The Antikythera calculating mechanism

admino — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:08:43 +0000

“It is the first calculating machine in history. It was used to determine and forecast important astronomical and calendar events. Its remains were found accidentally by sponge divers in 1900 in the eminent shipwreck off the island of Antikythera. Its manufacture dates from around 120 B.C. and it is probably the product of a Rhodian or an Asia Minor workshop, which developed the tradition of Archimedes’ “Sphere-Making”, with its direct inspirators being Hipparchus or Posidonius. It consisted of indicators, scales and at least thirty-five cooperating gear wheels that were moved by a handle. At the front it had a circular scale of the 365 days with the possibility of adding one additional day every four years. At the back it had the spiral scales of the Metonic and Saros cycles and also the Callippic cycle, the “Exeligmos” cycle and the Athletic Games cycle (Olympiad). With the rotation of the handle, and consequently the choice of a date on the front scale of 365 days, the remainder indicators give us all available astronomical information thereon (e.g. position and phase of the moon, matching of solar-lunar calendar, etc.). Reversely, if the operator of the mechanism brings the indicator to some particular astronomical or calendar events, (e.g. an eclipse of the moon or a performance of the Olympic Games) he can see the date (even the hour) that this will happen in the future or happened in the past. Solla De Price and Michael Wright were the most important researchers of this mechanism. This reconstruction reflects the constructional opinion of the author that was based on the new data from the
International Study Team of the Antikythera Mechanism.”

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The Globe of Crates of Mallus

admino — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:11:03 +0000

It was a world sphere (globe), with a diameter of 2 meters, constructed by Crates of Mallus and exhibited in Pergamon in ca 150 B.C. It was divided into five parallel zones, two frigid, two temperate and one torrid (which are still used today). Frigid zones, due to extreme cold, and the Equator, due to excessive heat, were detrimental to the development of human life. Climatic seasons in the northern hemisphere were reversed to those in the south. On the globe, he designed the well-known regions of Asia, Africa and Europe which he named “Oecumene” using parallels and meridians centered on the island of Rhodes and using a variety of geographical coordinates of numerous places, mountains and rivers. To balance Oecumene over the huge water surface that remained, he considered that an unknown continent, the “Perioeci”, would exist in the opposite northern hemisphere (today corresponding to North America) and two more unknown continents would exist in the southern hemisphere, the “Antipodes” (today corresponding to South America) and the “Antioeci” (today correspond to Australia). He claimed that the temperate regions of these unknown continents were inhabited, and even the people who lived near the equator he said would have Negroid characteristics and called them Anti-Ethiopians opposing to the well-known Ethiopians.

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2nd c. B.C. Archives - Kotsanas Museum

The Antikythera calculating mechanism

The Globe of Crates of Mallus