What is a Ouija board? Ouija boards came into existence as a parlor game in the mid-1800's, when spiritism and channeling were at the height of fashion. The word "Ouija" is a blend of the French and German words for "yes." Adolphus Theodore Wagner first patented Ouija boards, sometimes referred to as "talking boards," in London, England on January 23, 1854. In the patent, Wagner called his invention a "psychograph" and its purpose was to read the minds of people with "nervous energy." By 1861, Frenchman, Allan Kardac, was describing the Ouija board as instruments with which to open communications with the spirit world. In seven short years, the Ouija board had evolved from a mind-reader to portal of communication with the dead.
Modern Ouija boards were developed by inventor William Huld. Huld sold his patent to Parker Brothers in 1966. Ouija boards, as we recognize them today, look nothing like the original prototypes. The 20-25 million Ouija boards sold by Parker Brothers consist of a rectangular game board that is covered with a woodcut-style alphabet, the words yes, no, and good-bye, and the numbers 0-9. Also included with the "game" is a heart-shaped plastic planchette. The planchette is the 'pointer' that is supposed to glide over the board under the direction of supernatural forces and form comments and questions by pointing out questions and comments. Parker Brothers has marketed Ouija Boards under the tagline, "It's only a game - isn't it?"
Ouija Board - The Deception
Satan and his demons can use the Ouija board to give advice, or even to guide a person in a certain direction. This guidance will even seem to be true, good, and helpful. Satan and his demons pretend to be caring. They try to appear as something that appears harmless. The Bible says, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Satan and his demons will do this in order to get a person even more deeply involved in spiritist practices. Things like the Ouija board appear to be innocent at first, but soon a person finds themselves addicted to guidance from the spirit world - thereby allowing Satan to control and destroy their life. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The Ouija Board may be advertised as just as game, and that is exactly what Satan wants us to believe.
Ouija Board - The Truth: Are they Evil?
Sadly, many people are deceived into believing that Ouija Boards are just a game. The truth of the matter is that God views channeling, or consulting spirits or the dead, to be a serious sin. Deuteronomy 18:11-12 says that anyone engaged in these practices is "detestable to God." According Old Testament Law, the Israelites were supposed to stone (execute) anyone who was a medium or a channeler (Leviticus 20:27).
Why does God take such a hard line on things like Ouija Boards - something that many people view as a game? In Isaiah 8:19-20, God says this: "When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? …If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light…" God points out that we need to come to Him for answers. Because God is omniscient and omnipresent He knows everything and He is in control of everything. Asking charlatans and unknown entities for advice can be worse than fruitless; it can be dangerous. God wants us to trust Him!
A man named Anton S. LaVey introduced Satan worship into the United States culture in 1966. He first started a group called the Magic Circle in San Francisco, California where people participated in eating human body parts. This shocking ideology grew in popularity leading Mr. LaVey to start the Church of Satan that boasted over 10,000 members at one time. Satanism is recognized as a legitimate religion by the government protected by the U.S. Constitution. Crimes arising from the practice of this religion have caused lawmakers in 24 States to write a special bill of rights for survivors of this religion. Satan worship entails nudity, perverted sexual acts, homosexuality, and torture of animals and humans.
Teens are known to develop their own ideological rituals in a form of Satan worship called Ad hoc groups. These teens prey upon other teens that battle low self-esteem, having no friends. The initial signs of a teen’s involvement in Satan worship include a drastic drop of grades, unusual angry outbursts, dying hair color to black, wearing bangs over the left eye, moodiness, severe depression, bazaar drawings in journals, and obsessions with death.
Satan Worship – The Proof
Satan worship involves ritual practices as part of their ceremonial precepts. The ideology of Satanists is to do everything that is opposite the concepts of the Christian God. God is pure in truth where the goals of Satan worship deal with all that is considered bad and perverted. Indulging in what makes them feel good is a must no matter what the consequences are to someone else. If society considers something good, to them it is bad. It is better to do bad things to other people. These practices lead to ritual abuses in children and adults with detrimental outcomes. Injuries from these practices overrun emergency rooms during satanic holidays. Legal court documents prove that successful prosecution of these perpetrators gives a sense of justification for what was done to the victims.
Satan Worship - Symptoms That Are Found and Defined In Ritual Abuse
Ritual abuse may be defined as abuse, which occurs frequently in a systematic manner. The most severe abuses are rape, sexual assault and torture, human/animal sacrifices or being buried alive in graves. Symptoms arise in the victims of ritualistic abuse. Children will act out what has been done to them by harming animals or other children in the same way. They will perform sexual acts and self-mutilation scarring. It is not uncommon to see the victim rock back and forth chanting or banging their heads. The children may be troubled with night terrors and have trouble staying awake during the day after late night rituals. Parents can identify the days of sleepiness in children around the same time as Christian holidays and solstices, because satanic rituals are conducted at these times. One or two of these symptoms does not necessarily warrant a child as being ritually abused, but a number of these symptoms coupled with other signs should be heeded by seeking professional help for treatment.
Satan Worship - What Can We Do To Help?
There is hope and healing for the survivors of ritualistic satanic abuse. Don’t be discouraged when people disbelieve your story as you start to tell someone. Seek Christian counseling for treatment. Ask God to send you to the ones who will lovingly help you out of the darkness. Parents and childless couples can become more involved with the children and teens in their neighborhood. Befriending the loners and creating an environment in which they feel comfortable with no judgment is conducive for growth in the self-worth that God sees in them. The slightest amount of good attention will make a difference in that child’s well being and eternity. This type of attentiveness from compassionate people will give the teens the power they need to avoid activities presented by Satan worship.
Caring adults can start after school programs in their homes or churches for both elementary and high school students. We can pray for the worshippers of Satan to find salvation. It does happen as a true miracle of God’s forgiveness. Be alert to illegal drug activity that takes place and turn it in to police. Satan worshippers use drugs to enhance their religious ceremonies. Parents can keep track of their children’s friends and their activities. Research the subject for more knowledge.
The Bible says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17).
What is Wicca and what are Wicca spells? While it is rooted in ancient pagan beliefs, the Wicca religion, as it is practiced now, is only about 50-years-old. Wicca is a belief system cobbled together in the 1940's and 1950's by Gerald Gardner from a variety of religious traditions and beliefs as well as Freemason rituals. Since Gardner published several books espousing his system of worship, many offshoots and variations of Wicca have sprung up.
