The Life Of Archimedes

Archimedes, considered on of the greatest minds of the ancient world was born on the island of Sicily in the Greek city of Syracuse in the year 287 B.C.. Syracuse at the time was an independent Greek city-state with a 500-year history. He was the son of Phidias who was a Greek Astronomer and Mathematician. All that we know about Archimedes comes from his existing manuscripts, and from ancient historians such as Plutarch and Cicero among others centuries after his death. Considering the length of time between Archimedes death and the historians' accounts, along with the nonuniformity of their writings, some details of his life have to be subject to question. For example, Plutarch has been stated saying that Archimedes was related to King Hieron II, but Cicero had claimed that he was of a low birth. It was also reported that he would become so engrossed in his thoughts that he would forget to eat or bathe making his grooming habits more to be desired.

It is believed that his early schooling came from Syracuse, then traveled to study with the Egyptian mathematician and astronomer Conon in the city of Alexandria. Archimedes had become close friends with Conon and also Eratosthenes, the custodian of the Alexandrian library. Long after completing his studies and returning to Syracuse he continued his correspondence with both of them about his different mathematical and scientific discoveries.

The contributions of Archimedes to mathematical knowledge are abundant setting force principles of plane and solid geometry. Only three of his treatises on plane geometry have survived, these are; Measurement of a Circle, Quadrature of a Parabola, and On the Sphere and Cylinder. In his book Measurement of a Circle Archimedes shows t...

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... illustrated in the back of the report) which he could use the hook at the end of a rope entangled throughout an intricate set of pulleys to grab and either pick up or capsize and sink the enemy ship. The reputation of Archimedes was known far and wide so when the city of Syracuse was finally sacked in 212 B.C. General Marcellus gave orders that Archimedes would be taken alive. While Archimedes was etching in the sand, some mathematical problem, a roman soldier stumbled upon him. As Archimedes yelled and ordered at the Roman soldier not to disturb his writings the enraged soldier removed his sword and impaled Archimedes thus ending the life of on of the greatest mathematicians of all times. On a personal note, It seems to me once the General found out that Archimedes was dead by one of his soldiers, that soldier suffered the same fate as did the goldsmith earlier.