About History: Amazing ancient inventions

What follows was inspired by a short piece in BBC History Magazine that drew Tastes Of History’s attention to discovering some of the amazing inventions that seemed far ahead of their time. Some were so advanced in their conception that scholars today doubt whether they could have been realised given the technology of the time. Even so, each of these ancient inventions shows a marvel of human ingenuity and have since inspired modern recreations testing their plausibility. This first outing looks at some of the notable ancient Greek inventions.

Steam-power

In the 4th-century BC, a Greek inventor reportedly built a wooden, steam-propelled flying pigeon. Working in Tarentum (modern Taranto), the mathematician and Pythagorean philosopher Archytas of Tarentum [1] created a bird-shaped machine reputedly able to travel up to 200 metres through the air to the astonishment of his fellow citizens. However, the sole mention of this feat occurs some five centuries after Archytas, when Roman author and grammarian Aulus Gellius reports:

“Archytas made a wooden model of a dove with such mechanical ingenuity and art that it flew; so nicely balanced was it, you see, with weights and moved by a current of air enclosed and hidden within it. About so improbable a story I prefer to give Favorinus’ own words: ‘Archytas the Tarentine, being in other lines also a mechanician, made a flying dove out of wood. Whenever it lit, it did not rise again.’”

Clearly Gellius views the report with much the same scepticism as his mentor Favorinus, but that has not stopped later historians and engineers attempting to recreate Archytus’ mechanical marvel. From the available sources, it is thought the lightweight body of the Flying Pigeon was cylindrical in shape and hollow, with wings projecting to either side and smaller wings, like a tail, to the rear. The front of the Pigeon was pointed like a bird’s beak which, combined with its cylindrical body, produced an aerodynamic form to maximise flying distance and speed. The rear of the Flying Pigeon had an opening leading to an internal bladder. The opening was connected to a water-filled, airtight boiler which when heated generated steam that fed into the bird’s bladder. As the pressure of the steam exceeded the mechanical resistance of the connection, the Flying Pigeon was launched. The opening, now acting as an exhaust, allowed the pressurised steam within the bladder to vented out propelling the Pigeon in flight. Reputedly, the wings of the pigeon would flap, assisting its forward motion and keeping it aloft. In this manner the Flying Pigeon was said to have been capable of steam-powered flight for a considerable distance, between 100 to 200 metres.

Archytas would have faced many challenges when designing the first mechanical bird, not least of which was understanding how birds fly. Combine that with engineering knowledge in its infancy, lightweight metal alloys, plastics, and strong adhesives yet to be invented, and the ancient bird’s durability and flight capability could never compare to modern reproductions. Even so, the Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology used the materials technology available to Archytas to create a reconstruction (below) of what the flying pigeon may have looked like.

If the accounts of this invention by Aulus Gellius are correct, then this would have been the world’s first self-propelled flying device. While a remarkable achievement, throughout human history there have been many accounts of amazing inventions attributed to some of the greatest thinkers. The question remains “just how many were actually made or were indeed functional?” It would be a lengthy project to try and cover all the possible examples from all recorded history across the globe. Many of these inventions deserve their own detailed examination, but for now we shall focus on just a few.

From the outset it is worth noting that for an invention to materialise takes three linked requirements: firstly, someone must have the initial idea, then there must be the materials technology available to realise the idea, and finally there must be a need for the invention to be successful. Take human flight as an example of the materials technology challenge. It is highly likely that humans, observing birds in flight, dreamed of copying them. As we have seen with Archytas’ Flying Pigeon, the idea was present but the problem for the longest time was the materials technology to deliver the design.

