WHO BUILT THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM?

No one knows who created the Antikythera mechanism, but many researchers believe Archimedes may have played a part. The ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer and inventor – the man who is said to have leapt out of his bath and run down the street naked shouting “Eureka!” after discovering the principle of buoyancy – lived around the time the device would have been made. One theory is that it was likely made after he died, based on his expertise. “Archimedes died about 212 BCE, when he was killed by a Roman soldier during the siege of Syracuse, and it’s my belief he started the tradition of making these devices,” Freeth says. “There’s a description by the Roman politician Cicero of two machines made by Archimedes that showed the motion of the Sun, Moon and five planets. This is what the Antikythera mechanism does and there is evidence that there were more than one of these things around in antiquity. My belief is that Archimedes started the tradition of making these devices and they were picked up later by other people copying his designs.”