Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Amazing Discovery of Archaeology

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Decoding the Mechanisms of Antikythera Astronomical Device

  • 1051 Accesses

Abstract

In the year of 1900, an unscheduled diving work accidentally resulted in a startling discovery of archaeological research, the oldest astronomical calculator —Antikythera mechanism. This device survived in the ancient Greece and dates about 100–150 BC. According to the excavation, it is understood that the device is composed of a great gear train with triangular teeth shape, and the sizes of most surviving gears are small. By the ingenious designs and the precise gears, the standards of manufacturing, science, and technology are believed to be highly developed in the era of Antikythera device . As a result, such an incident redefined the historical development of ancient Western machinery.

The beginning of this chapter describes this discovery story from the historical background of the incident. Then, the background related to this mechanical device is studied, along with the introduction of the known information of Antikythera device, including the exterior appearance, the device functions, and the corresponding interior mechanisms. In addition, the reconstruction designs by Yan and Lin have contributed to the describing of the interior mechanisms. The last part of this chapter presents the historical records by Cicero about the device.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Warn F (2000) Bitter Sea, The real story of Greek Sponge Diving. Guardian Angel Press, South Woodham Ferrers, UK

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rützler K(1996) Sponge diving—Professional but not for profit. In: Lang MA, Baldwin CC (eds) Methods and techniques of underwater research. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences the 16th Scientific Diving Symposium, Washington DC, pp 183–204

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hendrikse S, Merks A (2009) Diving the Skafandro suit. Available in the website. http://www.divingheritage.com/greecekern2.htm. Accessed July 2014

  4. Kalymnos Sponge Diving (2014) Greeka.com: The Greek island specialists. Available in the website. http://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/kalymnos/sponge-diving-tradition.htm. Accessed July 2014

  5. The Diver training Network (2010) The Sponge Divers. In: The Sponge Divers of Kalymnos. Available in the website. http://www.kalymnosdivingfestival.com/index_files/Page1172.htm. Accessed July 2014

  6. Few Things about the History of the Natural Greek Sea Sponges (2014) Greek Sponge Divers, Cambridgegreekcorner. Available in the website. http://www.cambridgegreekcorner.co.uk/. Accessed July 2014

  7. Voultsiadou E (2007) Sponges: an historical survey of their knowledge in Greek antiquity. J Mar Biol Ass UK 87:1757–1763

    Google Scholar 

  8. Database of Diving Suit (2014) GTP headlines. Available in the website. http://news.gtp.gr/2010/08/01/kalymnos-an-ideal-destination-for-all/. Accessed July 2014

  9. Marchant J (2008) Decoding the heavens—solving the Mystery of the World’s first computer. William Heinemann, Great Britain

    Google Scholar 

  10. Databased of the Antikythera Mechanism (2014) The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project. Available in the website. http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr. Accessed July 2014

  11. de Price DS (1974) Gears from the Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism—A calendar computer from ca. 80 BC. Science History Publications, New York

    Google Scholar 

  12. Freeth T et al (2006) Decoding the Ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera mechanism. Nature 444:587–891

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Charette F (2006) High tech from ancient Greece. News Views Nat 444(30):551–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Marchant J (2006) In search of lost time. News Feature Nat 444(30):634–638

    Google Scholar 

  15. Wright MT (2007) The Antikythera mechanism reconsidered. Interdisciplinary Sci Rev 32(1):27–43

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Ball P (2008) Complex clock combines calendar. News Nat 454(31):561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Freeth T (2009) Decoding an ancient computer. Sci Am 301(6):79–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Moussas X (2011) Chapter 8—The Antikythera mechanism: a mechanical cosmos and an eternal prototype for modelling and paradigm study. In: Kokkotas PV, Malamitsa KS, Rizaki AA (eds) Adopting historical science knowledge production to the classroom. Sense Publishers, Boston, pp 113–129

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kaltsas N, Vlachogianni E, Bouyia P (2012) The Antikythera Shipwreck: the ship, the treasures, the mechanism. Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  20. Wright MT (2004) The scholar, the mechanic and the Antikythera Mechanism. Bull Sci Instrument Soc 80:4–11

    Google Scholar 

  21. Freeth T et al (2008) Calendars with olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera mechanism. Nature 454:614–617

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Wright MT (2002) In the steps of the master mechanic. In: Ancient Greece and the Modern World. Proceedings of a conference in Ancient Olympia, 2002, University of Patras, Patras, Greece, pp 86–97

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wright MT (2012) The front dial of the Antikythera mechanism. In: Proceedings of the HMM2012. Springer, Netherlands, No. 15, pp 279–292. HMM 2012: International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  24. Lin JL, Yan HS (2014) Historical development of reconstruction designs of Antikythera mechanism. Presented in proceedings of the 9th international conference on history of mechanical technology and mechanical design, Tainan, 23–25 Mar 2014. (Applied mechanics and materials, vol 163, 1–62012.04)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Lin JL (2011) Systematic reconstruction designs of Antikythera mechanism. Dissertation, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Google Scholar 

  26. Cicero MT (54 BC) De Republic. English edition: M.T. Cicero (1999) On the Commonwealth and on the Laws (trans: J.G. Zetzel). Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom

    Google Scholar 

  27. Cicero MT (54 BC) De Republic. English edition: M.T. Cicero (2012) Commonwealth (trans: F. Barham). The Online Library of Liberty, A Project of Liberty Found, Inc. Available in the website

    Google Scholar 

  28. Cicero MT (45 BC) De Natura Deorum. English edition: M.T. Cicero (2012) On the Nature of the Gods (trans: F. Brooks). The Online Library of Liberty, A Project of Liberty Found, Inc. Available in the website. http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?Option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=539&layout=html Accessed July 2014

  29. Cicero MT (45 BC) De Natura Deorum. English edition: M. T. Cicero (1933) De natura deorum, Academica (trans: H. Rackham). Harvard University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  30. Lin JL, Yan HS (2014) Decoding the moon phase display device of the front dial of the Antikythera Mechanism. Paper also presented in Third IFToMM on mechanism and machine science, Tianjin, China, 9–10 July 2014

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Jian-Liang Lin & Hong-Sen Yan

Authors
  1. Jian-Liang Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hong-Sen Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian-Liang Lin .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lin, JL., Yan, HS. (2016). Amazing Discovery of Archaeology. In: Decoding the Mechanisms of Antikythera Astronomical Device. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48447-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48447-0_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-48445-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-48447-0

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation