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Secondary sourceArtifact1911

Hero's Steam Engine Illustration

Unknown author · 1911

A 1911 engraving explaining the aeolipile, the steam device described by Hero of Alexandria, showing how it was thought to have worked.

This 1911 illustration explains the aeolipile, the steam device credited to Hero of Alexandria.

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Black and white engraving of Hero's aeolipile: a hollow metal sphere on two bent pipes above a basin with winged lion supports, with steam rising from a pipe on top and from a fire below where a kneeling figure tends the flame.
Hero's steam engine illustration, 1911.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white engraving from 1911 illustrates Hero's aeolipile: a hollow metal sphere mounted on bent pipes above a basin with winged lion supports, with steam rising from a pipe on top and a fire tended by a kneeling figure below.

Why it matters

Hero of Alexandria is credited with describing the aeolipile, an early device that used steam to create motion. This illustration, made many centuries later, was designed to help readers understand how the ancient device worked, showing the lasting interest in Hero's engineering ideas as a forerunner of steam power.

Look closer

  • What parts of the drawing explain how steam moves through the device?
  • Why do you think an illustrator in 1911 chose to depict a kneeling figure tending the fire?
  • How does this image help modern viewers understand an ancient description without needing the original object?

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.

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