Pythagora's cup

3D ModelNoAI

According to tradition, the cup is considered to have been invented by Pythagoras in the 6th century BC, in order to teach his students about measure (Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, n.d.). Within, it contains a curved bulge called an “axial drain” with two hidden holes at the bottom, as well as a blue line in a higher spot . When the cup is filled up to the line, it can be used normally, but if the line markings are exceeded, its contents spill out of the hole at the base of the cup. That way, greed is punished and not only the excess, but the entire content of the cup is lost. Today, any kind of cup incorporating this mechanism can be called a “Pythagora’s Cup” or “Fair Cup”.

This model was constructed in Agisoft Metashape for the “Advanced 3D” course of the Master’s Programme “MSc in Digital Humanities” of the University of Athens.