Hero, Automata

Maria Gerolemou (University of Exeter)

Ed. by Giacomo Fedeli, University of Exeter
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Domains

Method, Theory, History (physics)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 30

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Originating from the vibrant city of Alexandria during the first century CE (on question of dating, see Neugebauer 1938 and Masià 2015), Hero of Alexandria contributed a series of technical treatises to the world, about pneumatics (

Water Clocks

Pneumatica

), artillery (

Belopoeica

) and mechanics (

Baroulkos

Mechanica

). The

corpus

includes a two-volume opus addressing the challenges of crafting

automata

, that is, mechanized and self-operating systems (the singular form of the term is

automaton

, derived from the adjective

automatos

; for a possible etymology of the word, see Bianchi 2014: 68). Hero identifies two distinct categories of automatic performances within this framework. The first volume of

On Automata Making

explores the realm of mobile automata, revealing mechanisms that spring…

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3043 words

Citation: Gerolemou, Maria. "Automata". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 April 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=25869, accessed 23 November 2024.]