Archime ̄de ̄s of Surakousai (ca 250 – 212 BCE)
The most important scientist of antiquity.
- Biographic Evidence. Archime ̄de ̄s’ death is dated, most securely on P’
authority (Book 8, frr. 4 – 6, 37), to the fall of Surakousai in the Second Punic War; he likewise
describes the scientist then as presbute ̄s, old. (The often repeated statement that he was 75
when he died is based on the worthless authority of the Byzantine poet Tzetze ̄s.)
Archime ̄de ̄s refers, in the introductions to several of his major treatises, to the death of
K, known to have been alive in 245 (when Kono ̄n named the “Lock of Berenice”).
It follows that at least some of Archime ̄de ̄s’ major works were likely written during the
230s–220s. Knorr (1978) offers the most ambitious attempt to offer a chronology of
Archime ̄de ̄s’ life and works.
E refers (p. 228 H.) to an ancient Life of Archime ̄de ̄s written by a certain He ̄rak-
leios or H. Since Archime ̄de ̄s’ introduction to Spiral Lines mentions an associate
named He ̄rakleide ̄s, it is likely that this Life was written by a knowledgeable, if partisan,
author. While none of this work survives save for the two comments quoted by Eutokios
(both of a strictly mathematical significance), the possibility remains that at least some of
Archime ̄de ̄s’ ancient biographical tradition stems ultimately from such a reliable source. It
remains impossible to say which parts of the tradition are fictional, and which are historical.
The familiar stories (such as that of the forged crown problem solved in the bath, or launch-
ing the giant ship while uttering “give me where to stand and I shall move the earth”),
having the ring of legend, derive from late authorities.
Archime ̄de ̄s refers in the Sand-Reckoner to an astronomer, “P, my father.” Two
onomastic comments suggest themselves. (a) From the late-5th c. onwards, “Pheidias” was a
name traditionally given in artistic and artisanal families, (b) the name “Archime ̄de ̄s” is
effectively a hapax, apparently modeled on “Diome ̄de ̄s,” or “the mind of Zeus,” meaning
roughly “the mind of the Arche ̄.” This clearly suggests a religion motivated by Platonic or
Stoic metaphysics. The sum total of our evidence is that Archime ̄de ̄s’ grandfather was
likely an artist, his father an astronomer and follower of contemporary, Platonic or Stoic,
currents of metaphysical thought.
Reliable historical evidence on Archime ̄de ̄s’ death portrays him as heroically, to some
extent single-handedly, and very effectively, contributing to the defense of Surakousai,
through the construction of original war engines. Nothing in the extant corpus bears on the
problem of war engines, probably the simple product of necessity. Mention of the sands of
Sicily (in the introduction to the Sand-Reckoner), as well as the choice of setting for the Cattle
Problem, both suggest a patriotic devotion consistent with his wartime conduct. - Bibliographic Evidence. As mentioned above, some works ascribed to him start
with a letter of introduction, whose first words typically are “Archime ̄de ̄s to X, greetings.”
The sober, mathematical character of those letters suggests authenticity. If so, several extant
works are definitely authentic (titles, however, always unreliable, are provided here for refer-
ence, followed by the abbreviation to be used below): Sphere and Cylinder I (SC I) and the
independent but closely-related Sphere and Cylinder II (SC II); Spiral Lines (SL); Conoids and
Spheroids (CS); Quadrature of Parabola (QP); Sand-Reckoner (Arenarius); Method (Meth.). The first
five – SC I, SC II, SL, CS, QP – all addressed to D, can be seen as the core of
Archime ̄de ̄s’ achievement.
The Greek manuscript tradition further includes the following works: Measurement
of the Circle (DC); Planes in Equilibrium I, II (PE I, II) (two rolls of one work); Floating Bodies I,
ARCHIME ̄DE ̄S OF SURAKOUSAI