clepsydra

Empedocles performed his experiment with a household implement people had used for centuries, the so-called clepsydra or “water thief,” which was used as a kitchen ladle.

The clepsydra, or water clock, was also used to record time during the night, and was perhaps the most accurate timekeeping device of the ancient world.

“It is the age-old principle of the clepsydra.”

And in Rome the sun-dials, the clepsydras and the hour-glass were used for the same purpose, and more generally than in Greece, to regulate the hours of business and pleasure.

It was invented by the Egyptians, and was called a clepsydra, and was in use among the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans.