The most famous and successful of the scientists and engineers from the 1 st century was Hero (Heron) of Alexandria, who was conjuring up all kinds of weird and wonderful mechanical gadgets and steam engines, that both entertained the royalty and dumfounded the faithful in the temples. The ancestry of Hero is unknown. He came from Alexandria in Egypt, but Carl Boyer, a historian of science and mathematics, has said that his work and mathematics demonstrate that Hero must also have had Parthian and Greek influences. What Made Alexandria the Intellectual Capital of the Ancient World? Mathematical Genius or Mesmerizing Magician? The Psychomagic of Scotland's Ancient Lost Wizard The date of Hero’s life and work is also unknown but extracts
