Public lecture on the The Antikythera Mechanism

Nicholson Museum Invitation

The Antikythera Mechanism:
‘as above, so below’

Professor Robert Hannah

Thursday 26 November 2009

6 for 6.30 pm

In the Nicholson Museum

Main Quadrangle, University of Sydney

$30 ($20 Friends of the Nicholson Museum and Members of the Kytherian Association of Australia

price includes our champagne and our famous pies

booking essential 9351 2812 or

Book by email, here

Allan Bromley and Frank Percival’s model of the Antikythera Mechanism on display at the Nicholson Museum

Download a .pdf copy of the Invitation here:

AntikytheraSm.pdf

Robert Hannah holds a personal Chair in Classics at the University of Otago (New Zealand). Robert’s most recent publications include the books

Greek and Roman Calendars: Constructions of Time in the Classical World (Duckworth: London 2005), and

Time in Antiquity (Routledge: London 2009)

which both explore the workings and the significance of the Antikythera Mechanism.

The Antikythera Mechanism is the most sophisticated scientific instrument to have survived from antiquity. Discovered over a century ago off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, the Antikythera Mechanism continues to puzzle us. It has been subjected to powerful radiation and computer-based technologies to reveal numerous geared plates and Greek inscriptions. A number of real and virtual models have been built. All of these help us to unravel some of the mysteries of this extraordinary and fascinating device.

Part of the International Year of Astronomy

The sky’s the limit: Astronomy in Antiquity