In the fifth episode of the Indiana Jones franchise, the professor played by Harrison Ford sets out in search of the Dial of Destiny. But does it really exist?
The Indiana Jones franchise is used to confronting viewers with archaeological objects often endowed with extraordinary powers. Generally, they are inspired by legends, such as The Ark of the Covenant or the Grail. The fifth episode, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, sees the hero played by Harrison Ford set off once again in search of a true ancient relic.
In the film, we are told that the Dial of Destiny (or Antikythera) which gives its title to the feature film, is an artifact created by Archimedes, capable of predicting cracks in time and opening time portals to travel in the past. This magical object, less known than the two previously mentioned, does it have roots established in ancient cultures too?
Obviously, the Dial of Destiny does not exist as such. However, it is inspired by a very real historical artifact: the Antikythera machine. This bronze mechanism, featuring many cogwheels and similar in some respects to what is seen in the film, is an ancient calculator capable of determining astronomical positions, and thus predicting future eclipses. Nothing to do with time travel. But this calculating machine was still impressive for its time.
Fragments of the Antikythera machine were discovered in a wreck not far from the Greek island of the same name, in 1901. It is not known, however, whether it is the work of Archimedes: the names of Hipparque, Posidonios of Rhodes or a disciple of Archimedes, are also evoked to determine the paternity of this object. The most curious or true fans of Indiana Jones can go to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, where the artifact is on display, to discover it and learn more.
