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https://theconversation.com/what-indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-gets-right-and-very-wrong-about-the-historical-antikythera-mechanism-209968>
"At the heart of the newest film in the
Indiana Jones series lies “an ancient
hunk of gears”.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is based around the
Antikythera Mechanism: an actual ancient Greek object that tracked the cycles
of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets against the stars.
The Antikythera mechanism and its bronze gearwheels totally reconfigured the
study of ancient technology. It was among a bunch of other antiquities pulled
out of a shipwreck by sponge divers in 1901. And it was tangible proof of a
level of technological sophistication otherwise thought impossible for the
first century BCE.
As a scholar of ancient Greek technology, seeing a blockbuster based around the
Antikythera Mechanism is deeply satisfying. Moviegoers will leave the theatre
with some facts about the Antikythera mechanism under their belt. Its
fragmentary state. Its link to underwater archaeology. The complexity of the
gears. The presence of Greek inscriptions. Its association with cosmology. The
rival characters of physicist Voller and Jones even point to the way decoding
the Antikythera mechanism has only been possible thanks to collaborations
between science, archaeology, mathematics and ancient history.
As the movie progresses, the mechanism inevitably leaves the realm of history
and enters fantasy. It becomes a time machine of sorts, used to predict
“fissures in time”. Along the way, the film gives us a chance to reflect both
on ancient technology in modern pop culture, and on our complex ongoing
relationship with the Greeks and the Romans."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
