It is one of the most important discoveries made by humanity, and at the same time, a compelling example of something that appears to be “out of its time.” The Antikythera Mechanism has accumulated more than a hundred years of studies, and experts believe it is a system with astronomical utility, but thanks to a new investigation, it was concluded that the mechanism was a kind of “technological crystal ball.” In other words, it would have the ability to predict the future.
The Antikythera Mechanism, which received its name from the island of Antikythera located northwest of Crete, was discovered in July 1901 (it is still debated whether it was a year earlier or later), but almost automatically it was understood to be something completely different from what is usually recovered from a shipwreck. Precious metals, ancient weapons, and vessels pale in comparison to what the world considers the first analog computer. The technological barriers that existed at the beginning of the 20th century limited the complexity of the studies that could be conducted on the mechanism, but when talking about the era in which it was built, the 'margin' is between the years 100 and 60 BC. In other words, who wouldn't be excited about a computer that is more than two thousand years old?
Technically, the Antikythera Mechanism was not something that could be 'programmed' in the modern sense of the word, but with more than a century of studies behind it, it was determined that the main use was astronomical, anticipating solar and lunar eclipses, as well as the general position of the Sun, Moon, and planets detected up to that time. However, last Thursday an international group of researchers made a special announcement in Greece. The new analysis confirms much of what was already known about the device, but with the help of X-ray images, they were able to study the inscriptions on the mechanism much more closely, some of them with letters smaller than 1.2 millimeters. The total number of characters discovered amounts to 3,500, and with this additional information, they concluded that the Antikythera Mechanism was at once an astronomical system, and something like a crystal ball, trying to predict the future.
This conclusion derives from certain portions of the texts that talk about “the color” of eclipses, which suggests that a change in color could be a sign of good times, or a bad omen. Even so, the researchers affirmed several times that the number one role of the Antikythera Mechanism was effectively astronomical and not astrological, and that it was also not used as a research tool. A hybrid between textbook and calendar, if you will. As for the rest of the details shared by the researchers, everything seems to indicate that it was built on the island of Rhodes, that it was not the only one of its kind, and the differences in the styles of the text suggest that more than one person intervened in the development of its pieces. Perhaps it was the product of a workshop with several workers? There is still much to explore.
