c. 280-c. 220 B.C.

Greek physicist and inventor known for his treatise on mechanics, and for his work on the duplication of the cube. In his Mechanics Philon discussed the lever, catapults, and pneumatics. His approach to the Delian problem (cube doubling) was stated in terms of creating a catapult capable of hurling a missile twice as large as the payload of an existing catapult.