Archytas

Archytas, of Tarentum, an eminent Greek philosopher, mathematician, soldier and statesman of the fifth century B.C. He is reported to have led his fellow-citizens seven times in battle and always with success. According to Diogenes Laertius he was a friend and instructor of Plato, and two letters that passed between them are preserved. A follower of Pythagoras, he made an enormous advance by applying the inductive method to physical science, and in practical mechanics he is credited with having invented the screw and the pulley, and with having constructed a flying pigeon and other automata. The fragments which we possess of his works show that his mind was engaged in various and diverse speculations - moral, mental, logical, mathematical, and physical.