The Antikythera Mechanism

The Mechanism is preserved in 82 fragments, bearing 30 gears with teeth, as well as dials, scales, axles and pointers. The Greek, astronomical inscriptions on the surface of the Mechanism refer to astronomical and calendar calculations, while the inscriptions on its metal protective plates contain instructions for its use. The device was housed in a wooden frame of possible dimensions 33x18x10 cm, which had a bronze protective plaque on the front and the back side.

It calculated the movement of the sun and the moon and probably of the five known planets in antiquity. It was used for accurately predicting astronomical phenomena, such as solar and lunar eclipses, for keeping an accurate calendar of many years, for calculating the date of Pan-Hellenic celebrations, and much more.

The Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest preserved portable astronomical calculator and the earliest known modular mechanism in the world, that bears witness to the astronomical, mathematical and mechanical ingenuity of ancient Greeks in the middle of the 2nd c. BC.

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  • Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. n. Χ 15087
  • Probably 150 – 100 BC
  • Fragment A 0.177 m. Fragment B 0.118 m. Fragment C 0.105 m. (max. dimensions)
  • Bronze
  • Provenance: Ancient shipwreck in the sea off Antikythera, January 1901
Bibliography
  • Αναστασίου, M. (2014). Ο Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων: Αστρονομία και Technology στην Αρχαία Ελλάδα, Διδακτορική Διατριβή, Θεσσαλονίκη: Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης.
  • De Solla Price, D. J. (1975). Gears from the Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism - A calendar computer from ca. 80 BC, TransactAmPhilosSoc, 64.7, pp. 5-70, New York: Science History Publications.
  • Jones, Al. (2020). The Epoch Dates of the Antikythera Mechanism (With an Appendix on its Authenticity), ISAW Papers 17,
    Retrieved from: http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/isaw-papers/17/
  • Ρεδιάδης, Π. Δ. (1903). Ὁ ἐξ Ἀντικυθήρων ἀστρόλαβος, στο Ι.Ν. Σβορῶνος, Τó ἐν Ἀθήναις Ἐθνικόν Μουσεῖον. Ὁ Θησαυρός τοῦ Ναυαγίου τῶν Ἀντικυθήρων, Τόμος Α΄, 44-52, αρ. 21, πιν. Χ και IX 6., Ἐν Ἀθήναις Aρχαιολογική Eταιρεία.
  • Σειραδάκης, Ιω. (2016). Ο Μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων: Βασικά στοιχεία και πρόσφατα αποτελέσματα στο Μ. Λαγογιάννη-Γεωργακαράκου (Επιμ.), Οδύσσειες, Κατάλογος Έκθεσης, Εθνικό αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο, σσ. 157-170, Αθήνα.
  • Seiradakis, J. & Edmunds, M. (01/2018). Our current knowledge of the Antikythera Mechanism, Nature Astronomy, Vol. 2, pp. 35-42.
The Antikythera Mechanism
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