There is no particular agreement between Wiccans, or "wise ones" concerning what they believe and worship. Some worship the "Goddess," some worship the "God," and some worship both. Others worship nature. Some Wiccans say they embrace Christian doctrine, while others reject it. Most promoters of Wicca believe in reincarnation.
One thing most Wiccans agree on is the fact that Satan is not a part of their pantheon and they vehemently deny Satan-worship as one of their practices. This is because they disavow the notion of moral absolutes. There is no such thing as good or evil, because it is all relative. Wiccans have only one law that they bind themselves to, called "The Rede." It simply states, "Do what ye will, harm ye none." In other words: "Do what ever you want to as long as no one gets hurt." The Three-fold Law governs consequences, and is a law of returns that states, "All good that a person does to another returns three-fold in this life; harm is also returned three-fold."
Wicca Spells - Mind Control
What about Wicca spells? Not all Wiccans practice witchcraft (which they call "magick" to set themselves apart from illusionists and magicians). Magick is to Wicca what prayer is to Christianity. Wiccans claim that the practice of magick is simply using their minds to control matter, while Christians call upon God to heal people and to intervene and work in their lives. Because the Rede forbids harming others and the Three-fold Law sets forth consequences for those who do, Wiccans view themselves as "white witches" or "nature witches."
Wicca is basically a religion that is about minding your own business and living peaceably with your neighbors and environment. Wiccans are eager to draw parallels between themselves and biblical Christianity for the sake of earning credibility, but what does the Bible have to say about this religion? You won't find the word "wicca" in the Bible, so let's evaluate the beliefs in light of what God says about them.
* Wicca spells are idolism - Romans 1:25 says, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things, rather than the Creator…" Who wants to settle for second best? In Isaiah 40, God paints a very cool picture of how much greater the Creator is than His creation. If you are worshipping anything besides the Creator, you are just spinning your wheels.
* Wicca spells bring false hope - Hebrews 9:27 says, "…Man is destined to die once, after that, to face judgment." God says we get one chance at life, and that is it. There are no do-overs. If we don't accept God's gift of Jesus in our lifetime, He judges us as unwilling to be in His presence, and we are sent to Hell.
* Wicca spells bring disillusionment - Mark 7:8 says, "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men". God is God, and we are not. We have a decision to make. Are we going to take God at His word and adopt His worldview, or not? Knowing God is hard work that takes a lot of discipline. Wicca is a religion that takes a pack of lies, ties it in a romantic ribbon, and searches out a well-intentioned, but lazy and gullible mark to sell its hollow doctrines.
* Wicca spells bring rebellion - Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, "Let no one be found among you who… practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells…Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD..." Wicca witchcraft is a sin and God hates it. Why? Because it is an attempt to cut off our dependence on God and get answers apart from Him.
Wicca Spells - Separation from God
This is what sin is all about. Sin isn't just a heinous, socially disagreeable action. Sin is our decision to disagree with God on any topic - to rebel against Him. Sin is saying, "God, I want to live my life MY WAY." Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death…" This isn't bodily death, this is spiritual death: eternal separation from God and all the blessings that His presence brings. This is the definition of Hell: the absence of God's presence. That is what our sin buys for us.
Thankfully, Romans 6:23 doesn't end there. It goes on to say, "…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." God knew that we would all rebel in one way or another, and he provided a way for us to avoid that separation.
Voodoo is a religion that was brought to the Western coasts by slaves from Africa. It is believed to have started in Haiti in 1724 as a snake cult that worshipped many spirits pertaining to daily life experiences. The practices were intermingled with many Catholic rituals and saints. It was first brought to the Louisiana area in 1804 by Cuban plantation owners who were displaced by revolution and brought their slaves with them.
Voodoo is spelled several ways: vodun, vaudin, voudoun, vodou, and vaudoux. It is an ancient religion practiced by 80 million people worldwide and is growing in numbers. With voodoo’s countless deities, demonic possessions, animal sacrifices (human sacrifices in the Petro -- black magic form of voodoo); voodoo practitioners cannot understand why their religion is so misunderstood.
Voodoo rituals are elaborate, steeped in secret languages, spirit possessed dancing, and special diets eaten by the voodoo priests and priestesses. The ancestral dead are thought to walk among the living during the hooded dances. Touching the dancer during this spirit possessed trance is believed to be dangerous enough to kill the offender.
Talismans are bought and sold as fetishes. These could be statues representing voodoo gods, dried animal heads, or other body parts. They are sold for medicine and for the spiritual powers that these fetishes are believed to hold. The dark side of voodoo is used by participants to summon evil spirits and cast hexing spells upon adversaries.
Voodoo Religion – The Priesthood and Rituals
The priesthood of voodoo is held by both men and women. There are stages of initiation into its priestly duties. Their functions are primarily: healing, rituals, religious ceremonies to call or pacify the spirits, holding initiations for new priests or priestesses, telling fortunes, reading dreams, casting spells, invoking protections, and creating potions for various purposes. These potions are for anything from love spells to death spells; all for a hefty fee of course.
Key items are used in the many rituals of voodoo. The priest’s geographical area of influence is called the parish. An eclectic array of items covers the altar in the temple or hounfort; a peristyle is a roofed or open space where the public voodoo ceremonies take place. The items on the altar would be used in its rituals and include objects that have symbolic meaning: candles, food, money, amulets, ritual necklaces, ceremonial rattles, pictures of Catholic saints, bottles of rum, bells, flags, drums, sacred stones, and knives.
Voodoo Religion – The Beliefs
Voodoo belief recognizes one Supreme Being who created the universe, but who is too far away for a personal relationship with its worshippers. Therefore, the cult followers serve the loa or lesser deities to gain guidance for their lives. The loa are the spirits of ancestors, animals, natural forces, and the spirits of good and evil.
An interesting concept of voodoo belief is the ritual that takes place one year and one day after the decease of a relative. Voodoo belief states that there are two parts of the human soul. The two parts consists of ti-bon-ange (little good angel) and gros-bon-ange (great good angel). The gros-bon-ange is the body’s life force, and after death, the gros-bon-ange must return to the cosmos. To make sure that the ti-bon-ange is guaranteed a peaceful rest, the gros-bon-ange must be recalled through an elaborate expensive ritual involving the sacrifice of a large animal, like an ox, to appease the ti-bon-ange. If the ti-bon-ange spirit is not satisfied and given a peaceful rest, the spirit remains earthbound forever and brings illness or disasters on others.
Voodoo Religion – How does it compare with Christianity?
