The Classical WorldTechnology Water mill c. 250 BCEMajor Greek engineers harness flowing water to grind grain, the first non-animal power source. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → First fired clay figures → First pottery → Potter's wheel → The wheel → Water mill Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesDocumentbritannica.comWaterwheel (Britannica) ↗Editor's pickBookJ. G. LandelsEngineering in the Ancient World ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeancient Greek water mill history ↗Editor's pick