ISAW Papers 4 (Preprint, 2/2012): The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism

ISAW Papers 4 (Preprint, 2/2012)

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ISAW Papers
ISSN: 2164-1471

The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism

Tony Freeth¹ and Alexander Jones²

Copyright

The text of this ISAW Papers article is available here as a preview. It is released "©2011 Tony Freeth & Alexander Jones All right reserved". When published in final form it will be released under the CC-By license. The permanent URI of the final version will be http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/isaw-papers/4.

Except where otherwise indicated, the images included in this paper are subject to copyright.

• X-ray CT and PTM data: ©2005 Antikythera Mechanism Research Project.
• Computer models and diagrams: ©2011 Tony Freeth, Images First Ltd.

For more information on use of the images, please contact Tony Freeth, tony@images-first.com.

The formatting of the current version is preliminary and all issues of spacing and indentation will be corrected in the final publication.

Abstract: The Antikythera Mechanism is a fragmentarily preserved Hellenistic astronomical machine with bronze gearwheels, made about the second century B.C. In 2005, new data were gathered leading to considerably enhanced knowledge of its functions and the inscriptions on its exterior. However, much of the front of the instrument has remained uncertain due to loss of evidence. We report progress in reading a passage of one inscription that appears to describe the front of the Mechanism as a representation of a Greek geocentric cosmology, portraying the stars, Sun, Moon, and all five planets known in antiquity. Complementing this, we propose a new mechanical reconstruction of planetary gearwork in the Mechanism, incorporating an economical design closely analogous to the previously identified lunar anomaly mechanism, and accounting for much unresolved physical evidence.