The Antikythera Mechanism: An Astonishing Invention from Ancient Greece | The 1st Analogue Computer
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2023
- In Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, they embark on a quest for the missing pieces of the Antikythera Mechanism. They also say it was built by Archimedes during the time of the Battle of Syracuse around 212 BCE, and that it has powers to travel through time. Reality? I think not!
This is the real story of the Antikythera Mechanism. The first underwater archaeological investigation, the oldest known analogue computer and the only scientific instrument that has survived from the Hellenistic era.
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Antikythera Mechanism, the Oldest Computer and Mechanical Cosmos 2nd century BC by Xenophon Moussas. School of Physics and Astronomy University of Birmingham 2014
A portable cosmos, Revealing the Antikythera Mechanism, Scientific Wonder of the Ancient World, Alexander Jones, Oxford University Press 2017
Improved X-ray computed tomography reconstruction of the largest fragment of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek astronomical calculator
Ashkan Pakzad, Francesco Iacoviello, Andrew Ramsey, Robert Speller, Jennifer Griffiths, Tony Freeth, Adam Gibson Published online 2018 Nov 9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207430
Gears from the Greeks : the Antikythera mechanism : a calendar computer from ca. 80 B.C., Derek de Solla Price., 1975
The Antikythera shipwreck : the ship, the treasures, the mechanism : National Archaeological Museum, April 2012-April 2013 / editors, Nikolaos Kaltsas, Elena Vlachogianni, Polyxeni Bouyia.
Decoding an Ancient Computer: Greek Technology Tracked the Heavens
New explorations have revealed how the Antikythera mechanism modeled lunar motion and predicted eclipses, among other sophisticated tricks, Tony Freeth on December 1, 2009 www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
Freeth, T. Revising the eclipse prediction scheme in the Antikythera mechanism. Palgrave Commun 5, 7 (2019). doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-02... www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
Freeth, T., Higgon, D., Dacanalis, A. et al. A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism. Sci Rep 11, 5821 (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84... www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism by Tony Freeth and Alexander Jones 2012 dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/isaw-pa...
www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/
Efstathiou, K., & Efstathiou, M. (2018). Celestial Gearbox. Mechanical Engineering, 140(09), 31. doi:10.1115/1.2018-sep1
Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism: Investigation of an Ancient
Astronomical Calculator by T. Freeth, Y. Bitsakis, X. Moussas, et al. Nature, Volume 444, Issue 7119, pp. 587-591 (2006).
The Antikythera mechanism was an astronomical calculating machine, where you can set a date via the calendars, and it will then show you where all the planets would be, the orbit and phases of the moon, and the eclipse cycle. When the mechanism was first identified, the initial belief was that it was used for navigation, especially because it was found on a ship. Another theory is that the device was made for demonstrative or teaching purposes, not for astronomers who would have needed a much more precise machine to calculate fractions of days and more minute occurrences such as the varying lengths of days and nights.
The very existence of the Antikythera Mechanism proves that the ancient Greeks had a deeper understanding and mastery of astronomy than we could have possibly imagined. A knowledge that rivalled science that was being conducted in the 16th century Even scholars who spent their lives studying it have stated that it’s a level of technology that in their mind, couldn’t have existed. But yet, here it is, and verified to have been made within the Hellenistic age.
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#underwaterarchaeology #Archaeology #ancientgreece #ancienthistory #antikytheramechanism
It's always stumped me how there has only been one of these amazing machines found in the entire world, so it's great to learn that these types were known & documented to be around. Stay dirty, Raven. Love your channel ❤️
Right?! I loved finding out that there were more people talking about and making them!!
Such an item would invariably be highly valuable and likely limited to those who could afford to have one - or simply stole it as probably happened here whereby some conqueror appropriated desirable items for themselves . I suspect there was no "factory" cranking these things out by the gross. It would be not unlike Mediaeval books carefully created by hand over a period of years by groups of monks cloistered away somewhere. Only a few copies - or even just one - might be created for some purpose.
Aliens!
Exactly! Imagine how many wonders have been lost to history because they were never discovered or turned to dust before being discovered.
@@varyolla435 No such theme as "afford" time was different back then. Money wasn't the value of life!
Great video:) Clickspring has a great series recreating the mechanism for anyone looking to dive deeper!
I watched it as part of my research! There’s also a Lego reconstruction which is amazing!
