retrograd.io
 
Greek · c. 2nd–1st century BCE (debated); reconstruction 2021

Antikythera Mechanism: Front Cover Inscription

With the reconstructed planetary 'Cosmos' display

The mechanism's Front Cover Inscription lists each planet's synodic events, including its stationary points, conjunctions and oppositions, with the number of days between them, and preserves period relations of 462 years for Venus (289 synodic cycles) and 442 years for Saturn (427 synodic cycles). Freeth and colleagues (2021) reconstruct gear trains that would carry planet pointers through these cycles; no planetary gearing survives, so the display is hypothetical.

Author
Anonymous (Greek makers)
Date
c. 2nd–1st century BCE (debated); reconstruction 2021
Original language
Greek
Kind
Mathematical astronomy
Planets
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
On the shelf · Greece and Rome · 13−1800 → 2026
−1800−1500−1000−5001500100015002026
Span · c. 2nd–1st century BCE (debated); reconstruction 2021Same shelfThis source’s span

Editions

2 editions.

YearEdition©
2021T. Freeth, D. Higgon, A. Dacanalis, L. MacDonald, M. Georgakopoulou, A. Wojcik, 'A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism', Scientific Reports 11, 5821 (2021), doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84310-w; Author Correction doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96382-9CC BY
2012A. Jones, The Antikythera Mechanism: An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculator, Oxford University Press, 2017; and Freeth & Jones, 'The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism', ISAW Papers 4 (2012)?
CC BY open licence · ? unclear

Read it

One digitised copy.

  • Freeth et al. 2021, full text and figures, with the Author CorrectionPubMed Central (Scientific Reports)CC BYOpen ↗

Copies stay with their holders; every link opens their site. Licence: PD public domain · CC BY · CC BY-SA · © rights reserved · ? not stated.

Myths we don’t repeat

Checked, and left out.

  1. Myth 01

    Not shown by surviving gears: no planetary gear survives, and the planetary display is a reconstruction.

  2. Myth 02

    Not a machine that predicted 'Mercury retrograde' dates.

References

Also on the Greece and Rome shelf

DateSourcePlanetsKind
c. 375 BCE (Republic); c. 360 BCE (Timaeus)Republic X: the Spindle of NecessityPlatoGeneralTheory / model
c. 350–330 BCEMetaphysics Λ.8AristotleMe Ve Ma Ju SaTheory / model
Hipparchus fl. c. 150–127 BCE; reported by Ptolemy c. 150 CEHipparchus in Almagest IX.2Hipparchus of NicaeaMe Ve Ma Ju SaObservation
c. 1st century BCE – 5th century CE (papyri); edition 1999Astronomical Papyri from OxyrhynchusAnonymous (Greco-Egyptian scribes)GeneralMath. astronomy
1st century BCE (often placed c. 50 BCE)Introduction to the PhenomenaGeminusMe Ve Ma Ju SaMath. astronomy
1st century CE (Greek original); Arabic version c. 800 CECarmen AstrologicumDorotheus of SidonGeneralAstrological