Man started using things similar to levers to lift and move heavy things since the Stone Age. In the 3rd century BC, the Greek mathematician Archimedes explained how levers worked.
During the early days, for the construction of their many great buildings, the Greeks used something called a winch to raise heavy things. A winch was kind of like a combination of a roller and a lever.
It is believed that the Egyptians were the first people to use something similar to the modern-day pulley. Though not exactly a pulley, they used to run ropes over smooth timbers to alter the direction of movement while raising heavy stones.
Compound pulleys were described before AC 100 by the Greek scholar Hero of Alexandria. A compound pulley is fixed and movable hence forms a block and tackle, which can have several pulleys mounted or the fixed and moving axles, thereby increasing the amount of force.
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