When comparing Christianity and the Voodoo religion, the more apparent difference is that Christians do not have to elaborate with expensive rituals to appease God. Christians believe that God, in His mercy, sent His Son Jesus to fulfill any sacrifice needed to quell evil and uplift the goodness of God. Those who worship God in truth have a close relationship with Him. He is closer to us than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
God lets us know through His Word to avoid divinations, fortune telling, and witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:22; 2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Kings 9:22; Micah 5:12; Nahum 3:4; Galatians 5:19-21). This is to protect us from the father of all lies, the Devil (John 8:44). Christ already paid the price that gave Him the victory over death and evil spirits. Voodoo believers must invoke spells to pacify angry spirits. Christians only need to whisper the name of Jesus, the Victor (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; 1 John 5:4-5).
Over 3,000 years ago, Chinese farmers established a religious science that developed out of Taoism called Feng Shui (Fung Shui), meaning wind water. Feng Shui is a belief that by living in harmony with nature and adjusting our homes, businesses, and yards to adapt to geological alignments to physical elements, we will be healthy, wealthy, and wise. It is also called geomancy, a form of divination.
Feng Shui teaches that there is an energy called Qi (or Chi) flowing throughout the universe in lines, sometimes called meridians or channels. It claims to balance the Yin and Yang in the environment. It resembles astrology in some aspects.
While it is very sensible to live and respect the laws of nature, Feng Shui takes it further. Good fortune and quality of life are enhanced by surrounding ourselves with things of beauty. Dish fountains with trickling water soothing to your ears, are just one of the characteristics of decorating according to Feng Shui. These types of items will enable us to be more peace-loving and kind. If we envelop ourselves with symbols of death, contempt, and indifference towards nature and other people, we will corrupt ourselves.
Feng Shui – Who are the experts?
The experts of Feng Shui decorating call themselves masters. They search out your land for the supposed five elements and two energies, such as chi and sha. Claiming to detect metaphysical energies, they give direction for the optimal flow of power and liveliness. Architectural elements of your home are designed according to the master’s planning and design. A considerable monetary fee is expected for the rendering of this service. People who have money to burn are attracted to this phenomenon to enhance their lifestyle and social status.
Colleges and universities lecture on the aspects of Feng Shui as a design option. Classes are offered for turning your garden into a wellspring of good energy to surround your home with “good luck.” The masters’ abilities include restraining “wizards and magi” that inhabit the structures and landscape. The doorways of your home need to face a certain direction for the best flow of chi.
Feng Shui – New Religion or Scam?
Feng Shui has become another New Age type of energy scam. These “masters” charge high sums of money to redesign penthouses and mansions. Corporate America also uses Feng Shui to improve their employees work production. This leads to an affirmation of this belief as having substance and value to your lifestyle.
The mind of man has a desire to be the creator of the goodness around him. There is pride in humankind that does not want to believe in one, true, living God as our Creator. We do not even want to be accountable for our own actions, which is where Feng Shui errantly leads its followers.
Harmonious relationships with others can only be brought about by a character change within our self. Love, joy, and peace is only available through God. A statue in the yard will not give you any of these emotions.
In the countries where Feng Shui still has a foothold, the belief has become riddled with superstitions and unverified notions. It is taught in university curriculum as a scientific principal for architecture and city planning. Hopefully, the academia will not ignore the laws of physics in favor of metaphysical principles. Rules of structural soundness should always prevail to ensure the safety and well-being of the inhabitants.
Feng Shui is a false religion made up by man to feel as if he is in control of his life and destiny.
Colossians 2:8 says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
People have been dreaming up horrible monsters and malicious spirits for centuries. The vampire, a seductive, "undead" predator, is one of the most inventive and alluring creatures of the bunch. It's also one of the most enduring: Vampire-like creatures date back thousands of years, and pop up in dozens of different cultures.
In this article, we'll see where the various elements of the vampire legend come from, and we'll examine some grounded scientific explanations for apparent vampirism. We'll also look at the psychological significance of these creatures and find out about some real-life counterparts to the supernatural vampire.
Vampire Basics
The vampires in contemporary books, movies and television shows are incredibly elaborate creatures. According to the predominant mythology, every vampire was once a human, who, after being bitten by a vampire, died and rose from the grave as a monster. Vampires crave the blood of the living, whom they hunt during the night. They use their protruding fangs to puncture their victims' necks.
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Since they're reanimated corpses -- the living remains of a deceased person -- vampires are often referred to as "the undead." They can still pass as healthy humans, however, and will walk undetected among the living. In fact, vampires may be attractive, highly sexual beings, seducing their prey before feeding. A vampire may also take the form of an animal, usually a bat or wolf, in order to sneak up on a victim.
Vampires are potentially immortal, but they do have a few weaknesses. They can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, fire, beheading and direct sunlight, and they are wary of crucifixes, holy water and garlic. Vampires don't cast a reflection, and they have superhuman strength.
This vampire figure, with its particular combination of characteristics and governing rules, is actually a fairly recent invention. Bram Stoker conceived it in his 1897 novel Dracula. Other authors reinterpreted Dracula in a number of plays, movies and books.
But while the specifics are new, most of the individual elements of the legend have deep roots, spanning many regions and cultures. In the next few sections, we'll look at some of the more notable vampire ancestors.
Nobody knows when people came up with the first vampiric figures, but the legends date back at least 4,000 years, to the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians feared Lamastu (also spelled Lamashtu), a vicious demon goddess who preyed on humans. In Assyrian legend, Lamastu, the daughter of sky god Anu, would creep into a house at night and steal or kill babies, either in their cribs or in the womb. Believers attributed sudden infant death syndrome and miscarriage to this figure.
Lamastu, which translates to "she who erases," would also prey on adults, sucking blood from young men and bringing disease, sterility and nightmares. She is often depicted with wings and birdlike talons, and sometimes with the head of a lion. To protect themselves from Lamastu, pregnant women would wear amulets depicting Pazuzu, another evil god who once defeated the demoness.
Lamastu is closely associated with Lilith, a prominent figure in some Jewish texts. Accounts of Lilith vary considerably, but in the most notable versions of the story, she was the original woman. God created both Adam and Lilith from the Earth, but there was soon trouble between them. Lilith refused to take a subservient position to Adam, since she came from the same place he did.
In one ancient version of the legend, Lilith left Eden and began birthing her own children. God sent three angels to bring her back, and when she refused, they promised they would kill 100 of her children every day until she returned. Lilith in turn vowed to destroy human children.
