Skip to main content

Secondary sourceArtifact1575

Aeolipile and Fire Balls Engraving

1575

A 1575 engraving from a German edition of Vitruvius showing three aeolipiles, the steam-sphere devices attributed to Heron of Alexandria.

This 1575 engraving illustrates aeolipiles, the steam devices associated with Heron, within a later book on architecture.

Ask Hero of Alexandria about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Printed page from a 1575 book titled Das Erste Buch Vitruvii, with a woodcut engraving of three aeolipiles: a steam-emitting sphere with jets on the left, a bowl-shaped vessel with handles and a spout in the center, and an ornate covered urn on the right with steam rising from its lid. Below, a large engraved sphere with decorative scrollwork sits on a stand, and printed German text fills the right and bottom of the page.
Aeolipile and fire balls engraving, from Das Erste Buch Vitruvii, 1575. Deutsche Fotothek.

About this source

What it is

This printed page comes from a 1575 German book titled Das Erste Buch Vitruvii. It shows a woodcut of three aeolipiles: a steam-emitting sphere with jets, a bowl-shaped vessel with a spout, and an ornate covered urn releasing steam, alongside a larger decorative sphere and explanatory German text.

Why it matters

The aeolipile, often linked to Heron of Alexandria, used heated water to create steam that could move a vessel. By including it in a book based on the Roman writer Vitruvius, this illustration shows how ancient Greek and Roman engineering ideas were passed down, translated and explained to new readers across many centuries.

Look closer

  • Why might a 16th-century publisher include an ancient Greek device in a book about Roman architecture?
  • What clues in the drawing show that steam is being produced?
  • What does the printed text suggest about how this device was explained to readers of the time?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hero of Alexandria on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Hero of Alexandria sources

Meet the AI Hero of Alexandria →
Manuscript page with Greek text in brown ink at top and bottom, and colored line drawings in the middle showing Hero's hydraulic bird-singing apparatus: several birds perched on pipes and arches, a tall cylindrical water vessel, a horizontal tank, and a bell-shaped weight on a chain.Book

Secondary source

Pneumatica

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Page from a Greek manuscript showing a colored line drawing of a temple-like structure with columns, arches, and a dome-like roof, with hidden tanks and mechanisms below. Greek handwritten text fills the lower part of the page.Book

Secondary source

Automata (Bacchus diagram)

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Painted miniature from a Greek manuscript: a bearded man with long grey hair in a golden-brown cloak extends his right hand toward the left, beside a dark archway. Red Greek lettering reads 'ΗΡΩΝ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟ' beside him.Painting

Secondary source

Hero of Alexandria in the Codex of Saint Gregory Nazianzenos

Unknown author · 9th century AD

Illuminated manuscript page with colored design drawing of a large siege engine or cannon in red, blue, green and tan, with a vertical arrow-like beam at top, surrounded by Greek text in brown ink on parchment.Document

Secondary source

Belopoiika (design drawing of a siege engine)

Hero of Alexandria · 1st century AD (this copy later)

Title page of a 1589 Italian book, engraved in black and white with an ornate architectural border of columns, scrolls and a central medallion. Printed text reads Di Herone Alessandrino De gli automati, ouero Machine se moventi, libri due, tradotti dal greco da Bernardino Baldi, with a small shield reading In Venetia, appresso Girolamo Porro, 1589.Book

Secondary source

De gli automati, ouero Machine se mouenti

Hero : Alexandrinus · 1589

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Hero of Alexandria now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions