Ctesibius

 ( Ancient Greek Inventors ) 

Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius (; BCE) was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. Very little is known of Ctesibius' life, but his inventions were well known in his lifetime. He was likely the first head of the Musaeum. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps (and even in a kind of cannon). This, in combination with his work On pneumatics on the elasticity of air, earned him the title of "father of pneumatics." None of his written work has survived, including his Memorabilia, a compilation of his research that was cited by Athenaeus. Ctesibius' most commonly known invention today is a pipe organ (hydraulis), a predecessor of the modern church organ.

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Inventions Ctesibius was the son of a barber, born BCE, probablybut not certainlyin Alexandria.

(2025). 9780143112518, Penguin Books. ISBN 9780143112518

He began his career as a barber, following his father. During this first career, he invented a counterweight-adjustable mirror. Another of his inventions was the hydraulis, a water organ that is considered the precursor of the modern pipe organ and the first keyboard instrument. He and his wife Thais were reputed to be highly-skilled players of the instrument.Athenaeus Deipnosophistae 4.174e

Vicki Leon (1995). 9781573240109, Conari Press. ISBN 9781573240109

He improved the water clock or clepsydra ('water thief'), which for more than 1,800 years was the most accurate clock ever constructed, until the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens' invention of the pendulum clock in 1656. Ctesibius described one of the first for producing a jet of water, or for lifting water from wells. Examples have been found at various Roman sites, such as at Silchester in Britain. The principle of the siphon has also been attributed to him.

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Reputation

According to Diogenes Laërtius, Ctesibius was miserably poor. Laërtius details this by recounting the following concerning the philosopher Arcesilaus:

Ctesibius's work is chronicled by Vitruvius, Athenaeus, Pliny the Elder, and Philo of Byzantium who repeatedly mention him, adding that the first mechanicians such as Ctesibius had the advantage of being under kings who loved fame and supported the arts. Proclus (the commentator on Euclid) and Hero of Alexandria also mention him.

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Commemoration

• In 1976, the crater on the far side of the Moon was named Ctesibius by the International Astronomical Union.

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Notes

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Further reading

• J. G. Landels (2025). 9780520034297, University of California Press. . ISBN 9780520034297
• G. E. R. Lloyd (1973). 9780393043716, Norton. ISBN 9780393043716

Categories: Ancient Greek Inventors, Ancient Alexandrians, 3rd-century Bc Greek Mathematicians, 280s Bc Births, Year Of Birth Uncertain, 222 Bc Deaths

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