We need a Hero

Archytas’ attempts to harness steam-power roughly 500 years earlier clearly inspired one Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria ((Ήρων ο Αλεξανδρεύς, ca. AD 10 to AD 70). He was a Greco-Egyptian mathematician and inventor residing in Roman Egypt whose contributions to science and engineering, particularly his pioneering work on pneumatics and mechanics, influenced Islamic engineers during the Golden Age of Islam, as well as Renaissance thinkers who revived and expanded upon ancient Greek scientific knowledge. Hero is credited with inventing at least one automated vending machine and complex automata that used gears, pulleys, and hydraulics to animate figures during theatrical performances. He also harnessed air pressure to create a sophisticated wind-powered organ, created the pantograph, and contrived a steam-powered engine known today as the “aeolipile” or “Hero-Engine”. Recorded simply as invention “number 50”, it was an early steam-powered device that harnessed the principles of jet propulsion centuries ahead of its time.

Reconstructions of the aeolipile usually consist of a spherical or cylindrical vessel with oppositely bent or curved nozzles projecting outwards. Hero described the device as a simple boiler forming part of a stand for the rotating vessel. Water is heated in the boiler to vaporise it into steam that passes through tubes to pressurise the spherical vessel. The steam is expelled out of the opposing nozzles to generate thrust perpendicular to the axis of the vessel’s bearings causing it to spin. Aerodynamic drag and frictional forces in the bearings build quickly with increasing rotational speed (rpm) but this consumes the accelerating torque, eventually cancelling it to achieve a steady state speed.

Although considered to be the first recorded steam engine or reaction steam turbine, the aeolipile was neither a practical source of power nor a direct predecessor of the type of steam engine invented during the Industrial Revolution. Heron’s drawing shows a standalone device presumably intended as a “temple wonder” like many of the other inventions described in his work “Pneumatica”. So, despite conceiving the idea, realising it using contemporary materials technology, the aeolipile is a perfect example of the third factor in defining whether an invention will be successful. At the time of its creation, the Hero-engine simply did not solve a contemporary problem or fulfil a specific need.

“Doors to automatic”

It is not known whether Hero’s invention “number 37” was implemented but it was the first to describe temple doors that opened automatically when a alter fire is lit and closed again when the fire is extinguished. As shown in the superb animated graphic by artefacts-berlin.de, heat from a fire burning in an altar in front of the temple would build pressure in the vessel below ground. As the pressure increased, the liquid within the vessel, most likely water, would be forced through a connecting hose or pipe into a second vessel suspended from the ceiling. As the weight of the second vessel increased, ropes attached between it and the doorposts would “magically” pull the temple doors open. By extinguishing the fire, the cooling liquid would be sucked back into the first vessel making the second one lighter such that the counterweight would pull in the other direction to close the doors.

Another temple commission

Hero was also commissioned by an Egyptian temple to make the world’s first coin-operated vending machine to dispense holy water. When a worshiper inserted a coin through a slot in the device, it would fall onto a pan connected to a lever balanced on a guide. The coin’s weight caused the lever to tilt, raising the opposite end and opening a valve to allow a specific amount of holy water to flow from a cistern. The pan continued to move under the weight of the coin until, eventually, the coin slid off into a collection chamber. At that point the lever would return to its initial position closing the valve and stopping the water flow.

Water, water everywhere

Hero was not the only ancient inventor to conceive of water management devices. About 250 years earlier, in 234 BC, the Greek mathematician Archimedes first described a hydraulic device for lifting water during a visit to Egypt. Popularly called the “Archimedes’ screw”, this marvel of ancient engineering traces its roots to Hellenistic Egypt (332 BC to 30 BC) where the original design with spiral tubes wound around a rotating cylinder lifted water from the Nile River into irrigation ditches. Over time, the design was refined, such as incorporating a spiral groove into a solid wooden cylinder, which was then covered with boards or metal to enhance durability and efficiency. Today Archimedean screws are widely employed in irrigation and modern wastewater treatment. The device can also operate in reverse. When water enters from the top, the screw’s rotation can generate mechanical energy, making it suitable for hydroelectric power generation.

A sketch of Vitruvius' description of the Archimedes' screw in De architectura.

