Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hit theaters this weekend and a lot of fans have been enjoying this final Indiana Jones adventure with Harrison Ford. This latest story revolves around an ancient artifact called the Dial of Destiny, which is also known as the Archimedes Dial, or the Antikythera Mechanism.
Well, there is a real history behind the Archimedes Dial, and the video below from Star Wars Explained takes a deep dive into the fascinating real history behind it.
The Antikythera mechanism is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest known example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. It was also used to track the four-year cycle of athletic games which were similar to an Olympiad, the cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. This artifact was among wreckage retrieved from a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera in 1901.
So, if you watch the movie and you’re curious about learning more about this, you’ve got to watch this video!