In episode 440, astrologers Chris Brennan and Sam Ogden discuss the Antikythera Mechanism, a complex mechanical device salvaged from an ancient shipwreck, and how it may have been used for astrology.
The Antikythera Mechanism was discovered in 1901 by a group of sponge divers from an ancient shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera.
They discovered a Greek merchant ship that sunk in 60 BC, and divers found a number of ancient sculptures, pottery, as well as corroded mechanical devices with many gears.
Over the past century, a number of researchers have slowly reconstructed the device, and recently developed X-ray scanners have allowed scientists to look inside to see how it works.
We now know that it was a sophisticated astronomical device that described the movements of the universe, and it was also a kind of mechanical calculator or computer that could calculate past or future planetary positions, predict when eclipses would occur, and more.
The discovery of the Antikythera mechanism is significant because it was far more advanced than previously thought possible in terms of technology in the 1st century BC, and similar devices were not re-invented in Europe until after the 13th century.
Most interesting for our purposes as astrologers is how the Antikythera Mechanism relates to ancient astrological history, and there is some evidence that this device was used for astrological purposes, and that there was at least one astrologer who owned a similar device.
In this episode, we place the device in the context of the history of astrology, discuss its possible astrological uses, and discuss how this mechanism can help reconstruct the origins of Hellenistic astrology as a result of the planetary order depicted on the device.
This episode is available in audio and video versions below.
Sam’s website
http://www.brothermoonhealing.com
Resources and further reading
- Alexander Jones, Portablee Cosmos: Revealing the Antikythera MechanismA scientific wonder of the ancient worldOxford University Press, 2017.
- Tony Frith and Alexander Jones”Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism,” ISAW Papers 4 (February 2012).
- Tony Frith, D. Huggon, A. Dekanalis, and others.Cosmos model in the ancient Greek Antikythera mechanism,” in Scientific reports11, 5821 (2021).
- Tony Frith, “A wonder of the ancient world,” in Scientific American MagazineVol. Issue 326, Issue 1 (January 2022), p.1. 24.
Time signs
- 00:00:00 Login
- 00:00:17 Antikythera mechanism overview
- 00:06:39 Alexander Jones’ book on the device
- 00:10:59 Discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism
- 00:19:54 Diagram for discovery
- 00:27:54 Rebuilding the device
- 00:30:40 Introduction to shipwreck and mechanism
- 00:34:00 Geography: Antikythera, Rhodes and Epirus
- 00:40:00 Transmission of Mesopotamian Astrology
- 00:44:58 Archimedes
- 00:50:45 Getting to know the planetary order
- 00:54:53 The layout of the seven-zone area
- 01:04:53 Planets and other dials on the device
- 01:15:15 How astrologers may have used the device
- 01:31:25 Astrology board
- 01:48:42 Dimensionality in space
- 01:53:00 Ascent and descent of the soul through the spheres
- 01:57:00 Is the Thema Mundi depicted in the Antikythera mechanism?
- 02:19:38 The subject of Gemini and the world
- 02:24:13 Eclipse prediction
- 02:41:15 Posidonius and astrologers with devices
- 03:05:50 Astrologers of Rhodes: Thrasillus and Critodemus
- 03:15:45 Sphere making tradition
- 03:20:20 Losing this technology; rising of astrolabes
- 03:27:36 Balbillus
- 03:28:26 Antikythera mechanism researchers
- 03:30:27 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- 03:31:09 Planets moving clockwise in the mechanism
- 03:32:39 Trade secrets
- 03:35:13 Origins of Hellenistic Astrology
- 03:37:33 Stoicism, destiny, astrology and mechanisms
- 03:39:00 Ongoing archaeological discoveries
- 03:40:43 Sphere making coincided with the heyday of astrology
- 03:41:44 Human ingenuity
- 03:46:12 Sam’s work
- 03:48:44 Chris’ work and course
- 03:49:44 Addition to the order of the planets
- 03:55:36 Credit
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