Athenaeus Mechanicus is the author of a book on siegecraft, ''On Machines'' (). He is identified by modern scholars with Athenaeus of Seleucia, a member of the

Peripatetic school The Peripatetic school ( ) was a philosophical school founded in 335 BC by Aristotle in the Lyceum in ancient Athens. It was an informal institution whose members conducted philosophical and scientific inquiries. The school fell into decline afte ...

active in the mid-to-late 1st century BC, at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and elsewhere.Serafina Cuomo, review of Gatto 2010
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.11.35
/ref>Duncan B. Campbell, review of Whitehead and Blyth 2004

/ref>

Life

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

mentions a contemporary of his, Athenaeus of Seleucia, a Peripatetic

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He was for some time the leading

demagogue A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, Appeal to emotion, appealing to emo ...

in his native city, but afterwards came to Rome and became acquainted with Lucius Licinius Varro Murena. On the discovery of the plot which the latter, with Fannius Caepio, had entered into against

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, Athenaeus accompanied him in his flight. He was retaken, but pardoned by Augustus, as there was no evidence of his having taken a more active part in the plot. William Smith, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', p. . He is perhaps the same person as the writer mentioned by

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

, a historian who mentioned

Semiramis Semiramis (; ''Šammīrām'', ''Šamiram'', , ''Samīrāmīs'') was the legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus ...

''On Machines''

The treatise is addressed to

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

, and thus will have been composed before Marcellus' death in 23 BC (and possibly at a time when its addressee was preparing to go out on campaign). It describes a number of

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s. Among the earlier mechanicians cited as sources by Athenaeus are

Agesistratus Agesistratus (in Greek: ''Αγησίστρατος'') was a prominent ancient Spartan mathematician and engineer. He flourished around the 2nd century BC. He was a student of Apollonius of Perga. Agesistratus particularly focused on military forti ...

, Diades of Pella, and

Philo of Byzantium Philo of Byzantium (, ''Phílōn ho Byzántios'', ), also known as Philo Mechanicus (Latin for "Philo the Engineer"), was a Greek engineer, physicist and writer on mechanics, who lived during the latter half of the 3rd century BC. Although he wa ...

. Whitehead and Blyth analyze the treatise into a preface, a section on "good practice," a section on "bad practice," a section on Athenaeus' own innovations, and an epilogue "emphasizing preparation for war as a deterrent, and defending Athenaeus' own record against unnamed critics." The work is technical but not without signs of Athenaeus' philosophical culture: "He comes across as a philosopher, and he expounds about time and opportunity, but also claims to be enough of a technical expert to devise new machines, and to describe old ones accurately." Much of Athenaeus' work (9.4–27.6) is closely parallel to

Vitruvius Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...

, ''

De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Ancient Rome, Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesa ...

'' 10.13–16, a fact probably to be explained by the two authors' shared reliance on a common source.Whitehead and Blyth 2004, p. 14

Influence

The tenth-century '' poliorketikon'' of Hero of Byzantium, ''Parangelmata Poliorcetica'', draws on Athenaeus as a source.

Editions

* Carl(e) Wescher, ''Poliorcétique des Grecs''. Paris, 1867. (online
Google Booksarchive.org
* Rudolf Schneider, ''Griechische Poliorketiker''. ''Abhandlungen der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen: philologisch-historische Klasse'', neue Folge, 12:5. Berlin, 1912. * George R. West, ''Athenaios Mechanicus, On Siege Machinery''. M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia, 1969

* David Whitehead, P.H. Blyth, ''Athenaeus Mechanicus, On Machines''. ''Historia-Einzelschrift'', 182. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004. * Maurizio Gatto (ed.), ''Il Peri mechanematon di Ateneo meccanico. Edizione critica, traduzione, commento e note''. ''Aio'' 567. Roma: Aracne editrice, 2010.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athenaeus Mechanicus Ancient Greek military engineers Ancient Greek military writers Roman-era Peripatetic philosophers Roman-era philosophers in Rome 1st-century BC Greek philosophers