TRANSACTIONS
OFTHE
AMERICAN
PHILOSOPHICAL
OCIETY
HELD ATPHILADELPHIAFORPROMOTINGUSEFULKNOWLEDGENEW SERIES-VOLUME64,PART 71974
GEARSFROMTHE GREEKS
THEANTIKYTHERAMECHANISM-ACALENDARCOMPUTERFROMca.80 B.C.DEREK DE SOLLAPRICE
AvalonProfessorof HistoryofScience,YaleUniversityTHEAMERICANPHILOSOPHICALSOCIETY
INDEPENDENCESQUAREPHILADELPHIANovember,1974
PREFACEANDACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn aworklike thiswhichhas beentakenupatvar-iousintervalsand withmanycollaboratorsoversometwentyyearsit is almostimpossibletoacknowledgeadequatelythehelpIhave received.The recordofinstitutionsandfellowships,colleaguesandfriends,wouldbevirtuallycoextensive withmybiographyas aprofessionalhistorianofscience andtechnology.Byitsnaturethe detectivestoryofworkon thefragmentshasbeena succession ofpuzzlesandofside-investigationsleadingintomanydifferentareasofcompetencewhereIhavealwaysfoundspecialistsinotherfieldsmostgenerouswith theirhelpandpatientwithanovice.Ihavetriedtoindicatespecificdebtsforhelpattheplace theyoccur,andinappropriatecasesIhave askedthose who made sideinvestigationstoreportundertheir ownnames.Toall of themIam indebtthatcanonlyberepaidinsmallpartbytheappearanceofthisstudywith all theunsolvedproblemsthatstillremain,thefurther workthatperhapsotherswillnowbeabletoperfect,andtheerrors whichinthe usual fashionare allmyown.Forfellowshipsand researchgrantsIthankalso thosewhoenabled me toenjoyanI.C.I.ResearchFellowshipandaNuffield FoundationFel-lowshipinCambridge,aFellowshipattheInstitute forAdvancedStudyinPrinceton,aJohnSimonGuggen-heimFellowshipatYale,andgrantsfromtheAmeri-canPhilosophical Society,theNationalGeographicSocietyandthe NationalScienceFoundationatvarioustimes.IamalsogratefulforanA.WhitneyGriswoldgrantfromYaleUniversityfordefrayingpartofthecost ofthefiguresandplates.My specialthanks mustgoto the authorities at theNationalArchaeologicalMuseum formanyvisits wherethey gavemeallthe accessneeded toworkwiththedelicatefragments,to theGreek AtomicEnergyCom-mission andDr.Ch.Karakalosfor the recent radio-graphicworkthatled to a solution for most of thegearsystem.Atthemorepersonallevel,likeallworkersinthehistoryofastronomy,IamindebtedtoOttoNeuge-bauer,notonlyfor hisowncontributionsandadvice,butalso fortheclearhard standardsofscholarshipsetbythemwhichgivesuch aspecialrewardfor evenamostimperfectfollowing.Furtherdebts ofgratitudeto GeraldToomerforgenerousadviceon classicalmatters andinterpretationofthefragmentarytexts,andtoBeverlyPopefor herskillfulrenderingof the lineillustrations whichare so vital to thismonograph. Myspecialthanksalsotomy colleagueovermanyyears,AsgerAaboe,for hispatient goodtaste,andhisun-paralleledfeelingforthehistoryof mathematical as-tronomy,andto AnnLeskowitz,without whosesecre-tarialassistanceIwouldlongagohavebeenlost.D.deS.P.3
GEARSFROMTHE GREEKS
TheAntikytheraMechanism-ACalenderComputerfromca.80 B.C.
