Hero of Alexandria

Hero of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician and engineer of the first century CE. His writings describe mechanics, pneumatics, and devices including the aeolipile.

Pneumatics: The study and use of air, gases, and pressure, especially in mechanical devices. Hero’s Pneumatica applies pressure and expanding air to operate fountains, automata, and other machines.
Aeolipile: A steam-powered device that spins a hollow sphere as escaping vapor drives its bent tubes. This device demonstrates rotational motion produced by steam in Hero’s mechanical tradition.
Hellenistic engineering: The engineering practices and inventions developed across Greek-speaking societies after Alexander the Great. Hero inherited techniques and interests established by engineers of the Hellenistic period.
Pneumatica: Hero’s treatise describing devices that use air, water, pressure, and heat. This work is the main source for many of Hero’s pneumatic inventions.
Ancient Greek mathematics: The mathematical traditions developed by Greek-speaking scholars from antiquity through late antiquity. Hero’s practical geometry and measurement belonged to this broader mathematical tradition.
Heron's fountain: A fountain that uses air pressure and water displacement among connected vessels to drive a jet. It exemplifies the pressure-driven effects described in Hero’s Pneumatica.
Alexandria: A city founded in Egypt by Alexander the Great that became a major center of ancient scholarship. Hero worked in the city whose intellectual culture shaped his technical writing.
Mechanica: A work attributed to Hero that explains the theory and practical use of simple machines. It presents Hero’s systematic treatment of lifting and mechanical advantage.
Siphon: A tube that moves liquid over a higher point by pressure differences and gravity. Hero described siphons as components in devices that moved or controlled water.
Hero's engine: A steam-driven rotary device consisting of a sphere that turns as vapor escapes through angled outlets. This common name for the aeolipile highlights its rotating mechanism.

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