@@DigItWithRaven Saw that one as well:) We need historical Lego sets, ASAP!
I was just about to recommend the same series! :D
@@DigItWithRavenDo you have a link to the lego creation I would love to try recreating it!!! :)
I dont understand the appeal of mapped lego recreations, its the antithesis of creativity
Probably the most fascinating device in greek archaeology for me, thanks for the presentation !
Glad you enjoyed it!
Archaeology hasn't even scratched the surface considering ancient Greece in every aspect.
You may think you know many things but that is far from truth.
Most of the things people knows are just assumptions or theories (most of the times wrong and based on misstranslated text or personal beliefs and agendas) because there is a "systemic" status quo that they try to keep with their teeth and nails.
The real ancient Greek treasures are there waiting to be out to the light some day.
I'll tell you a secret the world never found out.
A few years ago there was a discovery in Athens by accident.
They found the laboratory of the sculptor Phidias full of statues and stuff.
What the archaeological agency did?
They closed and locked the place never telling anything to anyone about it.
And that's not the first time this happened.
The Dial-Up Service of Destiny
We'll be fine as long as no one wants to make a phone call!
I've always been fascinated by the Antikythera Mechanism and I watch all sorts of attempts at modern recreations of it using modern tools and CAD and it still takes loads of expertise and hundreds and hundreds of hours so I cannot even fathom the amount of time and energy (physical and mental) that went into the original. It truly is a wonder to behold.
Great video, I hadn't heard or thought much of the audience, very interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This thing is almost unbelievably impressive when you consider there are horological pieces that cost tens of thousands of dollars that implement just a few of the most basic functions of the Mechanism. (Check out the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei by Ulysse Nardin.)
The engineering alone is difficult to comprehend. Like, we know Euclid was preoccupied with the ability to construct regular n-gons (polygons), which was probably extremely useful if you wanted to mark and cut gears with exactly n teeth, right? But the main gear has 223 teeth, and 223 isn't one of the constructible values of n!
My only nitpick as a computer scientist is that the Antikythera, like a wristwatch, probably shouldn't be considered a "computer". At least, it's no more a computer than any calendar would be, although this is probably one of the most impressively detailed calendars ever conceived, let alone actually built, since each Cycle required both the prior astronomical knowledge as well as the engineering to build an additional gear train to track it. Yes, it has gears and gear trains, but like in a clock, those only mark "every x ticks = a month".
And it isn't analog, since the logic of its tracking goes by days as its smallest unit, which is discrete and thus digital. (But I suppose people always associate the digital vs. analog distinction with mechanical vs. electronics, which it isn't. So a differential analyzer is an analog computer, whereas Charles Babbage's Difference and Analytical Engines are digital computers, both of which are mechanical.)
Btw, Allan Bromley was also famous for poring through years of Babbage's drawings and notes, and understanding and explaining how his Difference and Analytical Engines work!
Learning more about this find is so exciting for so many reasons.
It's such a cool thing!! I became obsessed as you can see haha
Thank you, Raven. I have been fascinated by the Antikythera Mechanism (not to be confused by the Antikythera Mech--a clockwork giant robot) for years. Not being a patreon supporter yet, I can only suggest that you do a more in depth episode about it. As for the statement: "the greeks came so close to inventing clockwork..." well, they actually did invent it.
Still awesome. Also love the nose ring.
Just came across Antikthera again and thought let me just check if Raven did a video - and here it is :D thanks again! love these
The genius of the Greeks will never cease to amaze me! Ζήτω η Ελλάδα!
Ποιά Ελλάδα; EΚΕΙΝΗ ή αυτή; Άστα να πάνε...
Good one! thanks. Still looking forward to your next "wonders of the ancient world" series..
It’s coming soon! Filmed the next one already ☺️
An excellent lecture. You have quite a knack for bringing history to life.
Fascinating.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it
I love your videos! Keep up the good work!
Love your work Raven! I am guessing if the Time Travel feature worked we could ask Archimedes to demo it for us himself 🤣
Right?! Too bad this isn't the one he made haha
@@DigItWithRaven It was certainly his design.
Love the details, Raven thanks.
thanks for a wonderful presentation
I used to build stuff like that out of Meccano, so it was pretty cool when I realised the Greeks were doing the same thing 2200 years ago.
