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Secondary sourcePainting1911

Heron's Fountain in Tietosanakirja

Unknown · 1911

An engraved illustration of Heron's fountain from a 1911 Finnish encyclopedia, showing one of the devices attributed to Hero.

An encyclopedia illustration explaining Hero's fountain device to Finnish readers in the early 20th century.

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Engraved illustration of Heron's fountain: a glass apparatus with two spherical vessels stacked vertically, a vertical tube rising to a basin with a spout at top, labeled letters, on a stand, with Finnish caption 'Heronin suihku.' Printed on yellowed paper.
Heron's fountain, illustration from Tietosanakirja, 1911.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved illustration from the old Finnish encyclopedia Tietosanakirja, published in 1911. It shows a labeled diagram of Heron's fountain, a device with two spherical vessels and a vertical tube rising to a spouting basin, captioned in Finnish as 'Heronin suihku.'

Why it matters

This image shows how Hero of Alexandria's inventions were explained to readers far from ancient Greece, in early 20th-century Finland. Encyclopedia illustrations like this one helped spread scientific and historical knowledge to new audiences and languages.

Look closer

  • What details does the labeling in the diagram help explain?
  • Why might an encyclopedia choose an engraving rather than a photograph to show this device?
  • What does the spread of this image to Finland suggest about how far ancient ideas traveled?

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.

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