@inbook {341131,
	title = {Techne and Method in Ancient Artillery Construction: The Belopoeica of Philo of Byzantium},
	booktitle = {The Frontiers of Ancient Science},
	year = {2015},
	pages = {613-651},
	publisher = {De Gruyter},
	organization = {De Gruyter},
	address = {Berlin},
	abstract = {Abstract: In his\&nbsp;Belopoeica, Philo of Byzantium presents artillery construction (belopoiike) as a kind of expertise or\&nbsp;techne\&nbsp;that possesses a standardized method for attaining success. I describe this method, which consists of a set of procedures and rules that are systematically organized on the basis of general principles, and discuss Philo{\textquoteright}s claim that its discovery depended crucially on experience (peira). In the second part of the\&nbsp;Belopoeica\&nbsp;Philo presents several designs for artillery engines that allegedly improve on the standard method. I discuss these designs, which draw on both natural philosophy and theoretical mechanics, and conclude with a brief attempt to place Philo{\textquoteright}s picture of artillery construction as a\&nbsp;techne\&nbsp;involving both experience and theory in the context of roughly contemporary views of\&nbsp;techne\&nbsp;in philosophy and medicine.\&nbsp;},
	author = {Mark J. Schiefsky},
	editor = {B. Holmes and K.-D. Fischer}
}
