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Primary sourceBookc. 30-20 BCE

De architectura

Vitruvius · c. 30-20 BCE

A Roman treatise on architecture dedicated to Augustus, praising his building projects and offering contemporary testimony to his patronage.

Describes the machines of Ctesibius of Alexandria, showing the engineering tradition Hero later built upon.

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An open printed book on a display stand showing two pages: the left page is dense text, the right page has a woodcut illustration of classical columns and a decorated entablature. A column base photo stands behind it.
Vitruvius, De architectura, 1521 Italian translation by Cesare Cesariano. Smithsonian Institution.

About this source

What it is

De architectura (On Architecture) is a treatise written by the Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius, probably between 30 and 20 BCE, and dedicated to his patron, Emperor Augustus. It is the only architectural treatise to survive complete from antiquity and covers topics from temple design to city planning, machines and human proportion.

Why it matters

Because it is addressed directly to Augustus and praises his public building programme, the text is a rare contemporary record of how the emperor's rebuilding of Rome was viewed by someone working within his patronage system. It became hugely influential from the Renaissance onward, shaping how later architects understood classical building principles, including inspiring Leonardo da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man'.

Look closer

  • Why would an architect dedicate his life's work to the emperor rather than publish it independently?
  • What does the dedication tell us about the relationship between artists, engineers and political power in Augustus's Rome?
  • Why might later readers value this text even though it says little about distinctly Roman innovations like concrete and vaulting?

This book 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.

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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

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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

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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

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Hero of Alexandria in the Codex of Saint Gregory Nazianzenos

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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

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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

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