Greece, the land of philosophy, sculpture and – the first computer? That is what the Antikythera mechanism is sometimes called. After 2,000 years in the sea, only corroded fragments remain, but from these, researchers have been able to reconstruct an impressive piece of machinery. A total of six dials could be used to read various calendars that were important in Greece in the second and first centuries BC. The mechanism provided information on when solar and lunar eclipses were to be expected, and it even depicted the orbits of the planets known at the time around the Earth in the geocentric world view of the time. You can see the remaining parts of the mechanism in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. There is also a screen showing the reconstructed mechanism in all its individual parts, along with a detailed explanation. And, of course, there are numerous statues, vases and other works of art from ancient Greece and beyond all around it. Opening hours and current exhibitions, as well as a virtual tour of the museum, can be found on its website.
Further information: https://www.namuseum.gr/en/
Photo: National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Credits: Wikipedia/Thomas Wolf.