Accounts of Lilith as a child-killer seem to be taken directly from the Lamastu legend. She is often described as a winged demoness with sharp talons, who came in the night, primarily to steal away infants and fetuses. Most likely, the Jews assimilated the figure of Lamastu into their tradition, but it's also possible that both myths were inspired by a third figure.
While she is often depicted as a terrifying creature, Lilith also had seductive qualities. The ancient Jews believed she would come to men at night as a succubus.
The ancient Greeks feared similar creatures, notably Lamia, a demoness with the head and torso of a woman and the lower body of a snake. In one version of the legend, Lamia was one of Zeus' mortal lovers. Filled with anger and jealousy, Zeus' wife, the goddess Hera, made Lamia insane so she would eat all her children. Once Lamia realized what she had done, she became so angry that she turned into an immortal monster, sucking the blood from young children out of jealousy for their mothers.
Like Lilith and Lamastu, Lamia is depicted as half woman, half animal. She has the torso of a woman and the lower body of a snake.
The Greeks also feared the empusai, the malicious daughters of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. The empusai, who could change form, came up from Hades (the underworld) at night as beautiful women. They would seduce shepherds in the field, and then devour them. A similar creature, the baobhan sith, shows up in Celtic folklore.
Vampire-like figures also have a long history in the mythology of Asia. Indian folklore describes a number of nightmarish characters, including rakshasa, gargoyle-like shape-shifters who preyed on children, and vetala, demons who would take possession of recently dead bodies to wreak havoc on the living. In Chinese folklore, corpses could sometimes rise from the grave and walk again. These k'uei were created when a person's p'o (lower spirit) did not pass onto the afterlife at death, usually because of bad deeds during life. The p'o, angered by its horrible fate, would reanimate the body and attack the living at night. One particularly vicious sort of k'uei, known as the Kuang-shi (or Chiang-shi), could fly and take different forms. The Kuang-shi was covered in white fur, had glowing red eyes and bit into its prey with sharp fangs.
Nomadic tribes and traveling traders spread different vampire legends throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. As these stories traveled, their various elements combined to form new vampire myths. In the past 1,000 years, vampire legends have been especially pervasive of eastern European contributions. In the next section, we'll look at these creatures, the direct predecessors of the modern vampire.
The ancient Greeks feared similar creatures, notably Lamia, a demoness with the head and torso of a woman and the lower body of a snake. In one version of the legend, Lamia was one of Zeus' mortal lovers. Filled with anger and jealousy, Zeus' wife, the goddess Hera, made Lamia insane so she would eat all her children. Once Lamia realized what she had done, she became so angry that she turned into an immortal monster, sucking the blood from young children out of jealousy for their mothers.
Like Lilith and Lamastu, Lamia is depicted as half woman, half animal. She has the torso of a woman and the lower body of a snake.
The Greeks also feared the empusai, the malicious daughters of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. The empusai, who could change form, came up from Hades (the underworld) at night as beautiful women. They would seduce shepherds in the field, and then devour them. A similar creature, the baobhan sith, shows up in Celtic folklore.
Vampire-like figures also have a long history in the mythology of Asia. Indian folklore describes a number of nightmarish characters, including rakshasa, gargoyle-like shape-shifters who preyed on children, and vetala, demons who would take possession of recently dead bodies to wreak havoc on the living. In Chinese folklore, corpses could sometimes rise from the grave and walk again. These k'uei were created when a person's p'o (lower spirit) did not pass onto the afterlife at death, usually because of bad deeds during life. The p'o, angered by its horrible fate, would reanimate the body and attack the living at night. One particularly vicious sort of k'uei, known as the Kuang-shi (or Chiang-shi), could fly and take different forms. The Kuang-shi was covered in white fur, had glowing red eyes and bit into its prey with sharp fangs.
Nomadic tribes and traveling traders spread different vampire legends throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. As these stories traveled, their various elements combined to form new vampire myths. In the past 1,000 years, vampire legends have been especially pervasive of eastern European contributions. In the next section, we'll look at these creatures, the direct predecessors of the modern vampire.
Abraham (Bram) Stoker, a theater manager and part-time novelist, was not the first author to feature the vampire in a literary work, but his version is the one that really caught on. This is largely due to the novel's unforgettable villain, Count Dracula, as well as the foreboding setting. Stoker arrived at both elements through extensive research. He set much of the action in the mysterious mountains of the Transylvania province of Romania, and he based his vampires on eastern European and gypsy folklore.
Selectively sampling from several versions of the vampire myth and adding some details of his own, Stoker formed the standard for the modern vampire. Unlike the vampires in the eastern European tradition, Stoker's monster loses power in the sunlight, is repelled by crucifixes and has acute intelligence. Interestingly, Stoker's vampires do not have reflections, while many earlier vampire creatures were fascinated by their own reflection.
Stoker's research also turned up a name for his villain. The original Dracula was a real person, Prince Vladislav Basarab, who ruled Wallachia in the mid 1400s. His father was known as Vlad Dracul (translated as either "Vlad the dragon" or "Vlad the devil"), in recognition of his induction into a society called The Order of the Dragon. Vlad Jr. was sometimes referred to as Vlad Dracula, meaning "son of Dracul," but more often he was called "Vlad Tepes," meaning "Vlad the Impaler." This was in reference to Vlad's predilection for impaling his enemies on long wooden stakes.
Count Dracula's namesake, Prince Vlad Tepes, was infamous for his viciousness on and off the battlefield.
The real Dracula had a reputation for unfathomable brutality (a reputation many Romanians claim is inaccurate), but there is not much evidence showing that people believed he was a vampire. Stoker's fictional villain is not closely modeled after the real Dracula, though they are sometimes linked in movies based on the book. Mainly, Stoker borrowed the name of the prince, as well as his social standing. Unlike the wandering, homeless strigoi, Stoker's vampire was a wealthy aristocratic type, hiding out in a grandiose castle.
The Real Deal
Throughout history, there have been a number of living people who exhibited vampire-like behavior. The most famous historical vampire was Elizabeth Bathory, a Transylvanian noblewoman who lived from 1560 to 1614. Bathory, who was terrified of aging, became convinced that bathing in blood (and perhaps consuming it) was the secret to maintaining a youthful appearance.
To this end, she tortured and killed hundreds of people, mostly young women. Eventually, she was tried for her crimes and imprisoned in a small room in her castle, where she died. See Court TV's Crime Library for more information on Elizabeth Bathory.