Although Archimedes did not claim to have invented the screw, it has become associated with his name from his detailed descriptions and applications of the device. Various other ancient Greek and Roman authors record the use of the Archimedes’ screw for various purposes including draining water, irrigating fields, and even removing bilge water from large ships. In his Bibliotheca Historica, Diodorus [2] describes its use for irrigation in the Nile Delta for nearby military camps and cities, and Vitruvius [3] details a wooden Archimedes’ screw with eight blades in his De Architectura, written between 27 BC and 22 BC. The earliest depiction of the water screw is a fresco at the villa Casa di P. Cornelius Teges in Pompeii dating earlier than AD 79.

The Archimedes’ screw is a simple yet ingenious design. It consists of a helical screw inside a hollow pipe. The bottom end of the screw is submerged in a water source, and when the screw is rotated, water is captured in the helical sections and pushed upward as the screw turns. This process continues until the water exits at a higher elevation. The design can function effectively even if the seal between the screw and the casing is not perfectly watertight. As long as the upward movement of water exceeds any leakage, the device remains efficient. Variants of the design include screws fused with their casings, where both rotate together, and those made of bronze or waterproofed with pitch to prevent leaks.

From its origins in Hellenistic Egypt to its modern applications in renewable energy, wastewater treatment, and industrial machinery, the Archimedes’ screw manifests the timeless principles of simplicity and functionality. The device’s influence and widespread use reflect the exchange of knowledge and technology between ancient civilizations. It exemplifies how ideas can be fostered, shared, adapted, and improved upon across cultures.

Archimedes goes to war

From peaceful purposes Archimedes is also credited with two surprising inventions with which to wage war. During the Siege of Syracuse (214 BC to 212 BC) he was instrumental in the defence of the city. Syracuse was an important city-state on the island of Sicily but, more importantly, it was allied with Carthage against Rome. Thus, during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), Roman forces, under the command of General Marcus Claudius Marcellus, besieged the city to bring it under Roman control. Archimedes was tasked with devising defensive measures to protect Syracuse from the Roman fleet. His contributions included various war machines and innovations, the Claw of Archimedes being one of the most famous.

The Claw of Archimedes

Artist's rendering of how the Claw of Archimedes may have been used.

Also known as the “Iron Hand”, the Claw was reputedly devised to defend the walled city of Syracuse against naval attacks. Its design and precisely how it worked is not fully understood since no contemporary descriptions or drawings have survived. Indeed, most information comes from later historical accounts, such as those by the Roman historians Polybius and Plutarch. They, however, describe the Claw as a large mechanical arm or crane, mounted on the walls of Syracuse, with a grappling hook or claw at one end. When a Roman ship approached, the Claw would be lowered to grab the vessel and the mechanism would then lift the ship partially out of the water, destabilising it and potentially capsizing it. Some accounts suggest that the Claw could also drop the ship suddenly, causing significant damage or even sinking it. Considerable loss was reportedly inflicted on the Roman fleet and, along with other war machines devised by Archimedes, a significant psychological, demoralizing impact was had on the Romans. The ability of these devices to cause unexpected damage and thwart naval attacks instilled fear and uncertainty among the attackers.

Archimedes’ Heat Ray

Archimedes’ “Heat Ray” is the second example of a weapon that he purportedly invented to defend the city of Syracuse. This “Death Ray”, as it is sometimes known, is described as a series of mirrors or polished shields arranged to concentrate sunlight onto a single point. By focusing intense sunlight onto the sails or hulls of enemy ships, the heat generated was supposedly sufficient to ignite the wood and cause the ships to catch fire. However, the device would have required maintaining precise alignment, a clear sunny day to produce intense, directed sunlight, and time to generate enough heat to ignite wood. The practicality of using such a device in a real battle situation, with moving targets and variable weather conditions, is highly questionable. The Syracusans, for example, would have had to adjust the mirrors to maintain focus on the target as the Roman ships approached. These technological challenges raise doubts on the plausibility of the concept.

