Inventions & Discoveries · Science and discovery

Antikythera mechanism

2nd century BCE · 2nd century BCE

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, a geared model of the Solar System, built in the 2nd century BCE and recovered in 1901 from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. The oldest known example of an analogue computer, it could predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance and track the four-year cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. Scans made in 2005 suggest that it had 35 meshing bronze gears. Its 82 fragments are kept at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Antikythera mechanism
Image: Marsyas · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

On the inventions tree

First known
2nd century BCE
Where
Found off Antikythera, Greece

NoteIts date and place of making are disputed: estimates run from 205 to 87 BCE, and Corinth’s colonies, Pergamon and Rhodes have been proposed.

Built onBabylonian astronomyc. 1800 BCE

See it on the inventions tree →

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Antikythera mechanism. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/antikythera-mechanism
MLA
“Antikythera mechanism.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/antikythera-mechanism. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Antikythera mechanism.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/antikythera-mechanism.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Antikythera mechanism’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/antikythera-mechanism (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