In the 1927 play "Dracula," and the film adaptation that followed in 1931, Bela Lugosi embraced this aristocratic notion, playing the count as a suave, sophisticated gentleman. This play also introduced Dracula's familiar outfit -- black formal wear and a billowing black cape. In the novel "Dracula," the count is described as a withered, ugly old man, more like Max Shreck's portrayal in the 1922 silent film adaptation, "Nosferatu," than Lugosi's presentation. But the suave Dracula caught on, showing up in scores of vampire movies, television shows and cartoons.
The vampire has continued to evolve over the years, as novelists and filmmakers reinterpret and expand the mythology. In Anne Rice's popular novels, she takes vampires to the next level, giving them a conscience and a range of emotions. In her work, vampires are not necessarily evil -- they are presented as real, rounded people. On the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," creator Joss Whedon has pursued similar ideas, exploring the idea of a vampire with a soul.
Academics have also maintained an interest in vampire lore and its roots. In the next section, we'll look at some modern theories of what might have inspired the vampire legend.
In the summer of 1936, Mr. William Holt, a wealthy manufacturer of Chicago, was living temporarily in a little town of central New York.Mr. Holt had had "trouble with his wife," from whom he had parted a year before. Whether the trouble was anything more serious than "incompatibility of temper," he is probably the only living person that knows: He is not addicted to the vice of confidences. Yet he has related the incident herein set down to at least one person without exacting a pledge of secrecy. He is now living in Europe.
One evening he had left the house of a brother whom he was visiting, for a stroll in the country. His mind was occupied with reflections on his domestic infelicities and the distressing changes that they had wrought in his life.
He was so deep in thought that Holt became lost, knowing only that he had passed beyond the town limits. So he simply turned around and went back the way that he had come.
Before he had gone far he observed that the landscape was growing more distinct—was brightening. Everything was suffused with a soft, red glow in which he saw his shadow projected in the road before him.
"The moon is rising," he said to himself. Then he remembered that it was about the time of the new moon, and if that tricky orb was in one of its stages of visibility it had set long before. He stopped and faced about, seeking the source of the rapidly broadening light. As he did so, his shadow turned and lay along the road in front of him as before. The light still came from behind him. That was surprising; he could not understand. Again he turned, and again, facing successively to every point of the horizon. Always the shadow was before—always the light behind, "a still and awful red."
Holt was astonished—"dumfounded" is the word that he used in telling it—yet seemed to have retained a certain intelligent curiosity. To test the intensity of the light whose nature and cause he could not determine, he took out his watch to see if he could make out the figures on the dial. They were plainly visible, and the hands indicated 11:25 p.m.
At that moment the mysterious illumination suddenly flared to an intense, an almost blinding splendor, flushing the entire sky, extinguishing the stars and throwing the monstrous shadow of himself across the landscape. In that unearthly illumination he saw near him, but apparently in the air at a considerable elevation, the figure of his wife, clad in her nightgown and holding the figure of his child. Her eyes were fixed upon his with an expression which he afterward professed was "not of this life."
The flare was momentary, followed by black darkness, in which, however, the apparition still showed white and motionless; then by insensible degrees it faded and vanished. Holt could only see the upper half of the woman's figure: Nothing was seen below the waist.
In the dawn of the morning Holt found himself entering the village at a point opposite to that at which he had left it. He soon arrived at the house of his brother, who hardly knew him. He was wild-eyed, haggard and gray as a rat. Almost incoherently, he related his night's experience.
"Go to bed, my poor fellow," said his brother, "and wait. We shall hear more of this."
An hour later came the predestined telegram. Holt's dwelling in one of the suburbs of Chicago had been destroyed by fire. Her escape cut off by the flames, his wife had appeared at an upper window, her child in her arms. There she had stood, motionless, apparently dazed. Just as the firemen had arrived with a ladder, the floor had given way, and she was seen no more.
The moment of this culminating horror was 11:25 p.m., standard time.
In 1901 divers working off the isle of Antikythera found the remains of a clocklike mechanism 2,000 years old. The mechanism now appears to have been a device for calculating the motions of stars and planets by Derek J. de Solla Price
Among the treasures of the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens are the remains of the most complex scientific object that has been preserved from antiquity. Corroded and crumbling from 2,000 years under the sea, its dials, gear wheels and inscribed plates present the historian with a tantalizing problem. Because of them we may have to revise many of our estimates of Greek science. By studying them we may find vital clues to the true origins of that high scientific technology which hitherto has seemed peculiar to our modern civilization, setting it apart from all cultures of the past.
From the evidence of the fragments one can get a good idea of the appearance of the original object. Consisting of a box with dials on the outside and a very complex assembly of gear wheels mounted within, it must have resembled a well- made 18ih-century clock. Doors hinged to the box served to protect the dials, and on all available surfaces of box, doors and dials there were long Greek inscriptions describing the operation and construction of the instrument. At least 20 gear wheels of the mechanism have been preserved, including a very sophisticated assembly of gears that were mounted eccentrically on a turntable and probably functioned as a sort of epicyclic or differential, gear-system.
Nothing like this instrument is preserved elsewhere. Nothing comparable to it is known. from any ancient scientific text or literary allusion. On the contrary, from all that we know of science and technology in the Hellenistic Age we should have felt that such a device could not exist. Some historians have suggested that the Greeks were not interested in experiment because of a contempt-perhaps induced by the existence of the institution of slavery-for manual labor. On the other hand it has long been recognized that in abstract mathematics and in mathematical astronomy they were no beginners but rather "fellows of another college" who reached great heights of sophistication. Many of the Greek scientific devices known to us from written descriptions show much mathematical ingenuity, but in all cases the purely mechanical part of the design seems relatively crude. Gearing was clearly known to the Greeks, but it was used only in relatively simple applications. They employed pairs of gears to change angular speed or mechanical ad- vantage, or to apply power through a right angle, as in the water-driven mill.
Even the most complex mechanical devices described by the ancient writers Hero of Alexandria and Vitruvius contained only simple gearing. For example, the taximeter used by the Greeks to measure the distance travelled by the wheels of a carriage employed only pairs of gears (or gears and worms) to achieve the necessary ratio of movement. It could be argued that if the Greeks knew the principle of gearing, they should have had no difficulty in constructing mechanisms as complex as epicyclic gears. We now know from the fragments in the National Museum that the Greeks did make such mechanisms, but the knowledge is so unexpected that some scholars at first thought that the fragments must belong to some more modern device.
