Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1916

Aeolipile Illustration from Physics for Entertainment

Yakov Perelman · 1916

A 1916 popular-science drawing explaining the aeolipile, a steam engine described by Hero of Alexandria.

Illustrates the aeolipile, the steam-powered device attributed to Hero of Alexandria.

Ask Hero of Alexandria about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white line drawing of an aeolipile: a spherical boiler on a tripod-like stand over a fire, with a steam pipe rising from the top and two bent outlet tubes on the sides, with a Russian caption below.
Yakov Perelman, aeolipile illustration, Physics for Entertainment, 1916.

About this source

What it is

This line drawing comes from Yakov Perelman's 1916 book Physics for Entertainment. It shows a spherical boiler on a stand, heated by fire, with tubes releasing steam to spin the device — the kind of machine Hero of Alexandria described in antiquity.

Why it matters

Hero's aeolipile is often seen as one of the first known examples of steam power. Perelman's book, written long after Hero's time, used the device to teach basic physics to a popular audience, showing how ancient ideas were still used to explain science centuries later.

Look closer

  • What parts of the machine can you identify from the drawing?
  • Why might a 20th-century science writer choose an ancient device to explain physics?
  • What does this illustration leave out about how the original device may have actually looked?

This painting 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