A description of history's first steam-powered device. Described and possibly invented by the Greek inventor Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century AD. A very similar and quite possibly the same device was described by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the 1st century BC as an existing invention. The basic technology of this device draws heavily on the earlier work by the Greek 3rd century BC inventor Ctesibius and was possibly already invented by him, but it's impossible to determine since none of Ctesibius' works survive today...
