World's oldest computer still revealing its secrets

[Feuer Frei!]

Ancient Greeks

In its prime, about 2,100 years ago, the Antikythera (an-ti-KEE-thur-a) Mechanism was a complex, whirling, clockwork instrument comprising at least 30 bronze gears bearing thousands of interlocking tiny teeth. Powered by a single hand crank, the machine modeled the passage of time and the movements of celestial bodies with astonishing precision

SOURCE

[Aktungbby]

But to an ancient Greek, the three concerns were inextricably linked. It was believed that an eclipse could portend a famine, an uprising, a nation's fate in war.

Just how critical this stuff was is one reason we don't all speak Farsi to this day: Oct 1, 330 BC

Several Greek and Roman writers recorded a lunar eclipse that occured before the battle between Alexander the Great's army and Persian forces at Gaugamela near Arbela. The date of the battle is given by Arrian as during the month Pyanopsion when Aristophanes was archon at Athens. This means early in the autumn (October) RomBC 331 or 330 in our calendar. Plutarch mentions that the eclipse preceded the battle by 11 days.

Later just prior to the clash of armies, as Alexander addressed his men, he spoke of the forthcoming battle, reassuring the typically superstitious Macedonians that an earlier eclipse of the moon was a sign of victory. On the Persian side in spite of intense preparations for the big battle:

According to the Persian Magians, an eclipse of the moon was more significant for the king himself than most other omens. The Babylonian Chaldaeans, in their catalogue of prophecies, offered an even less propitious interpretation:

If the moon or the sun are eclipsed and Jupiter is not visible: end of a dominion.Moreover, according to the systems generally used in prophetic writings, an eclipse on the thirteenth day of the month meant disaster for Babylonia and an eclipse in the month of Ulûlu meant disaster for Persia. A westerly wind during such an eclipse indicated that the catastrophe was to come from that direction; an easterly wind as the disc of the moon became visible meant the eastern regions were safe. The fact that Saturn was visible gave added force to all these prophecies.

In other words, after the omens of 20 September, a Babylonian astronomer would have known that the end was near for the ruler of Persia and Babylonia and that the cause of his demise would be an enemy from the west. Although the east would provide sanctuary, this was still a demoralising prospect. On another clay tablet we find a similar description of a lunar eclipse, but this time it predicts the fate of the victor rather than the defeated party:

If on the thirteenth or fourteenth of Ulûlu the moon is eclipsed, the watch passes and the darkness remains, the moon’s features are dark as lapis lazuli, the moon is eclipsed as far as its centre and its western quadrant covered, a westerly wind is blowing, the sky remains dark and the light concealed, then the king’s son will undergo a cleansing ritual in front of the throne, but he will not ascend to the throne. An invader will mount an invasion supported by the rulers of the west; for eight years he will exercise kingship [lacuna]; he will defeat a hostile army; he will find abundance and riches on his path; he will pursue his enemy relentlessly and there will be no end to his good fortune. Astrology was not a secret doctrine. We can assume that educated Babylonians in Darius' army, such as Mazaeus, would have known the fate of their king was sealed. Morale declined visibly....Darius must have been bummed out.

In short, the jig was up 10 days before the battle! Everyone on the Persian side knew it; and the outnumbered Greeks-coming from the West, having eaten and slept soundly the night before, advanced confident of the outcome. One wonders if Ol Alex, a well heeled Macedonian, might not have had a Antikythera gizmo in his tent...Nuthing improves morale like knowing god(s) is on your side when kicking ass for all the empire's marbles... http://www.livius.org/articles/battle/gaugamela-331-bce/

[Jimbuna]

They could probably find a use for that these days for their banking system

[vienna]

Naw, I think the current Greek means of divination is a coin toss and wish for luck...



<O>

[Rhodes]

~

[Commander Wallace]

This is really amazing.