The First Book of Mechanical Mathematical Instruments

A detailed engraving depicts Archimedes using a pulley system to move a large ship. The central subject is a massive wooden galley resting on a wheeled cradle or platform. A single man, representing Archimedes, stands in the foreground at the water's edge, pulling a rope. The rope is threaded through a complex arrangement of pulleys, known as a trispastos a three-pulley block system, attached to the ship's structure, demonstrating how a single person could move a great weight. In the background, a hilly landscape features a fortified city with various towers and structures. A small boat is visible in the bay behind the main figure.

THE MECHANISM OF THE TRISPASTOS, BY WHICH ARCHIMEDES, WITH A SINGLE HAND AND A ROPE, DRAGGED A SHIP FROM THE HARBOR INTO THE SEA.