The earliest mentions of the weapon come from later historical sources, such as the writings of the 2nd-century AD Roman historian Lucian [4], or Anthemius of Tralles who, around AD 500, mentions “burning glasses” as an Archimedean weapon. Significantly, these accounts were written centuries after the events described. Even Archimedes makes no mention of a “Heat Ray” in his surviving works. This lack of contemporary evidence has led many scholars to question the authenticity of later accounts and to doubt whether the “Heat Ray” even existed.

While the historical accuracy and feasibility of Archimedes’ invention are debated, it is still a fascinating example of ancient ingenuity and has, therefore, been a favourite subject of scientific experimentation. During the Renaissance a test was conducted by Comte de Buffon (circa 1747), documented in the paper titled ”Invention De Miroirs Ardens, Pour Brusler a Une Grande Distance”. Just over a century later and a similar experiment by John Scott was documented in an 1867 paper. In more modern times notable attempts have included:

• In 1973 a Greek engineer named Ioannis Sakkas conducted an experiment at the Skaramagas naval base outside Athens that showed the concept could work under ideal conditions. Seventy mirrors, each about 1.5 meters tall and with a copper coating, were held by Greek sailors and aimed at a plywood mock-up of a Roman warship some 50 m (160 ft) distant. When each mirror was aligned correctly, the focused sunlight managed to ignite the target within a few seconds. Sakkas was convinced that Archimedes could have used bronze mirrors to scupper the Roman fleet.

• Archimedes’ Heat Ray has featured three times on the US television show “Mythbusters”. Several experiments were conducted in 2004 for episode 5 of season 2 (“Ancient Death Ray”) to test the heat ray. These tests were unsuccessful, leading the team to classify the heat ray as a myth. A year later, a group of students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) carried out an experiment using 127 x 30 cm (1 ft) square mirror tiles, focused on a mock-up wooden ship at a range of around 30 m (100 ft). Flames broke out on a patch of the ship, but only after the sky had been cloudless and the ship had remained stationary for around ten minutes. Consequently, it was concluded that the device was a feasible weapon under certain conditions.

• In 2006 the MIT group repeated the experiment in episode 3 of MythBusters season 4 (“Archimedes Death Ray”). This time the team used a wooden fishing boat in San Francisco as the target which again resulted in some charring and a small amount of flame. Once more the Heat Ray was placed in the category of “busted” (or failed) because of the length of time and the ideal weather conditions required for combustion to occur. Moreover, as Syracuse faces east towards the sea, for the weapon to have been successful, the Roman fleet could have only been engaged during the morning for the mirrors to gather the optimal sunlight. It is unlikely that any Roman general would have limited their attacks to favour the Syracusan’s defence. Besides conventional weaponry such as flaming arrows or bolts from catapults would have been a far easier way of setting a ship on fire at short distances. In December 2010, MythBusters again looked at the heat ray in episode 17 of season 8 (“President's Challenge”). Several more experiments were carried out, including a large-scale test with 500 schoolchildren aiming mirrors at a mock-up of a Roman sailing ship 120 m (400 ft) away. In all tests, the ship’s sail failed to reach the 210°C (410°F) temperature required to catch fire, and the verdict was again “busted”. The show concluded that a more likely effect of the mirrors would have been to blind, dazzle or distract a ship’s crew.

The Claw of Archimedes and the Heat Ray represent some of Archimedes’ many remarkable achievements in science, technology, and warfare in ancient times. Despite the lack of detailed contemporary records, the accounts of the Claw's effectiveness during the siege of Syracuse have contributed to the enduring legacy of Archimedes as a pioneering engineer and inventor. The Heat Ray remains a subject of fascination and debate, and whether it existed or not, it symbolises the blend of science and myth that characterises much of our understanding of ancient technology. The concept demonstrates an advanced understanding of optics and engineering in ancient Greece. Moreover, modern experiments suggest that, under ideal conditions, a heat ray could potentially work, although its practical application in ancient warfare is highly dubious. Even so, Archimedes’ work extended beyond military engineering. He made significant contributions to mathematics, physics, and engineering, including the principles of buoyancy (Archimedes’ principle), the concept of levers and, as we have seen, the Archimedean screw.

