ELI5: antikythera mechanism
// explanation
What is the Antikythera mechanism?
The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek machine that's about 2,000 years old and roughly the size of a mantel clock [1][2]. It's like a really fancy calculator made of gears and metal that ancient Greeks used to figure out where the planets and stars would be in the sky [1][3].
Why is it so special?
Scientists call it the world's oldest computer because it could do complicated math using gears, kind of like how your calculator uses electricity [1][4]. Nothing like it showed up again for over 1,000 years, which makes scientists amazed that ancient people were smart enough to build something so complex [5].
How did it work?
Inside the wooden case were bronze gears that turned and moved other gears, and when you turned a handle, all these gears would spin together to show you where astronomical objects would be [1][2][3]. It's similar to how a clock's gears work to show you the time.
Why was it lost and forgotten?
The device sank in a shipwreck thousands of years ago, and once it was underwater for so long, people eventually forgot how amazing it was and how to build things like it [1][5].
// sources
an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (model of the Solar System). It is the oldest known example of an analogue computer
The Antikythera mechanism was similar in size to a mantel clock, and bits of wood found on the fragments suggest it was housed in a wooden case. Like a clock, ...
Feb 27, 2026 ... Antikythera mechanism, ancient Greek mechanical device used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena.
May 23, 2025 ... The Antikythera mechanism is a 2,000-year-old ancient Greek artifact and it is considered the world's oldest analog computer. r/ ...
Jan 1, 2022 ... The lump is known as the Antikythera mechanism, an extraordinary object that has befuddled historians and scientists for more than 120 years.
Video by BBC Global
Video by BRIGHT SIDE
Video by JRE Clips
