What is Eratosthenes?

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Eratosthenes

Overview

This paper will tell you about the life of Eratosthenes; his life, death and everything that we know in between. He was a very diverse, multitalented thinker who was also known as the “father of geography” (Fashchuk 1).

The Life of Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes was born in 276 B.C. in Cyrene, Libya which is present day Shahhat, Libya on the northern coast of Africa. He died in 194 B.C. at about 82 years old in Alexandria, Egypt, which is the second largest city in Egypt (Trubin).The only mention of his father was of a man named Aglaos. This is the only mention of any of Eratosthenes’ family (Totten 1). Eratosthenes was a Greek scholar, librarian, poet, inventor, and mathematician (Eratosthenes).

Growing Up and Education

There is no information about Eratosthenes’ childhood or his life growing up. Callimachus is said to be a teacher of Eratosthenes but it is not likely that they spent a lot of time together until Eratosthenes came to Alexandria as a fully accomplished professional(Totten). Eratosthenes was appointed to succeed Apollonius of Rhodes as the head of the Library at Alexandria and also tutor Apollonius’ children (Eratosthenes).

Employment and Daily Life

Eratosthenes’ first job was when he succeeded Apollonius as head librarian of the library at Alexandria. He also tutored Ptolemy’s children, which was how he made his money to start out. There is no record of Eratosthenes being married or having any children. Science was Eratosthenes’ main job after being head of the library. His employment as head of the library and as a scientist were both very stable jobs and sources of income. Eratosthenes considered himself to be a “friend of learning” (Eratosthenes). Eratosthenes was a Greek scholar, lib...

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This is an example of the Sieve of Eratosthenes used to find prime numbers.

http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/76285/automation-static-array-for-the-sieve-of-eratosthenes

Works Cited

Fashchuk, D. I︠A︡. Marine Ecological Geography: Theory and Experience. Berlin: Springer, 2011. Print.

Totten, Michael. "Biography Eratosthenes of Cyrene." Sciences360.com. N.p., 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Violatti, Christian. "Eratosthenes." Www.ancient.eu.com/eratosthenes. N.p., 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

"Eratosthenes." Www.nndb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Rosenberg, Matt. "Eratosthenes - Biography of Eratosthenes." About.com Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Trubin, Julian. "Eratosthenes: The Measurement of the Earth's Circumference." Eratosthenes: The Measurement of the Earth's Circumference. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

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