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
_"In the sense of this last mysterious question we must now state how the influence of Socrates has spread out over later worlds, right up to this moment and, indeed, into all future ages, like a shadow in the evening sun constantly growing larger, how that influence always makes necessary the re-creation of art -I mean art in its most profound and widest metaphysical sense - and through its own immortality guarantees the immortality of art._
_Before we could recognize this fact, before we convincingly established the innermost dependence of every art on the Greeks, from Homer right up to Socrates, we had to treat these Greeks as the Athenians treated Socrates. Almost every era and cultural stage has at some point sought in an profoundly ill-tempered frame of mind to free itself of the Greeks, because in comparison with the Greeks, all their own achievements, apparently fully original and admired in all sincerity, suddenly appeared to lose their colour and life and shrivelled to unsuccessful copies, in fact, to caricatures. And so a heartfelt inner anger always keeps breaking out again against that arrogant little nation which dared to designate for all time everything that was not produced in its own country as “barbaric.” Who were those Greeks, people asked themselves, who, although they had achieved only an ephemeral historical glitter, only ridiculously restricted institutions, only an ambiguous competence in morality, who could even be identified with hateful vices, yet who had nevertheless laid a claim to a dignity and a pre-eminent place among peoples, appropriate to a genius among the masses? Unfortunately people were not lucky enough to find the cup of hemlock which could easily do away with such a being, for all the poisons which envy, slander, and inner rage created were insufficient to destroy that self-satisfied magnificence. Hence, confronted by the Greeks, people have been ashamed and afraid, unless an individual values the truth above everything else and dares to propose this truth: the notion that the Greeks, as the charioteers of our culture and every other one, hold the reins, but that almost always the wagon and horses are inferior material and do not match the glory of their drivers, who then consider it amusing to whip such a team into the abyss, over which they themselves jump with the leap of Achilles."_
As you mention, the concept of gears has been around for at least 5000 years. And making gears is a relatively simple process that any shop apprentice could easily manage (all you need is a disc with the ratio laid out, and a file). The genius is in the design itself, rather than the manufacture (though it is exceptional craftsmanship) - which we can see examples of in the history of automata. It took a lot of knowledge to design all the features and calculate the ratios - but it was an age of great thought and discovery, an earlier Renaissance or Enlightenment, where the mechanism doesn't seem so mysteriously out of place to me.
What an awesome idea for alt history novel...
Awesome video as always!
Thanks so much!! Glad you enjoyed it
Very informative Raven love it
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have been watching the Young Indiana Jones films and the theatrical films to build up towards watching the upcoming film!
Nice!! I still need to watch that series in its entirety
@@DigItWithRaven They have the whole series on Disney+. I only have one more episode/TV film and then the four theatrical films to re-watch before seeing the new films. The DVD releases of the Young Indiana Jones series also included nearly 100 excellent accompanying documentaries about the various people, places, and ideas that cover the historical background. I have found the Young Indiana Jones episodes to vary considerably in tone. Some episodes are quite serious and tense depictions of World War I, while others are romantic comedies with no action at all. Only a few have him actually looking for a historical artifact. One of the World War I episodes set in Africa reminds me quite a bit of Heart of Darkness or Apocalypse Now. Also, one Young Indiana Jones episodes opens and closes with Harrison Ford playing him and reminiscing on his past when he played jazz and tried to solve a mob murder in Chicago. Finally, only one Young Indiana Jones episode had a supernatural element (Dracula episode).
An incredible machine. The whole story is amazing. Thanks for this excellent presentation.
Great work!
Also dig the piercing, is it new?
Thank you!! And yes! I just got the ring put in 3 months ago :)
wonderful video!!! I really appreciate your exaggeration of the incredible skill necessary to create such an awesome device!! Thank you.
It isn’t an exaggeration. The ancients were incredibly talented in many ways!
Thanks for the post!
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Wow! Great lecture! You are wonderful! I am curious about the gear with 233 teeth. 233 is a prime number, making it it nearly impossible to calculate and cut with the tools and materials avail
able at the time.
I'm not an expert on ancient Greek tooling technology, but as I've found with a lot of other ancient civilizations... where there's a will, there's a way! So glad you enjoyed the video!
What are the digging tools used by the Thamudis, the Danites, and the Nabataeans in excavating the mountains in Mada’in Saleh, the caves of Shu’ayb and Petra?
Is a secret I did not hear her answer?
At a time when there was no advanced drilling equipment at that time
Time and effort with metal chisels. Sandstone isn’t really that hard to carve.