Antikythera mechanism

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered, mechanical orrery (model of the Solar System). It is believed to be the oldest known example of an analogue computer possibly used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena. So far, the exact purpose of the Antikythera mechanism remains hypothetical, although the 37 meshing bronze gears identified in radiographic images speak of the object’s significance. No other geared mechanism of such complexity is known from the ancient world or indeed until medieval cathedral clocks were built a millennium later. Moreover, it is not known whether the bronze-geared technology and the advanced mechanical design skills involved in its construction were used for other applications within the Greco-Roman world. Regardless, the Antikythera mechanism remains unique in having the first known set of scientific dials or scales ever discovered.

The remains of this ancient “computer” are now on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. They were recovered in 1901 from the wreck of a trading ship that sank in the first half of the 1st-century BC near the island of Antikythera in the Mediterranean Sea. Its manufacture is currently dated to 100 BC, give or take 30 years, while its quality and complexity suggest it must have had as yet undiscovered antecedents during the Hellenistic period. Its construction relied on theories of astronomy and mathematics developed by Greek astronomers during the 2nd-century BC. In 2008, research by the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project suggested the concept for the mechanism may have originated in the colonies of Corinth and, since Syracuse was a colony of Corinth, implied a connection with the school of Archimedes. This was clearly the premise of the 2023 film “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”.

The Antikythera mechanism was fabricated out of bronze sheet, and originally it would have been protected in a case about the size of a shoebox. The doors of the case and the faces of the mechanism are covered with Greek inscriptions, enough of which survive to indicate much of the device’s astronomical, or calendrical, purpose. It is believed that a hand-turned shaft (now lost) was connected by a crown gear to the main gear wheel (pictured right) that drove the further gear trains, with each revolution of the main gear wheel corresponding to one solar year. These 37 meshing bronze gears enable the mechanism to follow the movements of the Moon and the Sun through the zodiac, to predict eclipses and to model the irregular orbit of the Moon. Indeed, the drive train for the lunar position is extremely sophisticated, involving epicyclic gearing and a slot-and-pin mechanism to mimic subtle variations (known as the “first anomaly”) in the Moon’s motion across the sky. This motion was studied in the 2nd-century BC by astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes, who may have been consulted in the machine’s construction.

On the front of the mechanism is a large dial with pointers for showing the position of the Sun and the Moon in the zodiac and a half-silvered ball for displaying lunar phases. Inscriptions imply that there may originally have been a display of the five classical planetary positions, most likely on the front face, but nearly all the relevant parts are missing. The inscriptions were further deciphered in 2016, revealing numbers connected with the synodic cycles of Venus and Saturn. A subsidiary four-year dial showed when the various Panhellenic games should take place, including the ancient Olympic Games. The large lower dial has a four-turn spiral with symbols to show months in which there was a likelihood of a solar or lunar eclipse, based on the 18.2 year astronomical cycle known to the Greeks from Babylonian sources.

Water clocks

Water clocks are some of the oldest inventions by which time can be measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel where the amount of liquid can then be measured. The simplest form of water clock, with a bowl-shaped outflow, existed in Babylon, Egypt, and Persia around the 16th-century BC. Other regions of the world, including India and China, also provide early evidence of water clocks, but the earliest dates are less certain. Water clocks known as klepsýdres (κλεψύδρες, sing. κλεψύδρα klepsýdra) were used in ancient Greece and in ancient Rome. The word comes from the Greek κλέπτω (kléptō, “steal”) +‎ ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”), so “klepsýdra” translates literally as “water thief”.

Klepsýdra from the Athenian Agora Museum.

