The Fairfield University Art Museum is excited to have a model of the Antikythera Mechanism on loan from the Herakleidon Museum in Athens, Greece.

The Antikythera Mechanism, often described as the oldest analogue “computer,” was a device dating to the 2nd BCE used for astronomical calculations, including predicting eclipses. Pieces of the bronze device and its wooden case were first discovered in 1901 off the island of Antikythera, from which it takes its name. The pieces are today in the National Archeological Museum of Athens, and scholars continue to study it today to understand its functions.

Location: Bellarmine Hall Galleries