The Antikythera Mechanism is considered one of the first computing systems. It is a clockwork mechanism with dozens of high-precision toothed wheels, which rotate around several axes, as in mechanical clocks. The most accepted theory about its operation holds that it was an analog computer, designed to calculate the movements of celestial bodies. It is estimated to have been made around 87 BC by the Rhodian astronomer Geminus.
It is a complex structure, made of copper, set in a wooden frame, that has puzzled and fascinated historians of science and technology since its discovery just before Easter 1900. It was found at a depth of 60 metres by sponge divers in a shipwreck near Antikythera, along with statues such as the famous ’Teenager«. They were valuable objects, carried by a Roman ship from Rhodes to Rome during the time of Julius Caesar in the mid 1st century BC.
The mechanism was first studied by the archaeologist Valerios Stai, who on 17 May 1902 noticed that one of its stone pieces had an embedded cog. Thus, it is considered the oldest surviving geared device.
The contribution of the British professor of the history of science, Derek John de Solla Price (1922-1983), who began with an article in 1959 in the journal ’Scientific American« and was completed 15 years later with the text »Gears from the Greeks: the Antikythera Mechanism - A Calendar Computer from ca. 80 BC«, is decisive in the deciphering of the Antikythera Mechanism.
In his research, he had the support of the «Demokritos» nuclear centre and the nuclear physicist Charalambos Karakalos, with whom he worked closely for many years, both in the radio imaging of the mechanism with G and X-rays and in the analysis of its structure and connections. Price's conclusions were not accepted by the experts of his day, who believed that the ancient Greeks had the theoretical background, but not the practical technology required for such a construction.
The Antikythera Mechanism is today one of the distinguished exhibits of the National Archaeological Museum.
