ARCHIMEDES
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico-Fetti_Archimedes_1620.jpg
How did one mathematician hold off the Roman army for more than a year?
Born between 290 and 280 B.C. · Syracuse, Sicily
Archimedes was a renowned mathematician and inventor of the ancient world. Apart from several years in Egypt, possibly in Alexandria, he spent his life in the Greek colony of Syracuse. When the Romans besieged the city, the war machines he designed helped delay its fall for more than a year.
- Born: Between 290 and 280 B.C., in the Greek colony of Syracuse, Sicily
- Travels: Several years in Egypt, possibly in Alexandria
- In wartime: His war machines delayed the fall of Syracuse for more than a year
- Died: Around 211 B.C., during the Romans’ sack of Syracuse
- Rediscovered: In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Can mathematics reveal the order of the natural world?
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- The Sphere and the CylinderArchimedes is most famous for discovering the relationship between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder.
- The Archimedes PrincipleHe formulated hydrostatic principles, now known as the Archimedes principle.
- The Archimedes ScrewHe is also known for the Archimedes screw, a device designed to pump water from a ship’s hull.
- Engines of WarDuring the Roman siege of Syracuse, the war machines Archimedes designed helped delay the city’s fall for more than a year.
- Order in NatureLike Euclid’s, his work affirms the scientific and philosophical endeavor to find order in the natural world.
His true importance was perceived only after his works were rediscovered.
When Archimedes’ writings resurfaced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they influenced the work of Galileo (1564–1642) and Kepler (1571–1630), among others. Like Euclid’s, his work affirms the scientific and philosophical endeavor to find order in the natural world.
Where to read more about Archimedes.
- 1987ArchimedesDijksterhuis, E. J. · Princeton University Press
- 1999The Shaping of Deduction in Greek Mathematics: A Study in Cognitive HistoryNetz, Reviel · Cambridge University Press
- 2002The Works of Archimedes: Edited in Modern Notation with Introductory ChaptersHeath, Thomas L., ed. · Dover Publications · originally published 1897
- 2011The Archimedes PalimpsestNetz, Reviel, William Noel, Natalie Tchernetska, and Nigel Wilson, eds. · Cambridge University Press
- The Archimedes PalimpsestImages and research from the project that recovered Archimedes’ lost works from a medieval manuscript.archimedespalimpsest.org
- Perseus Digital LibraryGreek texts and translations, including works of Archimedes.perseus.tufts.edu
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Archimedesbritannica.com
("Archimedes before his death with the Roman soldier, Roman mosaic." Photograph of mosaic. Roman period, circa 2nd century CE. Stone tesserae. Unknown location. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Archimedes_before_his_death_with_the_Roman_soldier%2C_Roman_mosaic.jpg.)
A Roman mosaic depicting Archimedes in his final confrontation with a Roman soldier, emphasizing his defiance and scholarly robes amid the chaos of invasion.
(AI-generated image)
Archimedes, the brilliant Greek mathematician and inventor, revolutionized science with his discoveries in geometry and buoyancy, leaving a lasting legacy through innovations like the lever and his ingenious defense of Syracuse.
("Archimedes before his death with the Roman soldier, Roman mosaic." Photograph of mosaic. Roman period, circa 2nd century CE. Stone tesserae. Unknown location. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Archimedes_before_his_death_with_the_Roman_soldier%2C_Roman_mosaic.jpg.)
A Roman mosaic depicting Archimedes in his final confrontation with a Roman soldier, emphasizing his defiance and scholarly robes amid the chaos of invasion.