National Engineers Week & Inventors Day

Last week was National Inventors Day (Feb. 11) in the USA, marking Thomas Edison’s birthday. To mark the occasion let’s take a look at some ancient Greek inventors, and because they were usually also Engineers, we will also mix National Engineers week (Feb. 21-27) into this post.

Greek civilization has made significant contributions to the field of engineering. The Greeks were masters of mathematics, which helped them become skilled engineers. They developed machines like the water wheel, which was used to grind grain and power other machines. Greek engineers also developed a system of aqueducts to transport water over long distances.

Archimedes

One of the most famous ancient Greek engineers is Archimedes. He is renowned for his work as a mathematician and philosopher who wrote important works in geometry, arithmetic, and mechanics. With regard to his work on engineering, he defined the principle of the lever and is also widely credited with the invention of the pulley, hydraulic screw and his work on the law of hydrostatics (aka the Archimedes Principle).

There is a show from 1994 called Once Upon a Time… The Discoverers. This show has episodes covering important inventors in history, and the second episode is about Archimedes. Today we wont talk much more about Archimedes, because we have covered him in other blog posts, if you want to learn about him we recommend to do a search for Archimedes on the search bar in the navigation menu. Or visit our Archimedes group.

Famous Greek engineers

Another famous Greek engineer is Sostratus of Cnidus. He was responsible for some very interesting and impressive ancient engineering projects. These included the Pharos of Alexandria (The Great Lighthouse) that was built in around 280 BC and was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. He also built the Suspended Pleasure Gardens in Cnidus that were ostensibly similar to another wonder of the ancient world The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Sostratus also built the ClubHouse of the Cnidians in Delphi and diversionary canals on the Nile at Memphis.

Polyidus of Thessaly was a Greek military engineer from antiquity who served under the Macedonian king and father of Alexander the Great, Philip II. He is best known for his improvements on covered battering ram siege engines during Philip’s siege of Byzantium in 340 BC.

Ctesibius was a Greek inventor and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt from 285 BC to 222 BC. He is known for his work on pneumatics, including the invention of the water clock. He also wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps. Ctesibius was probably the first head of the Museum of Alexandria. He is considered the father of pneumatics due to his work on the elasticity of air. None of his written work has survived, including his Memorabilia, a compilation of his research that was cited by Athenaeus.

There are many other famous Greek engineers in history. Here are some of them:

1. Heron of Alexandria: He was a mathematician and engineer who lived in the first century AD. He is known for his work on pneumatics, including the invention of the aeolipile, a steam-powered engine.
2. Diades of Pella: He was a Greek engineer who lived in the fourth century BC. He is known for his work on siege engines, including the development of the torsion catapult.
3. Eupalinos: He was a Greek engineer who lived in the sixth century BC. He is known for his work on the construction of the Eupalinian aqueduct, which was used to supply water to the ancient city of Samos.
4. Mandrocles: He was a Greek engineer who lived in the sixth century BC. He is known for his work on the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

This first video below is about Heron of Alexandria, one of the most famous engineers of the ancient world, also known as Mechanicus.

Before you continue, we think you might find these products interesting, particularly the DVD set from Great Courses about Understanding Greek and Roman Technology.

If you got this far and still want more, we recommend our post about World Architecture Day or our group about the pioneers of the past.