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The history of steam as a motor generally commences with reference to that toy called the aeolipile, described by Hero of Alexandria in a treatise on pneumatics about two centuries before Christ, and which was the invention of either himself or Ctesibius, his teacher.

There is even a little engine run by steam--the aeolipile--invented by him, which shows how close the old Greeks were to the underlying principles of discoveries that were destined to come only after the development of industries created a demand for them in the after time.

Today's water jets are the end result of developments that date back to the first century B.C., when the Greek mathematician and scientist Hero of Alexandria built his aeolipile to demonstrate a principle of jet propulsion.

The Aeolipile, in hydraulics, is an instrument consisting of a hollow metallic ball, with a slender neck or pipe, arising from it.

In Italy it is said that the Aeolipile is commonly made use of to cure smoky chimneys; for being hung over the fire, the blast arising from it carries up the loitering smoke along with it.