The Shelves · Natural science
Mechanical Collection (Artillery, Pneumatics, Siegecraft)
Μηχανικὴ σύνταξις
Known · Probablein Alexandria?Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placement
I · The entry, in his form
In the table of Natural science
Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placementPhilo of Byzantium
Mechanical Collection
Μηχανικὴ σύνταξις
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 in fragments
The artillery and siegecraft books survive in Greek; Pneumatics in Arabic and Latin.
Was it in Alexandria?
Known · ProbableWritten in Alexandria.
On the table: written in Alexandria; no evidence it was in the Library.
Read it today
Artillery: Greek text and translation in Marsden (1971).
III · In the show
The show has not yet spoken of this work.
IV · Sources and the living entry
Ancient references
- Philo, Artillery (Belopoeica), on the Alexandrian engineers
Modern scholarship (2)
- E. W. Marsden, Greek and Roman Artillery: Technical Treatises (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971).
- 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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