Antikythera
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| Antikythera Αντικύθηρα |
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|---|---|
 Antikythera's harbour Potamos |
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| Geography | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Island Chain: | Ionian |
| Area:[1] | 20.43 km² (8 sq.mi.) |
| Government | |
 Greece |
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| Periphery: | Attica |
| Prefecture: | Piraeus |
| Capital: | Potamos |
| Statistics | |
| Population: | 44 (as of 2001) |
| Density: | 2 /km² (6 /sq.mi.) |
| Postal Code: | 801 00 |
| Area Code: | 27360 |
| Website | |
| www.antikythira.gr | |
Antikythera (Greek: Αντικύθηρα) is a Greek island community with a land area of 20.43 square kilometers, lying 38 kilometers south-east of Kythira. It is the most distant part of the Piraeus Prefecture from its heart in the Athens metropolitan area. It is lozenge-shaped, 10.5km NNW to SSE by 3.4km ENE to WSW. It is notable for being the location of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism and for the historical Antikythera wreck.
Its main settlement and port is Potamós (pop. 18 inhabitants in 2001 census). The only other settlements are Galanianá (pop. 17), and Charchalianá (pop. 9). With only 44 inhabitants, it is the second-least populous community in Greece (after Gramos in Kastoria Prefecture). Antikythera is sporadically visited by the ANEK Lines ferry Myrtidossia, on its route between Piraeus (Athens) and Kissamos-Kastelli in Crete.
Between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, it was used as a base by a group of Cilician pirates until their destruction by Pompey the Great. Their fort can still be seen atop a cliff to the NE of the island.
Antikythera is most famous for being the location of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism. The Antihythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical calculator (sometimes described as the first mechanical computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in an ancient shipwreck off of Antikythera. It has been dated to about 150-100 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not appear until a thousand years later.
[edit] Notable people
- Andreas Anagnostakis (1826-1897) physician
[edit] References
- ^ Basic Characteristics. Ministry of the Interior. www.ypes.gr. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Antikythira Community (Greek) (English)
- http://www.tuarc.trentu.ca/~aspweb The Antikythera (Archaeological) Survey Project
- Google satellite view of the island
- The Antikythera Calculator (Italian and English versions)
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