The world's first analog computer was 2000 years ahead of its time.
~150
BC
The estimated date of the device's manufacture.
30+
Bronze Gears
An intricate system of hand-cut gears calculated the cosmos.
82
Fragments
All that remains of the device, studied with modern technology.
Sponge divers discover a Roman-era shipwreck near the island of Antikythera, filled with ancient treasures.
An archaeologist notices a gear wheel embedded in a corroded lump of bronze, sparking the first investigation.
Derek de Solla Price uses X-rays to reveal the complex internal gearing, publishing a major paper on its astronomical functions.
High-resolution CT scans reveal thousands of hidden inscriptions, unlocking the secrets of the user manual written on its surfaces.
The shoebox-sized device had two main faces, each packed with information. The front displayed the real-time state of the cosmos, while the back was dedicated to long-term calendars and cycles.
This key innovation used gears riding on other gears to model the complex, non-uniform motions of the Moon and planets.
The earliest known example in history, this allowed the device to calculate the difference between the Sun's and Moon's motion to show the lunar phase.
A user turned a knob, with one rotation representing one year, to move time forward or backward and see future or past celestial events.
The mechanism's primary purpose was to calculate and display various astronomical events and calendar cycles, essential for ancient Greek society.
The gear ratios were precisely engineered to match known astronomical cycles, many derived from Babylonian science and refined by the Greeks.
The Mechanism proves that a tradition of sophisticated mechanical engineering existed in the ancient world and was lost for over 1,000 years, challenging our entire view of technological history.
The complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism, with its differential gears and precise construction, was not seen again until the great astronomical clocks of 14th-century Europe. It forces us to ask: what other knowledge was lost?
The device was more than a clock; it was a physical manifestation of Greek astronomical theory. It translated abstract mathematics into a tangible, working model of the cosmos, a philosophical and scientific triumph.
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