have about the same experience of otherness and isolation as anyone else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/at-the-risk-of-sounding-like-a-spoilsport-i-d-say-that-pagans-have/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Call it a case of observer bias on my part, but Humanist Paganism seems to be an emerging option for those who want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/call-it-a-case-of-observer-bias-on-my-part-but-humanist-paganism/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## More by Brendan Myers > [We immerse ourselves in escapist mass entertainment, such as 'reality T.V.' programs. We support fanatical politicians and preachers. Our politicians, in turn, support dictators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/we-immerse-ourselves-in-escapist-mass-entertainment-such-as-reality-t/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [The gods, if they exist, are just the people who happen to live on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/the-gods-if-they-exist-are-just-the-people-who-happen-to-live-on-the/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [For those who struggle with anti-pagan prejudices and stereotypes, Humanist Paganism might be a powerful educational tool. It can show that a pagan can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/for-those-who-struggle-with-anti-pagan-prejudices-and-stereotypes/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [“If one believes that God is up there in heaven, separate from the world, and is preparing a reward for you in the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/if-one-believes-that-god-is-up-there-in-heaven-separate-from-the/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [I've invented several games for use as teaching tools in my classroom: one of them, a game called 'Iron Age: Council of the Clans,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/i-ve-invented-several-games-for-use-as-teaching-tools-in-my-classroom/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [The philosophical spirit is not satisfied to simply accept what it is told, no matter how much prestige the teller seems to have. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/the-philosophical-spirit-is-not-satisfied-to-simply-accept-what-it-is/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [It's clear to me that anyone, anywhere, can experience loneliness, isolation, solitude, and estrangement; and most people probably do encounter these things at some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/it-s-clear-to-me-that-anyone-anywhere-can-experience-loneliness/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [People in minority religious communities, like Paganism, often feel isolated and even marginalized by others because of the lifestyle differences associated with their spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/people-in-minority-religious-communities-like-paganism-often-feel/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [There is nothing natural, inevitable, or necessary about the labyrinth of fear. We can liberate ourselves. There are better ways to live. Someone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/there-is-nothing-natural-inevitable-or-necessary-about-the-labyrinth/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [If loneliness is part of our essence, that is, our essential nature, that is only because of the way, in practical terms, we actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/if-loneliness-is-part-of-our-essence-that-is-our-essential-nature/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [The point of a philosophical spirit is to rely primarily upon one's own thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/the-point-of-a-philosophical-spirit-is-to-rely-primarily-upon-one-s/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [The birthplace of 'Western' civilization is generally agreed to be Greece, and its birth date is generally agreed to be some time during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/the-birthplace-of-western-civilization-is-generally-agreed-to-be/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [I do not bow. I do not obey. I do not 'worship.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/i-do-not-bow-i-do-not-obey-i-do-not-worship/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [My first Kickstarter project created a book called 'Clear and Present Thinking', a college-level textbook on logic and critical reasoning, which was made available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/my-first-kickstarter-project-created-a-book-called-clear-and-present/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) [Explore all 29 Brendan Myers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Complex astronomical instruments like the Antikythera Mechanism and the Nebra Sky Disk were made by Pagans. 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