Art and Nature in Ancient Mechanics

In this paper I discuss the art-nature relationship in Greco-Roman antiquity with special reference to one important ancient art or technê: mechanics. Although different ancient authors express different views about the goals, methods, and scope of mechanics, they tend to agree in conceiving it as a technê, an art or science, involving a combination of various kinds of theoretical and practical knowledge. In a range of sources from the third century BC to the third century AD, mechanics is typically described as a technê that includes a wide range of fields, from the theory and practice of building machines for lifting heavy objects to the construction of artillery engines and automata.1