@@pandakicker1 people will always try find methods to streamline efforts and save time even if all they have is iron.
Cool. Well done
Really love this channel my favorite thing history ❤❤
Apart from the gearing complexity that would be equalled 1400 years later (the Wallingford clock) this device contains the following firsts: 1. The first device with graduated dials. The first complex gear train. The first application of differential gearing. The first instance of counter rotating coaxial shafts
This was SO VERY fun! And Raven...I LOVE the sound your eyelid makes after you say "Stay dirty my friends!" Wait! If those gears needed lubrication...do you think?(whispers) Banana Oil? No? Fine. And how is your book going? What people fail to understand about us writers is that we are writing even if it just looks like we're staring out a window. = ) Did I mention that the man who wrote the foreward to my book just got The Order of Canada last week?
Don't ask about the book ahahaha I'm spending every free minute on it and it's very very slow. But slow and steady am I right?! Also oooo lookit you! Congrats :) That's so cool about your book
@@DigItWithRaven Slow and steady! Yes! It's a marathon, not a sprint....as I have to keep reminding myself = ) As I am rewriting. Again. Plus more things keep happening to add! Which is GREAT!
Really interesting. You should do a video about ancient automata. Thank you :)
Thankyou for this wonderful description of the Antikythera Mechanism This young lady was very interesting to listen to and explained everything in such a pleasant way. I have been fortunate in the fact I have seen this mechanism in the Museum in Greece. It fascinated me.
Soo nice. Thank
That quote from Arthur C Clark I remember that as a child watching an episode of his television show mysterious World. And it does make you wonder how the world would have been different if devices like that would would have become much more fashionable and what's more widespread. In some ways it's almost depressing thinking about it. Great video 😊
That’s so cool, I’d never even heard of it!
I am loving your lessons.
So consider how useful a device like this would be for establishing all kinds of government records. It could provide “official” dates the way reference objects provide official grams, meters, etc.
Thank you for providing a one-stop destination to easily understanding the history & capabilities of the Antikythera Mechanism. It also helps create a great counterbalance to all the Ancient Aliens hysteria crap that surrounds the device as well.
I wonder if searched for an ancient pocket protector would also be found....
Just think of what else lies in wait, waiting to be discovered and change how we view the ancient world and the things they made and accomplished. People have always been smart and building great works, I’m sure there are so much more artifacts we can’t imagine lying under the waves and soil.
Of course this visor is well researched, edited and just great, but.. Those earrings are amazing. Are they bells? Just wondering if you jangle when you walk...
Now that was interesting
Raven, wyd to your thumb? Also which Kerouac book do you have on your shelf?
Great video , im no historian but i think that due to Athens being one of the busiest sea ports it would have been a multicultural centre...that said when attribute certain finds or inventions to "the ancient Greeks" it does not really acknoledge the wealth of knowledge that would have collected there from the wider ancient world. An example that comes to mind is that Ancient India had Gears. All that said what a mind blowing piece of early engineering
How were the gears made? Were they cast or cut from a blank?...
When will the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World videos restart? I used to work at a lighthouse, and I'm in suspense.
It’s coming!! Just finished my notes for the Lighthouse of Alexandria video 😊
Haven't seen the movie yet. Need to watch last Indy
I hope you like it! Let me know your thoughts :)
@@DigItWithRaven There might be tears. 😅
I bet'cha that the Voynich Manuscript is the instruction manual for the Antikythera Mechanism...
It's a fascinating story, I first learned about it on Terry Jones' barbarians.
How's the knew job going?
PS I am still mad about the battle of Syracuse, damn romans!
Well? We're waiting dear miss Raven.......
It puzzles me that such skill and craftsmanship was not recognized for what it is. The modern equivalent is burying a quantum computer with no instructions at a later date dig it up at a time the world is run on quantum computers and not realizing the profund breakthrough of the original device at the time. How was this technology not recorded in a permanent manor? How was it that the knowledge was discarded so easily.
Thanks 🙏🏻
You’re welcome 😊
Sounds like something that would be useful to a Seer.
EvE Online says hello! (Spaecship video game that features the Mechanism in it's lore)
I just read an article in Archaeology magazine about work being done on the hunting/gathering tradition in Patagonia by Raven Garvey. Am I correct in thinking that is you?
