2418) The Antikythera Mechanism - the oldest Analogue Computer, Hellenic Republic of Greece: "Greek Culture Coin Series - Ancient Greek Technology": A €10 (Ten Euro) Silver Coin minted by the Mint of Greece, on behalf of the Bank of Greece commemorates this discovery: Date of Coin issue: 2022:
“GREEK CULTURE - ANCIENT GREEK TECHNOLOGY - THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM” - 2022:
The Antikythera Mechanism is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, which is the oldest example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance.
(Orreries are typically driven by a clockwork mechanism with a globe representing the Sun at the center, and with a planet at the end of each of the arms. They are usually not to scale, partly because of the difficulty of mechanically modeling the distances involved, the eccentricity of various planets’ orbits, and the planets’ massive differences in terms of size).
The Antikythera Mechanism was an artefact recovered from a shipwreck found in 1900 by sponge divers off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera.
Built in Hellenistic times, this intricate device was used for astronomical calculations and is the oldest analogue computer.
Its more than 30 bronze gear-wheels rotated pointers over different dials.
Thus, manually selecting a date on the main dial – which represented the zodiac, as well as, the solar and lunar years – shifted the smaller gears, so that the pointers on the other dials indicated the position of the selected date in the four-year cycle of the Panhellenic Games (Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia, Nemea), the positions of the five then-known planets and the correlation with astronomy cycles that were of particular interest to the ancient Greeks.
The mechanism also predicted solar and lunar eclipses.
On 17.05.1902, it was identified as containing a gear by archaeologist Valerios Stais.
The device, housed in the remains of a 34 cm × 18 cm × 9 cm (13.4 in × 7.1 in × 3.5 in) wooden box, was found as one lump, later separated into three main fragments which are now divided into 82 separate fragments after conservation efforts. Four of these fragments contain gears, while inscriptions are found on many others.
The largest gear is approximately 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in diameter and originally had 223 teeth.
In 2008, modern computer x-ray tomography and high resolution surface scanning to image inside fragments of the crust-encased mechanism and read the faintest Ancient Greek inscriptions that once covered the outer casing of the machine, was used.
It was revealed that the mechanism had 37 meshing bronze gears enabling it to follow the movements of the Moon and the Sun through the Zodiac, to predict eclipses and to model the irregular orbit of the Moon, where the Moon's velocity is higher in its perigee than in its apogee.
This motion was studied in the 2nd century BC by astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes, and it is believed that he may have been consulted in the machine's construction.
The instrument was designed and constructed by Greek scientists and has been variously dated to about 87 BC, or between 150 and 100 BC.
In any case, it must have been constructed before the shipwreck, which has been dated by multiple lines of evidence to approximately 70–60 BC.
In 2022 researchers proposed that the initial calibration date of the machine (not its actual date of construction) could have been 23.12.178 BC.
Machines with similar complexity did not appear again until the astronomical clocks were made in the fourteenth century.
All known fragments of the Antikythera mechanism are now kept at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, along with a number of artistic reconstructions and replicas to demonstrate how it may have looked and worked.
Research on the mechanism, which has fascinated scholars for decades, is still ongoing under the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, which, using advanced imaging technologies, continues to provide impressive new insights into the mechanism’s complex inner workings.
The Coin:
The Reverse of the €10 (Ten Euro) Silver Proof Coin shows the Antikythera Mechanism's original image in the centre. The details of the mechanism are mentioned in Greek language on the outer periphery.
The Obverse of the €10 (Ten Euro) Silver Proof Coin shows the image of a modern day Analogue Computer's mechanism in the centre, the neme of the issuing country "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΕΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" which are pronounced "(H)ellenik(eh) Democratia" (meaning the 'Greek Democracy") and the denomination of the Coin "10 Euro" (in Greek).
The specification of the 10 Euro Silver Coin are:
Country of issue: Republic of Greece ; Date/Year: 2022; Coin Theme: "Greek Culture - Ancient Greek Technology"; Coin Theme: "The Antikythera Mechanism"; Denomination/Face Value: €10 (Ten Euro); Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 34.10 grams; Diameter/Size: 40.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: The Greek Mint, on behalf of the Bank of Greece; Mintage: 2,000 pieces; Designer: G. Stamatopoulos.
Packaging: Each Silver Proof coin is encapsulated and presented in a Presentation Custom Case and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
2) Some ancient coins depicting Greek mythology & history
13) Ancient Greek Theatres, Greece: Hellenic Post has brought out a set of five stamps featuring the Ancient Theatres of Dodona, Nocopolis, Kassope, Amvrakia and Gitana (all in Epirus): Stamp issue date: 08.04.2020
14) "MYRTIS", Greece: A 5 Euro Silver Coin dedicated to an 11 year old girl who was a victim of the PLague of Athens (430-426 BC) issued by the Bank of Greece: Coin issue date: 25.02.2020
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"A VERY informative article. Thanks for sharing."
Thank you, Khanna sahab.
DeleteAshok Borate has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very very nice post."
Thank you, Ashokji.
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