Philo of Byzantium
Philo of Byzantium ( Greek Φίλων ὁ Βυζάντιος Phílōn ho Byzántios ; * in the 3rd century BC; † in the 2nd century BC) was a Greek inventor, designer and author. He was probably a student of Ktesibios .
Works
- De ingeniis spiritualibus - Pneumatic inventions
- Μηχανικὴ Σύνταξις - Mechanike syntaxis - Manual of Mechanics
- Περὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ θεαμάτων - De septem mundi miraculis - The Seven Wonders of the World (This work is written by a completely different author, centuries younger)
Manual of mechanics
This font comprises a total of nine books . The books are titled:
- introduction
- The lever
- The creation of seaports
- Catapults
- Pneumatics
- Automatic theater
- The fortress construction
- Siege and defense of cities
- Stratagems
The text of Books 4, 5, 7 and 8 is preserved, the rest is lost.
The surviving texts have been edited by Thevenot in the "Mathematici Veteres" (Paris 1693) and by Hermann Köchly and Wilhelm Rustow in the "Greek war writers" (Volume 1, Leipzig 1853). The authoritative edition comes from Hermann Diels and Erwin Schramm (1918/1919).
In Book 4, he describes the construction of catapults for arrows (Εὐθύτονος ὀξυβόλος (εὐθύτονον) - Euthýtonos Oxybólos - euthýtonon , arrow catapult (literally "probably strained spear thrower")) and stones (Παλίντονον - palintonon , stone catapult). He developed new tensioning devices and describes the standards by which catapults can be built. The manufacture of guns, the construction of walls and towers and the siege war are also dealt with in his main work. However, his studies are not as detailed as those of the Greek mechanic Heron (probably 1st century AD).
In Book 5, Philon describes pneumatics (the study of air) as well as the power of water and vacuum .
Books 7 and 8 (referred to as Book 5 in earlier editions) deal with military armaments and the siege and defense of cities.
literature
- Francesco Fiorucci: Philo of Byzantium. In: Bernhard Zimmermann , Antonios Rengakos (Hrsg.): Handbook of the Greek literature of antiquity. Volume 2: The Literature of the Classical and Hellenistic Period. C. H. Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-61818-5 , pp. 602-604
- Giovanna R. Giardina: Philon de Byzance . In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07335-8 , pp. 399-404
- Philip Rance: Philo of Byzantium in R.S. Bagnall et al. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Chichester / Malden, MA, 2013) 5266-8
Web links
- Literature by and about Philo of Byzantium in the catalog of the German National Library
- Greek war writer from 1855 on Google Books
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. The New Pauly, Philon [7] and Philon [17]
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Philo of Byzantium |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Philo of Byzantium; Phílōn ho Byzántios; Φίλων ὁ Βυζάντιος (grc) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek inventor, designer and author, student of Ktesibios |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd century BC Chr. |