|Hero of Alexandria| Born: c. 10 AD Died: c. 70 AD Cause of
death: unspecified Race or Ethnicity: White Nationality: Ancient
Rome Executive summary: Metrica Hero of Alexandria (sometimes
Heron), Greek geometer and writer on mechanical and physical
subjects, probably flourished in the second half of the 1st
century. This is the more modern view, in contrast to the
earlier theory most generally accepted, according to which he
flourished about 100 BC. The earlier theory started from the
superscription of one of his works from which it was inferred
that Hero was a pupil of Ctesibius. Martin, Hultsch and Cantor
took this Ctesibius to be a barber of that name who lived in the
reign of Ptolemy Euergetes II (died in 117 BC) and is credited
with having invented an improved water-organ. But this
identification is far from certain, as a Ctesibius mechanicus is
mentioned by Athenaeus as having lived under Ptolemy II
Philadelphus (285-247 BC). Nor can the relation of master and
pupil be certainly inferred from the supersc