Can we in fact be sure that the device is ancient? If we can, what was its purpose? What can it tell us of the ancient world and of the evolution of modern science? To authenticate the dating of the fragments We must. tell the story of their discovery, which involves the first (though inadvertent) adventure in underwater archaeology. Just before Easter in 1900 a party of Dodecanese sponge-divers were driven by storm to anchor near the tiny southern Greek island of Antikythera (the accent is on the "kyth," pronounced to rhyme with pith). There, at a depth of some 200 feet, they found the wreck of an ancient ship. With the help of Greek archaeologists the wreck was explored; several fine bronze and marble statues and other objects were recovered. The finds created great excitement, but the difficulties of diving without heavy equipment were immense, and in September, 1901, the "dig' was abandoned. Eight months later Valerios StaÎs, an archaeologist at the National Museum, was examining some calcified lumps of corroded bronze that had been set aside as possible pieces of broken statuary. Suddenly he recognized among them the fragments of a mechanism.
It is now accepted that the wreck occurred during the first century B.C. Gladys Weinberg of Athens has been kind enough to report to me the results of several recent archaeological examinations of the amphorae, pottery and minor objects from the ship. It appears from her report that one might reason-ably date the wreck more closely as 65 B.C. ±15 years. Furthermore, since the identifiable objects come from Rhodes and Cos, it seems that the ship may have. been voyaging from these islands to Rome, perhaps without calling at the Greek mainland.
The fragment that first caught the eye of StaÎs was one of the corroded, inscribed plates that is an integral part of the Antikythera mechanism, as the device later came to be called. StaÎs saw immediately that the inscription was ancient. In the opinion of the epigrapher Benjamin Dean Meritt, the forms of the letters are those of the 'first century B.C.; they could hardly be older than 100 B.C. nor younger than the time of Christ. The dating is supported by the content of the inscriptions. The words used and their astronomical sense are all of this period. For example, the most extensive and complete piece of inscription is part of a parapegma (astronomical calendar) similar to that written by one Geminos, who is thought to have lived in Rhodes about 77 B.C. We may thus be reasonably sure that the mechanism did not find its way into the wreck at some later period. Furthermore, it cannot have been very old when it was taken aboard the ship as booty or merchandise.
As soon as the fragments had been discovered they were examined by every available archaeologist; so began the long and difficult process of identifying the mechanism and determining its function. Some things were clear from the beginning. The unique importance of the object was obvious, and the gearing was impressively complex. From the inscriptions and the dials the mechanism was correctly identified as an astronomical device. The first conjecture was that it was some kind of navigating instrument – perhaps an astrolabe (a sort of circular star-finder map also used for simple observations). Some thought that it might be a small planetarium of the kind that Archirnedes is said to have made. Unfortunately the fragments were covered by a thick curtain of calcified material and corrosion products, and these concealed so much detail that no one could be sure of his conjectures or reconstructions. There was nothing to do but wait for the slow and delicate work of the Museum technicians in cleaning away this curtain. Meantime, as the work proceeded, several scholars published accounts of all that was visible, and through their labors a general picture of the mechanism began to emerge. On the basis of new photographs made for me by the Museum in 1955 I realized that the work of cleaning had reached a point where it might at last be possible to take the work of identification to a new level. Last summer, wilt the assistance of a grant from the American Philosophical Society, I was able to visit Athens and make a minute examination of the fragments. By good fortune George Stamires, a Greek epigrapher, was there at the same time; he was able to give me invaluable help by deciphering and transcribing much more of the inscriptions than had been read before. We are now in the position of being able to "join" the fragments and to see how they fitted together in the original machine and when they were brought up from the sea [see illustration]. The success of this work has been most significant, for previously it had been supposed that the various dials and plates had been badly squashed together and distorted. It now appears that most of the pieces are very nearly in their original places, and that we have a much larger fraction of the complete device than had been thought. This work also provides a clue to the puzzle of why the fragments lay unrecognized until StaÎs saw them. When they were found, the fragments were probably held together in their original positions by the remains of the wooden frame of the case. In the Museum the waterlogged wood dried and shriveled. The fragments then fell apart, revealing the interior of the mechanism, with its gears and inscribed plates. As a result of the new examinations we shall in due course be able to publish a technical account of the fragments and of the construction of the instrument. In the meantime we can tentatively summarize some of these results and show how they help to answer the question. What is it? There are four ways of getting at the answer First, if we knew the details of the mechanism, we should know what it did. Second, if we could read the dials, we could tell what they showed. Third, if we could understand the inscriptions, they might tell us about the mechanism. Fourth, if we knew of any similar mechanism, analogies might be helpful. All these approaches must be used, for none of them is complete.
The geared wheels within the mechanism were mounted on a bronze plate. On one side of the plate we can trace all the gear wheels of the assembly and can determine, at least approximately, how many teeth each had and how they meshed together. On the other side we can do nearly as well, but we still lack vital links that would provide a complete picture of the gearing. The general pattern of the mechanism is nonetheless quite clear. An input was provided by an axle that came through the side of the casing and turned a crown-gear wheel. This moved a big, four-spoked driving-wheel that was connected with two trains of gears that respectively led up and down the plate and were connected by axles to gears on the other side of the plate. On that side the gear-trains continued, leading through an epicyclic turntable and coming eventually to a set of shafts that turned the dial pointers. When the input axle was turned, the pointers all moved at various speeds around their dials.
Certain structural features of the mechanism deserve special attention. All the metal parts of the machine seem to have been cut from a single sheet of low-tin bronze about two millimeters thick; no parts were cast or made of another metal. There are indications that the maker may have used a sheet made much earlier–uniform metal plate of good quality was probably rare and expensive. All the gear wheels have been made with teeth of just the same angle (60 degrees) and size, so that any wheel could mesh with any other. There are signs that the machine was repaired at least twice; a spoke of the driving wheel has been mended, and a broken tooth in a small wheel has been replaced. This indicates that the machine actually worked. The casing was provided with three dials, one at the front and two at the back. The fragments of all of them are still covered with pieces of the doors of the casing and with other debris. Very little can be read on the dials, but there is hope that they can be cleaned sufficiently to provide information that might be decisive. The front dial is just clean enough to say exactly what it did. It has two scales, one of which is fixed and displays the names of the signs of the zodiac; the other is on a movable slip ring and shows the months of the year. Both scales are carefully marked off in degrees. The front dial fitted exactly over the main driving-wheel, which seems to have turned the pointer by means of an eccentric drum-assembly. Clearly this dial showed the annual motion of the sun in the zodiac. By means of key letters inscribed on the zodiac scale, corresponding to other letters on the parapegma calendar plate, it also showed the main risings and settings of bright stars and constellations throughout the year.