It’s not! But I’m super excited to see another Raven in archaeology 😁
The channel clickspring has videos of making a replica, down to making even the tools needed.
have to note that the Greek model was to keep esoteric knowledge secret, and did not have the later Medieval mode of publishing and broadcasting information
Such the the nature of the esoteric.
Hiii there.... How r u.... I saw some of ur videos... N I m sure that u love history and famous historical events.... So i thought I should recommend u... An amazing historical movie... I know it's a stupid advice... But maybe after watching this movie u will not regret it... N I m sure... U will make a separate video for that movie.. It was one of the famous events in the 1940s...more than 15 countries in Europe covered that news... N english were really afraid of that incident... Because 1st time they realised that they were not safe even in England.... Anyway... I hope u will read my comment.. N watch that movie..... Good luck 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 7:22
In that time & culture, astrology was extremely important, especially in Greece. Astrologers were called mathematicos because of the complex calculations involved to draw up a horoscope. One would think an astrologer would love to have a calculator like the antikythera mechanism to help with the drudgery of the complex math! They would have be very wealthy though!
So one use was to predict eclipses. I wander how the owner used this info. He could have portrayed himself as a god.
Lol no that was a known phenomenon that was already tracked by people for awhile before this wreck.
@@pandakicker1 are you saying everybody at this time knew exactly when an eclipse would occur?
At last, conclusive proof of alien technology 😉😀😂🤣
This thing wasn't cheap. Possibly some wealthy Roman trying to show his friends he was the man for the new millennia. :)
Why does nobody consider that this object is fake?
Why would it be fake? The ancient Greeks were known to have made many amazing mechanical objects including mechanical statues.
@@pandakicker1 if not fake an object out of time. Where are all the other objects like this. simpler geared machines. The greeks were so influential. There would be more evidence of such technology. The romans would have copied it for sure. Think of the evolution of the clock. Also bronze preserve well. I think there is no hard evidence it comes from that wreck.
15:02 ah the bane of archaeologists, people doing the smart thing and recycling their resources to make the best use of them. Well if there are any future historians on today, they won't have the same issue with us. Unforturnately...
How dare they reuse their precious resources 😂 it’s a little mind-bending thinking about what could have actually existed!
The Onepiece Treasure
Speaker looks bad with this ring on his nose... its not common on TV.
Seems not a serious page
I didnt end see this " documental"
Wow for all that those dummies couldnt figure out that the earth is actually flat 😉
only possible on a flat earth
I like her nose piercing. Yesyes, I know, the whole story is interesting. Just saying...
Not a computer
Flat earth device , clearly
You do well, researching and presenting the information to us.
One thing though, your vocal fry is quite distracting.
And your microphone seems to accentuate it. Once you hear it, you’ll struggle to ‘unhear’ it. While editing, use headphones. If you hadn’t noticed before, you will with headphones.
You’re not alone, many many folks have this issue. It’s quite distracting.
Can you make a video on brutality of muslim hordes during 7th century onwards.
It would be greatly appreciated educating others of Zoroastrian and other pagan genocide by muslims. Especially banu quraiza also the the heroic rebellion against muslim occupires by papak khoramdin.
That doesn't really have anything to do with archaeology, does it? It sounds more like you've got an extremely specific socio-historical axe to grind.
@@AlbertaGeek if you start digging in iraq, syria and iran you will find it.
the pagan genocide happened under Christianity,and yeah we want video about all of great inventions created in the golden age of Baghdad and Muslim Cordoba. but I still can't find list of Sassined scholars.
@@starcapture3040 lmao most of the knowledge came from persian scholars + muslims stole the credit for themselves.
@@ruberxwibebadhi give me the list please
I don’t get why people why like learning. Its boring. I never study i hate school and i hate clever people. All i want is for people never to learn so i dont feel bad about myself. I am not going to make effort now that school is finished. All i an going to do is watch movies and play games and eat chocolates and crisps forever. Down with learning.
its great that you analyze these real mysteries, from a scientific point of view
Ah I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I wanted to make sure this episode was a bit different from the others so we could get to the bottom of it together
@@DigItWithRaven nah be honest u just trying to be like indiana jones xd
@@DigItWithRaven what are some other most impressive artifacts of all time? maybe u can make a top 10 or something^^
@@Danetto Oooh the biggest challenge would be picking just 10!
@@DigItWithRaven so make it a top 100 xd
A catapult is also a computer? o_O