The Shelves · Natural science
On Automaton-Making (and Metrica)
Περὶ αὐτοματοποιητικῆς
I · The entry, in his form
In the table of Natural science
Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placementfl. c. 62 CE. Wrote on pneumatics, automata, surveying, war machines and measurement. His Dioptra uses a lunar eclipse to find the distance between Alexandria and Rome; the eclipse has been identified with that of 13 March 62 CE, which dates him.
On Automaton-Making
Περὶ αὐτοματοποιητικῆς
Opening words not preserved.
Length: not counted
Above, his entry form, filled from what we know. Below, ours.
II · Does it survive? Where to read it
Survives whole
The Metrica was rediscovered in a Constantinople manuscript in 1896.
Was it in Alexandria?
Known · AttestedWritten in Alexandria.
On the table: written in Alexandria; no evidence it was in the Library.
Read it today
- Greek text (Scaife Viewer) · the original · link checked 31 Oct 2026
- Schmidt's edition (1899), Greek and German · original and translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026
III · In the show
The show has not yet spoken of this work.
IV · Sources and the living entry
Ancient references
- Hero, On Automaton-Making, book 1 (the moving shrine) and book 2 (the stationary theatre)
Modern scholarship (2)
- S. Murphy, 'Heron of Alexandria's On Automaton-Making', History of Technology 17 (1995): 1-44.
- A. G. Drachmann, Ktesibios, Philon and Heron: A Study in Ancient Pneumatics (Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1948).
Entry checked 31 Oct 2026 · no corrections · Suggest a correction ›
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