COURT ENGINEERING IN PTOLEMAIC ALEXANDRIA
COURT ENGINEERING IN PTOLEMAIC ALEXANDRIA

Author(s): Helen Fragaki
Subject(s): History, History of ideas, Ancient World
Published by: Scientia Socialis, UAB
Keywords: Alexandrian engineering; Artillery; Automata; Hero of Alexandria; Hydraulics; Ktesibios; Philo of Byzantium; Royal propaganda;
Summary/Abstract: The works of Ktesibios, Philo and Hero show that the use of abstract principles for technical purposes had been widely practiced in the Alexandrian Museum and Library since the 3rd c. BC. This paper explores the political, religious and ideological issues of these practices, especially their relationship to the process of the divinisation of kings, which started during this period. The eminent role of applied science, which was perceived as an extension and a proof of the rulers’ divine power, explains why the transgression of the opposition between theoretical research and mechanics was overcome in the realm of court engineering.

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