S1 E9: Kythera and the Anti-Kythera Mechanism
This is not Hercules/Heracles. I’m really sorry, but since we introduced Ancient Greece and I briefly mentioned Kythera last episode, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to talk about the islands and a very special archaeological find. The Anti-Kythera Mechanism is an ancient analog computer dating to around 60BC. But how could a computer have existed before electricity? And what does it mean for our understanding of ancient people? To discuss these very important topics, I have a special guest this week. Matt Crum is currently in his 5th year of study of his PhD from UC San Diego. He specialized in studying Roman identity specifically in the period we would now refer to as the Byzantine Empire. Matt has has been working on Kythera with Timothy and Lita Gregory, some of the foremost experts on Kytherian archaeology and historical study, during field seasons since 2014.