Follow Greek immigration and listen to Greek stories: The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek computing device and one of the most astonishing discoveries of modern times, having lain on the seabed for thousands of years. It is the oldest complex gear mechanism discovered to date. Due to its structural complexity, it is known as the world's first analog computer, and its design is based on Babylonian arithmetic progression cycle predictions.
The Antikythera Mechanism is a clock-like device discovered in 1901 among the wreckage of an ancient ship off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, where it had remained silent for over 2,100 years. The device consists of a series of controllable bronze gears (more than 30), cranks, and dials. Over a century later, with the assistance of modern advanced technology, scientists finally uncovered its astonishing secret—this device, known as the "Antikythera mechanism," was actually a super astronomical "computer" from two thousand years ago, a tool used by astronomers to calculate celestial movement cycles. Its sophistication remained unsurpassed for a millennium after its creation.
Experts from the United Kingdom, Greece, and the United States used stereoscopic X-ray computed tomography and high-resolution surface imaging technology to peer inside the device without damaging it.
The "Antikythera mechanism" was handmade with exquisite craftsmanship. It consists of bronze gears and dials, with 29 gears interlocking with one another. Researchers believe the device was made between 150 BC and 100 BC and sank with the ship to a depth of 42 meters around 65 BC.
Researchers used tomography and high-resolution surface imaging technology to read the text inscribed on the gears. Due to the passage of time, these inscriptions had long been difficult to discern. The imaging technology allowed researchers to see twice as many inscriptions as before. Researchers stated that the inscriptions relate to the movements of the sun and moon, and one set of gears also recorded the irregular motion of the moon.
Because the moon's orbit is elliptical, it moves at different speeds at different positions. The head of the research team, astronomer Mike G. Edmunds, said that this problem continued to puzzle the great physicist Isaac Newton over a thousand years later.
Researchers believe the device originally had 37 gears, one on the front and one on the back, and could be housed in a wooden box 31.5 cm long, 19 cm wide, and over 10 cm thick. The device is a functional calendar; calculated based on a 365-day year, it is ingeniously designed to include one leap year every four years.
The "Antikythera mechanism" is not just an astronomical calendar; it also calculates numerous astronomical cycles. Yale University historian Derek J. de Solla Price began early research on the "Antikythera mechanism" in the 1970s. He believed the device originally had 31 gears, combining the solar calendar with the 19-year Metonic cycle. The Metonic cycle includes 235 synodic months; after one Metonic cycle, the moon phases begin to reappear on the same date of the solar calendar.
New research has found that the "Antikythera mechanism" could not only provide the Metonic cycle known to the Babylonians but also the Callippic cycle, which reconciles the solar and lunar calendars, as well as the Saros cycle for predicting solar and lunar eclipses. Since solar and lunar eclipses were considered omens by the ancients, researchers speculate that calculating the Saros cycle might have been related to religious activities. Researchers say the "Antikythera mechanism" could even function as an astronomical almanac, displaying the rising and setting of major stars and constellations of the Greek zodiac, as well as the positions of the planets.
According to existing archaeological data, the advanced computing power and technical content of the "Antikythera mechanism" were unmatched by any other device for over a thousand years after its creation. Edmunds said: "The device is beautifully designed, which suggests that the Greeks possessed advanced technology." Edmunds believes that the history of ancient Greece may need to be rewritten as a result. Dr. François Charette of the University of Munich in Germany also stated that similar astronomical calculators did not appear until more than 1,000 years later. The astrolabe invented by the Islamic astronomer Al-Biruni in 996 AD consisted of 8 gears; although it also depicted the movement patterns of the sun and earth, its complexity was not equal to that of the "Antikythera mechanism." Researchers have not yet reached a conclusion as to who created this device. They suspect that the Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus may have been involved in the production process. Researchers say the number of teeth on the gears determines the function of the device; in this device, some gears have 53 teeth, which is linked to the known lunar theory model of Hipparchus. At the same time, the lunar movement patterns described by the device match the speculations of Hipparchus.
Since the shipwreck carried jars and coins from Rhodes, Greece, researchers believe the ship may have departed from Rhodes, and since Hipparchus lived in Rhodes, these are all too coincidental for the researchers.