Most people associate engineering with modern times, but this is far from true. The fact is, our old ancestors used complex machines from the early Bronze Age. Using innovative tools such as pulleys, wheels and levers, these first engineers helped build great monuments such as the Giza Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Babylon Gardens. There is, however, in particular culture, whose contributions to the engineering world almost culminating in the technological revolution thousands of years before industrial times.

Machinery of the Greek-Roman people

Greek-Roman people they were interested in engineering that was born as a legacy of shared knowledge, and have developed some of the most significant inventions, which were the adornment of the classical world. This included gravity-powered aqueducts and pumps that used centrifugal force.

There are, however, a number of inventionsthat were so premature that we were forcing them to re-evaluate the brilliance of their engineering skills. Some of these artifacts were rediscovered from ancient manuscripts, while others were pulled from the ocean floor (lost over two thousand years). These stunning machines range literally hundreds to thousands of years before the classical Greek-Roman period.

Talos

Although we can assign "Talos" to the realities of fiction, this mechanical monster reminds us that robotics is not a matter of modern times. Greeks fascinate with their machines in the ancient myth, where God Hephaistos developed many automatic machines, such as mechanical girls and giant robotic dogs.

Archyt's dove

After the collapse of the Bronze Age, new engineers from Hellenistic Greece began to play with mechanical devices (possibly inspired by Hephaistos himself). Archytas, a Greek philosopher, was allegedly the father of mathematical mechanics. One of his most popular inventions was the mechanical dove, which was said to be steam driven.

Brass head

Another legend comes from a strange and mysterious brass head. This device appeared in 3. century BC dating from the Roman poet Virgil. It has been stated that this mechanical head has the power of speech and could talk with its users at any time. His creator remains unknown, but his legend appears several times in history, coupled with mystics like Boethius (480-525 CE) and Albertus Magnus (1206-1280 CE).

Mechanism of the Antiquary

The mechanism from Antikytery is another remarkable machine, the inventor of which remains secret. This astronomical device was placed in a wooden box and consisted of 30 bronze gears (possibly more). Turning the crank rotates all the internal gears, the position of the sun, the phases of the moon and possibly the location of the planets. After being lost in the wreckage of the ship, it will take another thousand years to produce more, more than basic machinery.

Heron's steam engine

Heronov Aeolipile (or "ball of the god of winds Aiola") is a small rocket motor that rotates when heated. It is considered the first recorded steam engine in history. If this proto-engine was further developed, it is possible that steam propulsion could be the reality of almost 2000 years before the invention of a steam train.

Greek fire

At the end of the Roman Empire, a new and rising weapon with devastating consequences came into play. The Byzantines refined a burnt weapon that was able to throw such an intense fiery cloud that in a few minutes literally burned the ships. It was said that this mysterious fire is almost inexhaustible (even if it is waterhed).

Greek fire gave the Byzantines a technological advantage and was responsible for many key military victories. His formula was a carefully guarded state secret and is not yet known.