Open Collections

Athenaios Mechanicus

University of British Columbia

The work of Athenaios Mechanicus is a little known treatise on siege machinery entitled ∏ερì Μηχαѵηµάτωѵ . Although this work, along with others on the same topic, is contained in several manuscripts, during the last 250 years very little study has been devoted to it. There have been three editions (Thévenot, 1693; Wescher; 1867; and Schneider 1912) and two translations, one in French (De Rochas, 1884) and one in German (Schneider, 1912). Schneider has also written a commentary. Biographical information is very slight and scholars who have tried to date the work have arrived at widely varying conclusions (third century B.C. to third century after Christ). In this thesis my objects have been: a) to provide an English translation of the work based on Wescher’s text, b) to provide a brief résumé of the opinions advanced concerning the biography of Athenaios and his relationship to Vitruvius, c) to write a brief commentary on selected topics arising from the text.

Text

2011-07-19

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/36144

Classics

University of British Columbia

Graduate