The first rocket or a child's toy? Archytas' dove - an issue of interpretation

In the fourth century BC, Archytas of Tarentum is said to have constructed a wooden replica of a dove that flew using the power of a current of air that was 'hidden and enclosed within it'. With this interpretation, according to the NASA definition of rocket, this precedes the first documented use of a solid-fuel rocket by the Chinese by more than 1600 years. The interpretation of what Archytas' flying bird actually was, its purpose, and how it was powered has been the subject of scholarly debate for several decades. However, a critical review of the available literary and archaeological evidence allows for issues within this debate to be engaged with and the nature of Archytas' bird to be established. Furthermore, the results of this review demonstrate the importance of Archytas' creation, and place the ancient Greeks as the progenitors of an important area within the broader context of the history of flight and the history of engineering and technology.