DEREKDESOLLAPRICE
CONTENTS
PAGE
ThediscoveryoftheAntikytherashipwreck..............5Thediscoveryof themechanismfragments...............9Research on themechanismfragments,1902-1973.......10Thecasing, generalconstruction,and dialwork ...........13Thearrangementindepthof theplatesandcomponentsof themechanism...................................20Thedoorplatesand thegeneralorientation and use ofthemechanism.................................... .21Theaccuracy ofestimating gearteethnumbers ...........22Descriptionof individualgears......................... 27Descriptionofgeartrains.............................40Theinscriptions......................................46TheAntikytheramechanism as an historicaldocument51Theearlyhistoryofgearingandclockwork. ............53Theinvention ofcomplicatedclockworkand the dif-ferentialgear.......................................60AppendixI.Compositionofthemetalfragments,with contributionsbyEarleR.CaleyandCyrilS.Smith.............63II.Technicalnote onradiographyoffragments, byChar.Karakalos.....................................66Index..............................................69
THEDISCOVERYOFTHE ANTIKYTHERASHIPWRECKByhappyandspectacularcoincidencethefirstgreatdiscoveryinunderwaterarchaeologyyieldednotonlyafine collectionof art treasures but also themostenigmatic,mostcomplicatedpieceof scientific machin-eryknownfromantiquity.Thissingularartifactisnowidentifiedas an astronomicalorcalendricalcalcu-latingdeviceinvolvingaverysophisticatedarrangementofmore thanthirtygear-wheels.Ittranscendsall thatwehadpreviouslyknownfromtextualandliterarysources andmayinvolveacompletelynewappraisalofthescientifictechnologyof theHellenisticperiod.Theuniqueandcrucial statusofthisobjectmakes itespeci-ally importanttoestablish with the utmostcertaintyallevidence ofitsprovenanceanddating.Tothis endwemustfirstrecountthe circumstancesofthediscoveryoftheancientshipwreckand of thefragmentsofmech-anism.Shortlybefore Easterof 1900 apartyofsphounga-rades,sponge-fishersfromthe island ofSymenearRhodesintheDodecanese,lefttheirnormalfishinggroundsin Tunisianwaters off NorthAfrica andbegantosailEast,towards home.Theirpartyofsixdiversandtwenty-twooarsmensailingintwocaiques(cut-ters)seemstohaverun intothegalesandsquallsendemicto that areawhileinthechannelsbetweentheislandsofKytheraand Crete. Thischannel isincidentallyoneofthe chiefshippingroutesbetweentheEasternand theWestern Mediterranean.Drivenoffcoursetheythensoughtshelternear Port Potamoon thealmostuninhabited,rockyand barrenisletofAntikythera1(alsocalledCerigotto, SijiljoandStus,ancient
AlyiXia,
itisabout1milelong,Imilewide)which liesjustmidwaybetween thetwolargerislands,splittingthechannelbetween andcreatinganinfam-ouslydangerousgraveyardforshipping,ancient andmodern,aplaceofsandbars,shoals,andsudden cur-rents(see figs.1,2).Theydroppedanchoraboutamileto theeastoftheportataplaceknownlocallyasPinakakia,a sub-marineshelfnot to befoundbynameonanychartofthearea,whichlaysome15to25metersbeyondtherockyheadland of PointGlyphadia (VlikadaPoint,lat.35?52'30"N.,long.23018'35"E.onBritishAdmiraltyChart,No.1685,seeinsetofAntikytheraI,PortPota-mo,fig.3.ComparethemapinSvoronos,p.81,fig.73).Safeafterthestormtheydecidedtoexploretheshallowrockshelfbelow theminthehopeoffindingspongesin the unfamiliarterritory.Goingto adepthof about 140feetor42meters(35ells,accordingtoSvoronos),oneof thedivers,EliasStadiatis,foundtohis utter astonishmentthatagreatship laywreckedonthebottom.He saw acompactmasssome50metersinlengthwithalltheremnantsof itsstructureandthe tumbledamphoraethathave since becomerec-ognizedastypicaloftheseMediterraneanwrecks.Thereal excitementhowever was not so muchintheshipitself but inatreasurethatwasplainlyvisible-apileofbronze andmarblestatues andotherobjectsmadealmostunrecognizable throughmarinedeposits.Stadiatisreturned to the surfacewithhisstoryandwith thematerial evidenceof apiecefrom oneof thebronzestatues,alarger-than-liferightarm.Thecap-tainof theSymioteships,Demetrios El.Kondos,aformermaster-diver,then descended toconfirmthemarvelous find andtakeroughmeasurements and bear-ingssoas to locate the site for futurereference.Thepartythen returnedtoSymewithoutfurtherincident,andspentsomesixmonthsintheriotouslivingthatwascustomaryoncompletionofasuccessfultripandontheweightydeliberationandconsultationwithelders
1i.e.Theislandagainst (nextto)Kythera.Itisnowoffi-cially spelledAndikythera.
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