The back dials are more complex and less legible. The lower one had three slip rings; the upper, four. Each had a little subsidiary dial resembling the "seconds" dial of a watch. Each of the large dials is inscribed with lines about every six degrees, and between the lines there are letters and numbers. On the lower dial the letters and numbers seem to record "moon, so many hours; sun, so many hours"; we therefore suggest that this scale indicates the main lunar phenomena of phases and times of rising and setting. On the upper dial the inscriptions are much more crowded and might well present information on the risings and settings, stations and retrogradations of the planets known to the Greeks (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn).
Some of the technical details of the dials are especially interesting. The front dial provides the only known extensive specimen from antiquity of a scientifically graduated instrument. When we measure the accuracy of the graduations under the microscope, we find that their average error over the visible 45 degrees is about a quarter of a degree. The way in which the error varies suggests that the arc was first geometrically divided and then subdivided by eye only. Even more important, this dial may give a means of dating the instrument astronomically. The slip ring is necessary because the old Egyptian calendar, having no leap years, fell into error by 1/4 day every year; the month scale thus had to be adjusted by this amount. As they are preserved the two scales of the dial are out of phase by 13½ degrees. Standard tables show that this amount could only occur in the year 80 B.C. and (because we do not know the month) at all years just 120 years (i.e., 30 days divided by 1/4 day per year) before or after that date. Alternative dates are archaeologically unlikely: 200 B.C. is too early; 40 A.D. is too late. Hence, if the slip ring has not moved from its last position, it was set in. 80 B.C. Furthermore, if we are right in supposing that a fiducial mark near the month scale was put there originally to provide a means of setting that scale in case of accidental movement, we can tell more. This mark is exactly 1/2 degree away from the present position of the scale, and this implies that the mark was made two years before the setting. Thus, although the evidence is by no means conclusive, we are led to suggest that the instrument was made about 82 B.C., used for two years (just long enough for the repairs to have been needed) and then taken onto the ship within the next 30 years.
The fragments show that the original instrument carried at least four large areas of inscription: outside the front door, inside the back door, on the plate between the two back dials and on the parapegma plates near the front dial. As I have noted, there are also inscriptions around all the dials, and furthermore each part and hole would seem to have had identifying letters so that the pieces could be put together in the correct order and position. The main inscriptions are in a sorry state and only short snatches of them can be read. To provide an idea of their condition it need only be said that in some cases a plate has completely disappeared, leaving behind an impression of its letters, standing up in a mirror image, in relief on the soft corrosion products on the plate below. It is remarkable that such inscriptions can be read at all.
But even from the evidence of a few complete words one can get an idea of the subject matter. The sun is mentioned several times, and the planet Venus once; terms are used that refer to the stations and retrogradations of planets; the ecliptic is named. Pointers, apparently those of the dials, are mentioned. A line of one inscription signfficantly records "76 years, 19 years." This refers to the well-known Calippic cycle of 76 years, which is four times the Metonic cycle of 19 years, or 235 synodic (lunar) months. The next line includes the number "223," which refers to the eclipse cycle of 223 lunar months.
Putting together the information gathered so far, it seems reasonable to suppose that the whole purpose of the Antikythera device was to mechanize just this sort of cyclical relation, which was a strong feature of ancient astronomy. Using the cycles that have been mentioned, one could easily design gearing that would operate from one dial having a wheel that revolved annually, and turn by this gearing a series of other wheels which would move pointers indicating the sidereal, synodic and draconitic months. Similar cycles were known for the planetary phenomena; in fact, this type of arithmetical theory is the central theme of Seleucid Babylonian astronomy, which was transmitted to the Hellenistic world in the last few centuries B.C. Such arithmetical schemes are quite distinct from the geometrical theory of circles and epicycles in astronomy, which seems to have been essentially Greek. The two types of theory were unified and brought to their peak in the second century A.D. by Claudius Ptolemy, whose labors marked the triumph of the new mathematical attitude toward geometrical models that still characterizes physics today.
The Antikythera mechanism must therefore be an arithmetical counterpart of the much more familiar geometrical models of the solar system which were known to Plato and Archimedes and evolved into the orrery and the planetarium. The mechanism is like. a great astronomical clock without an escapement, or like a modern analogue computer which uses mechanical parts to save tedious calculation. It is a pity that we have no way of knowing whether the device was turned automatically or by hand. It might have been held in the hand and turned by a wheel at the side so that it would operate as a computer, possibly for astrological use. I feel it is more likely that it was permanently mounted, perhaps set in a statue, and displayed as an exhibition piece. In that case it might well have been turned by the power from a water clock or some other device. Perhaps it is just such a wondrous device that was mounted inside the famous Tower of Winds in Athens. It is certainly very similar to the great astronomical cathedral clocks that were built all over Europe during the Renaissance.
It is to the prehistory of the mechanical I clock that we must look for important analogies the Antikythera mechanism and for an assessment of its significance. Unlike other mechanical devices, the clock did not evolve from the simple to the complex. The oldest clocks of which we are well informed were the most complicated. All the evidence points to the fact that the clock started as an astronomical showpiece that happened also to indicate the time. Gradually the timekeeping functions became more important and the device that showed the marvelous clockwork of the heavens became subsidiary. Behind the astronomical clocks of the 14th century there stretches an unbroken sequence of mechanical models of astronomical theory. At the head of this sequence is the Antikythera mechanism. Following it are instruments and clocklike computers known from Islam, from China and India and from the European Middle Ages. The importance of this line is very great, because it was the tradition of clock- making that preserved most of man's skill in scientific fine mechanics. During the Renaissance the scientific instrument-makers evolved from the clockmakers. Thus the Antikythera mechanism is, in a way, the venerable progenitor of all our present plethora of scientific hardware.
A significant passage in this story has to do with the astronomical computers of Islam. Preserved complete at the Museum of History of Science at Oxford is a 13th-century Islamic geared calendar-computer that has various periods built into it, so that it shows on dials the various cycles of the sun and moon. This design can be traced back, with slightly different periods but a similar arrangement of gears, to a manuscript written by the astronomer al-Biruni about 1000 A.D. Such instruments am much simpler than the Antikythera mechanism, but they show so many points of agreement in technical detail that it seems clear they came from a common tradition. The same 60-degree gear teeth are used; wheels are mounted on square-shanked axles; the geometrical layout of the gear assembly appears comparable. It was just at this time that Islam was drawing on Greek knowledge and rediscovering ancient Greek texts. It seems likely that the Antikythera tradition was part of a large corpus of knowledge that has since been lost to us but was known to the Arabs. It was developed and transmitted by them to medieval Europe, where it .became the foundation for the whole range of subsequent invention in the field of clockwork.
