Philo was the author of a large work, the Syntaxis (Μηχανική Σύνταξη, Mēkhanikḗ Sýntaxē),[b] which contained the following sections:[1] The military sections Belopoeica and Poliorcetica are extant in Greek, detailing missiles, the construction of fortresses, provisioning, attack and defence, as are fragments of Isagoge and Automatopoeica (ed.
i., in the Teubner series, 1899; with French translation by Rochas, La Science des philosophes... dans l'antiquité, 1882).
Two flat-linked chains were connected to a windlass, which by winding back and forth would automatically fire the machine's arrows until its magazine was empty.
This was done by the suspension of the inkwell at the centre, which was mounted on a series of concentric metal rings which remained stationary no matter which way the pot turns.
[8][9] It is printed in R. Hercher's edition of Aelian (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1858); an English translation by Jean Blackwood is included as an appendix in The Seven Wonders of the World by Michael Ashley (Glasgow: Fontana Paperbacks, 1980).