An Initial Assessment of the Accuracy of the Gear Trains in the Antikythera Mechanism

Freeth T. Bitsakis Y. Moussas X. Seiradakis J. H. Tselikas A. Mangou H. Zafeiropoulou M. Hadland R. Bate D. Ramsey A. Allen M. Crawley A. Hockley P. Malzbender T. Gelb D. Ambrisco W. Edmunds M. G. , “Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism”, Nature, cmxliv (2006), 587–91; hereafter Paper 1. The details of the gear trains are given in the Supplementary Material, available at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7119/suppinfo/nature05357.html or at http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/system/files/0608_Nature-Supplementary.pdf.

Wright M. T. , “The Antikythera Mechanism reconsidered”, Interdisciplinary science reviews, xxxii/1 (2007), 27–43, and bibliography of Wright's papers therein.

For example: Edmunds M. Morgan P. , “The Antikythera Mechanism: Still a mystery of Greek astronomy?”, Astronomy & geophysics, xli (2000), 6.10–6.17; and Freeth T. , “The Antikythera Mechanism, 1: Challenging the classic research”, Mediterranean archaeology & archaeometry, ii/1 (2002), 21–35.

De Solla Price D. , “Gears from the Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism — A calendar computer from ca. 80 BC”, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, n.s., lxiv (1974), reprinted New York, 1975; see p. 56.

Ibid., 23.

Evans J. Carman C. C. Thorndike A. S. , “Solar anomaly and planetary displays in the Antikythera Mechanism”, Journal for the history of astronomy, xli (2010), 1–39.

Freeth T. Jones A. Steele J. M. Bistakis Y. , “Calendars with Olympiad and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism”, Nature, cmliv (2008), 614–17.

Cuomo S. , Ancient mathematics (London and New York, 2001).