Philon (Byzantine) (English spelling)

Japanese: フィロン[ビザンティンの]（英語表記）Philōn

A Greek mechanician active during the Hellenistic period. His birth and death years are unknown, but he is thought to have been active around 250 BCE, as he describes the recently invented bronze sling of Ctesibius. In the fields of military technology and mechanical devices, he left behind inventions such as projectiles and temperature detectors that use air pressure, but the details of his life are unknown. His only surviving work, Systema Mechanica, consists of nine volumes: Preface, Lever, Harbor Construction, Catapults, Pneumatics, Mechanical Theatre, Fortifications, Sieges and Defenses, and Strategy, of which only the volumes on Catapults, Pneumatics, and Fortifications remain.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ヘレニズム期に活躍したギリシアの機械学者。生没年は不詳だが，発明されたばかりのクテシビオスの青銅製投石器について述べているところから，活躍期は前250年前後と思われる。軍事技術と機械装置の分野で，投射機や気圧を利用した温度検知器などの発明を残したが，その生涯については不明。彼の現存する唯一の著作《機械学体系》は〈序文〉〈てこ〉〈港湾の建造〉〈投石器〉〈気体学〉〈機械劇場〉〈築城術〉〈攻城と防衛〉〈戦略〉の9巻からなるが，そのうち〈投石器〉〈気体学〉〈築城術〉の巻だけが残っている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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