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Primary sourceArtifact2nd century BC

Antikythera Mechanism

2nd century BC

An ancient Greek geared device for tracking astronomical cycles, showing the level of mechanical technology that underlies Hero's work on automata and gears.

This Hellenistic geared device shows the mechanical tradition of gear trains and automata that Hero's inventions built upon.

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Corroded green-brown bronze fragment of the Antikythera mechanism, showing several gear wheels and metal plates with encrusted corrosion, displayed on a clear acrylic stand against a dark background.
Antikythera mechanism, 2nd century BC. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

About this source

What it is

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered device built around the 2nd century BC, discovered in a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera in 1901. It contains a complex system of bronze gears and is considered the oldest known analogue computer. It is held at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Why it matters

The device could predict astronomical positions and eclipses and track cycles like the ancient Olympic Games. It shows the sophisticated gear-based engineering that existed in the Hellenistic world — the same tradition of mechanical knowledge that Hero of Alexandria drew on for his own automata and machines. Scholars think it may be linked to designs following the tradition of Archimedes.

Look closer

  • What does the complexity of the gears tell us about the engineers who built it?
  • Why do you think such technology was lost and not matched again for centuries?
  • How might devices like this have influenced engineers like Hero?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hero of Alexandria on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript page with Greek text in brown ink at top and bottom, and colored line drawings in the middle showing Hero's hydraulic bird-singing apparatus: several birds perched on pipes and arches, a tall cylindrical water vessel, a horizontal tank, and a bell-shaped weight on a chain.Book

Secondary source

Pneumatica

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Page from a Greek manuscript showing a colored line drawing of a temple-like structure with columns, arches, and a dome-like roof, with hidden tanks and mechanisms below. Greek handwritten text fills the lower part of the page.Book

Secondary source

Automata (Bacchus diagram)

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Painted miniature from a Greek manuscript: a bearded man with long grey hair in a golden-brown cloak extends his right hand toward the left, beside a dark archway. Red Greek lettering reads 'ΗΡΩΝ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟ' beside him.Painting

Secondary source

Hero of Alexandria in the Codex of Saint Gregory Nazianzenos

Unknown author · 9th century AD

Illuminated manuscript page with colored design drawing of a large siege engine or cannon in red, blue, green and tan, with a vertical arrow-like beam at top, surrounded by Greek text in brown ink on parchment.Document

Secondary source

Belopoiika (design drawing of a siege engine)

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Title page of a 1589 Italian book, engraved in black and white with an ornate architectural border of columns, scrolls and a central medallion. Printed text reads Di Herone Alessandrino De gli automati, ouero Machine se moventi, libri due, tradotti dal greco da Bernardino Baldi, with a small shield reading In Venetia, appresso Girolamo Porro, 1589.Book

Secondary source

De gli automati, ouero Machine se mouenti

Hero : Alexandrinus · 1589

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