Foreword by Maro K. Papathanasiou , Emeritus Professor of the Department of Mathematics of the University of Athens.

The present fourth volume of Pappus Alexander's monumental work "Mathematical Synagogue" contains the 8th and last book, which includes "various and excellent mechanical problems", as its heading states and is addressed to Hermodorus . It mainly refers to mechanics and theoretically studies simple machines.

Pappos mentions, in the introduction, the earlier positive scientists who dealt with mechanics, Archimedes , Heron , Ptolemy and Philo .