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Archimedes: Syracuse
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Archimedes was the eminent mathematician and excellent physicist of his time. He was born in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily in 287 B.C. At that time Sicily was a Greek land. Archimedes was the son of an astronomer. He studied at Alexandria in Egypt, and then returned to Syracuse. He early became an astronomer. He constructed a brass planisphere - a projection of the celestial sphere - that showed the revolution of the Sun, the Moon and the five known planets, and showed the nature of eclipses.
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During Archimedes' lifetime Sicily was a hotspot for both geological and political events. The volcanic Mount Etna loomed threateningly over the island, while on all sides the titanic Punic Wars raged between Rome and Carthage. Situated strategically between the two great powers, Sicily naturally became an object of contention. Self preservation demanded that the kings of Syracuse negotiate with the great powers, and as a result the small city-state often found itself allied with one against the other. Such was the case in 214 BC, when pro-Carthaginian factions within the city chose to side with Carthage against Rome. Shortly thereafter, legions of the Roman army sailed to Syracuse and laid siege to the city walls.
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Archimedes had became a master at mathematics, especially geometry. He spent most of his time working on solving new problems. Sometimes he became so involved in his work that he forgot to eat. He was not only a great ancient Greek mathematician, but he was ... famous for his inventions such as a water pump, levers and pulley, and fire mirrors. Although his home city Syracuse had been in relative peace for 20 years, the city became part of the effort of Rome to defeat Carthage and rule all of Sicily. Aristotle was killed when the Romans overran his city.
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The tomb of Archimedes carried a sculpture illustrating his favorite mathematical proof, consisting of a sphere and a cylinder of the same height and diameter. Archimedes had proved that the volume and surface area of the sphere are two thirds that of the cylinder including its bases. In 75 BC, 137 years after his death, the Roman orator Cicero was serving as quaestor in Sicily. He had heard stories about the tomb of Archimedes, but none of the locals was able to give him the location. Eventually he found the tomb near the Agrigentine gate in Syracuse, in a neglected condition and overgrown with bushes. Cicero had the tomb cleaned up, and was able to see the carving and read some of the verses that had been added as an inscription.[10]
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Archimedes was born in Syracuse, Sicily in 287 B.C. This is about 2,000 years before Newton and Leibnez. He was born somewhat after Hiero, but lived during the same time as Hiero. Gelo and Marcellus were born when he was about 20 years old. Archimedes was very fascinated with geometry and spent most of his life finding out things such as the measurement of pi.
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Archimedes probably was born in the seaport city of Syracuse, a Greek colony on the island of Sicily. He was the son of an astronomer, Phidias, and may have been related to Hieron, King of Syracuse, and his son Gelon. Archimedes studied in Alexandria at the school established by Euclid and then settled in his native city.
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