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Tertiary sourcePainting1688

Heron

Unknown · 1688

An imagined engraved portrait of Hero of Alexandria from a 1688 German translation of his Pneumatics.

An imagined, later portrait of Hero made for a 1688 German translation, not a real likeness.

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Black-and-white engraved portrait of a bearded man with wavy hair, shown from the shoulders up, facing forward with a slight turn. He has deep-set eyes, a furrowed brow, and a full, curly beard. The style is a dense line-and-hatching print.
Unknown artist, portrait of Hero, from a 1688 German translation of Hero's Pneumatics.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved portrait of Hero of Alexandria made by an unknown artist, included in a 1688 German translation of his work on pneumatics. It shows a bearded man facing forward in a dense line-and-hatching style typical of the period.

Why it matters

No real portrait of Hero survives from antiquity, since he lived many centuries before this image was made. This picture instead reflects how Baroque-era Europeans imagined the ancient engineer, reflecting his reputation as an important early figure in mechanics and experimental physics rather than his true appearance.

Look closer

  • Since Hero lived over a thousand years before this portrait was made, what can and can't it tell us about him?
  • Why might 17th-century printers want to include an imagined portrait in a scientific translation?
  • What does this image suggest about Hero's reputation in later centuries?

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

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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

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

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