But not the Romans ~ they knew about it but did nothing systematic to fix the problem. The machine was built under the period when the Romans OWNED Greece ~ so I doubt the Greeks were able to do much about changing Roman attitudes.
So, what are you saying? That the Greeks built this device while under the domination of the Romans, so that they could accurately pinpoint the precise date of their Olympic games?
Enslaved people don't ordinarily make technological strides forward.
Or, perhaps you're now assigning attribution for the device to the Romans, who, per you, cared nothing about the accuracy of their own calendar?
Again, the logic is untidy.
I don't doubt that the device could have been used to plot the precise starting date of the Olympic games. I just don't believe that it was produced primarily for that reason.