A commonly used design was the simple outflow klepsýdra consisting of a small earthenware vessel with a hole in its side near the base. When unstopped, water drains out of the vessel at a rate determined by the hole diameter. Markings inside the container were used to indicate the passage of time. As the water leaves the vessel, an observer can see where the water is level in keeping with the lines and thus tell how much time has passed. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans used this type of klepsýdra to allocate periods of time to speakers in their courts. In important cases, such as when a person's life was at stake, it was filled completely, but for more minor cases, only partially. If proceedings were interrupted for any reason, for example to examine documents, the hole in the klepsýdra was stopped with wax until the speaker was able to resume his pleading. Given human nature, it would come as no surprise, as some scholars suspect, that klepsýdres may have been used to impose time limits on those visiting Athenian brothels. In Alexandria of the early 3rd-century BC, the Greek physician Herophilos employed a portable klepsýdra on his house visits to measure a patient’s pulse. As one of the earliest anatomists, from his knowledge through dissections of bodies Herophilus was able to deduce that veins carried only blood and, after studying blood flow, he was able to differentiate between arteries and veins. He also noticed the rhythmically pulsing of blood as it flowed through the arteries. He devised standards for measuring a patient’s pulse and used them as an aid in diagnosing sickness or disease. To measure said pulse, Herophilos is said to have made use of a water clock.

Between 270 BC and AD 500, Greek (Ctesibius, Hero of Alexandria, Archimedes) and Roman horologists and astronomers developed ever more elaborate mechanised water clocks. The Greeks, for example, tackled the problem of the diminishing flow by introducing several types of the inflow klepsýdra. Alexandrian inventor and mathematician Ctesibius is credited as the first to incorporate gears and a dial indicator to automatically show the time. Not an easy feat as the duration of a day changed throughout the year according to the varying length of time between sunrise and sunset. Other innovative designs opened doors and windows to reveal figurines of people, and the 1st-century BC Roman engineer Vitruvius described early alarm clocks with bells, gongs or trumpets.

Summary

From Archytas to Hero and Archimedes, the ancient Greeks’ quest for knowledge was only limited by the materials technology of the day. They understood and harnessed the power of steam centuries before Thomas Savery invented a steam engine in 1648 that would evolve to power Britain’s Industrial Revolution. The ancients Greeks inventors were some of the first to conceive of vending machines, alarm clocks and water management systems that are still used today but which we, perhaps, take for granted. As Tastes Of History researched the topic it became quickly apparent that there were a multitude of other ancient and more modern devices, ideas and machines worthy of mention. We shall undoubtedly return to subject in the future. Bon appétit!

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References:

Edwards, M. (2026), “Antikythera mechanism: ancient Greek mechanical device”, Britannica, available online (accessed 13 February 2026).

Greece High Definition, (2025), “The World’s First Coin-Operated Vending Machine: A Greek Marvel of Engineering”, greekhighdefinition.com, available online (accessed 4 February 2026).

Rennison, N. (2023), ‘Q&A: Bird-brained idea’, BBC History Magazine February 2023, p.43.

World History Edu (2024), “Archimedes’ Screw: History and Major Facts”, worldhistoryedu.com, available online (accessed 11 February 2026).

Endnotes:

1. Archytas was an ancient Greek philosopher, who was born in 428 BC in Tarentum, Magna Graecia, now southern Italy. In addition to being a philosopher, he was also a mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategos (“general”) for seven consecutive years defending Tarentum. ▲

2. Diodorus Siculus (or Diodorus of Sicily) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily in the 1st-century BC. He is known for writing the monumental universal history Bibliotheca Historica, in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, between 60 BC and 30 BC. ▲

3. Vitruvius (born c.  80–70 BC, died after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st-century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled De architectura. ▲

4. Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, c. AD 125 – after AD 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style. This he frequently used to ridicule superstition, religious practices, and belief in the paranormal. ▲