On the one hand the Islamic devices knit the whole story together, and demonstrate that it is through ancestry and not mere coincidence that the Antikythera mechanism resembles a modern clock. On the other hand they show that the Antikythera mechanism was no flash in the pan but was a part of an important current in Hellenistic civilization. History has contrived to keep that current dark to us, and only the accidental underwater preservation of fragments that would otherwise have crumbled to dust has now brought it to light. It is a bit frightening to know that just before the fall of their great civilization the ancient Greeks had come so close to our age, not only in their thought, but also in their scientific technology.
Rebuilding of the machine of Anticythère: it is the result of research of the pr. Derek de Solla Price, in collaboration with the National Scientific Research Center Démokritos and the physicist CH Karakalos who carried out the x-ray tomography of the original and the mechanism reconstituted to show their operation. Price built a rectangular box of 0.33 X 0.17 X 0.10 m with plates of information and protection, carrying Greek inscriptions of planets. The mechanism is a complex set of 32 gears of various sizes, turning at different speeds. The mechanism was offered by the pr. Price to the national Museum in 1980 and remains the reference for the study of the original despite the fact that its construction has been subject to much criticism. National archaeological museum, Athens, n°BE 109/1980.
WHEN a Greek sponge diver called Elias Stadiatos discovered the wreck of a cargo ship off the tiny island of Antikythera in 1900, it was the statues lying on the seabed that made the greatest impression on him. He returned to the surface, removed his helmet, and gabbled that he had found a heap of dead, naked women. The ship's cargo of luxury goods also included jewellery, pottery, fine furniture, wine and bronzes dating back to the first century BC. But the most important finds proved to be a few green, corroded lumps—the last remnants of an elaborate mechanical device.
The Antikythera mechanism, as it is now known, was originally housed in a wooden box about the size of a shoebox, with dials on the outside and a complex assembly of bronze gear wheels within. X-ray photographs of the fragments, in which around 30 separate gears can be distinguished, led the late Derek Price, a science historian at Yale University, to conclude that the device was an astronomical computer capable of predicting the positions of the sun and moon in the zodiac on any given date. A new analysis, though, suggests that the device was cleverer than Price thought, and reinforces the evidence for his theory of an ancient Greek tradition of complex mechanical technology.
Michael Wright, the curator of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum in London, has based his new analysis on detailed X-rays of the mechanism using a technique called linear tomography. This involves moving an X-ray source, the film and the object being investigated relative to one another, so that only features in a particular plane come into focus. Analysis of the resulting images, carried out in conjunction with Allan Bromley, a computer scientist at Sydney University, found the exact position of each gear, and suggested that Price was wrong in several respects.
In some cases, says Mr Wright, Price seems to have “massaged” the number of teeth on particular gears (most of which are, admittedly, incomplete) in order to arrive at significant astronomical ratios. Price's account also, he says, displays internal contradictions, selective use of evidence and unwarranted speculation. In particular, it postulates an elaborate reversal mechanism to get some gears to turn in the right direction.
Since so little of the mechanism survives, some guesswork is unavoidable. But Mr Wright noticed a fixed boss at the centre of the mechanism's main wheel. To his instrument-maker's eye, this was suggestive of a fixed central gear around which other moving gears could rotate. This does away with the need for Price's reversal mechanism and leads to the idea that the device was specifically designed to model a particular form of “epicyclic” motion.
The Greeks believed in an earth-centric universe and accounted for celestial bodies' motions using elaborate models based on epicycles, in which each body describes a circle (the epicycle) around a point that itself moves in a circle around the earth. Mr Wright found evidence that the Antikythera mechanism would have been able to reproduce the motions of the sun and moon accurately, using an epicyclic model devised by Hipparchus, and of the planets Mercury and Venus, using an epicyclic model derived by Apollonius of Perga. (These models, which predate the mechanism, were subsequently incorporated into the work of Claudius Ptolemy in the second century AD.)
A device that just modelled the motions of the sun, moon, Mercury and Venus does not make much sense. But if an upper layer of mechanism had been built, and lost, these extra gears could have modelled the motions of the three other planets known at the time—Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. In other words, the device may have been able to predict the positions of the known celestial bodies for any given date with a respectable degree of accuracy, using bronze pointers on a circular dial with the constellations of the zodiac running round its edge.
Mr Wright devised a putative model in which the mechanisms for each celestial body stack up like layers in a sandwich, and started building it in his workshop. The completed reconstruction, details of which appeared in an article in the Horological Journal in May, went on display this week at Technopolis, a museum in Athens. By winding a knob on the side, celestial bodies can be made to advance and retreat so that their positions on any chosen date can be determined. Mr Wright says his device could have been built using ancient tools because the ancient Greeks had saws whose teeth were cut using v-shaped files—a task that is similar to the cutting of teeth on a gear wheel. He has even made several examples by hand.
How closely this reconstruction matches up to the original will never be known. The purpose of two dials on the back of the device is still unclear, although one may indicate the year. Nor is the device's purpose obvious: it may have been an astrological computer, used to speed up the casting of horoscopes, though it might just as easily have been a luxury plaything. But Mr Wright is convinced that his epicyclic interpretation is correct, and that the original device modelled the entire known solar system.
The Greeks had a word for it
That tallies with ancient sources that refer to such devices. Cicero, writing in the first century BC, mentions an instrument “recently constructed by our friend Poseidonius, which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets.” Archimedes is also said to have made a small planetarium, and two such devices were said to have been rescued from Syracuse when it fell in 212BC. This reconstruction suggests such references can now be taken literally.
It also provides strong support for Price's theory. He believed that the mechanism was strongly suggestive of an ancient Greek tradition of complex mechanical technology which, transmitted via the Arab world, formed the basis of European clockmaking techniques. This fits with another, smaller device that was acquired in 1983 by the Science Museum, which models the motions of the sun and moon. Dating from the sixth century AD, it provides a previously missing link between the Antikythera mechanism and later Islamic calendar computers, such as the 13th century example at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford. That device, in turn, uses techniques described in a manuscript written by al-Biruni, an Arab astronomer, around 1000AD.
The origins of much modern technology, from railway engines to robots, can be traced back to the elaborate mechanical toys, or automata, that flourished in the 18th century. Those toys, in turn, grew out of the craft of clockmaking. And that craft, like so many other aspects of the modern world, seems to have roots that can be traced right back to ancient Greece.
