• A Roman dodecahedron, a mysterious 12-sided metal object, was discovered in the village of Norton Disney in England.
  • The artifact is in excellent condition and is larger than many other dodecahedrons that have been found.
  • The purpose of these objects remains unclear, but theories suggest they may have been used for ritualistic or religious purposes.
  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    9 months ago

    From Plato’s Timaeus:

    And seeing that there still remained one other compound figure, the fifth [i.e., the dodecahedron], God used it up for the Universe in his decoration thereof.

    There’s speculation that the Neoplatonists equated the twelve faces of the dodecahedron with the zodiac, and thus with the heavens. (The other four regular solids were equated with the four elements.)