PLOT OF THE EPISODE
Archimedes was an ancient Greek scientist who studied mathematics, physics, mechanics, and astronomy. He was born and lived in Syracuse around 287 B.C. His inventions and discoveries made him famous both in ancient times and today. In the field of physics, he discovered the fundamentals of hydrostatics and statics, and also provided an explanation for the principle of the lever. Archimedes also made significant contributions to engineering by inventing screw pumps, various siege engines, and a weapon for sinking ships that became known as “Archimedes’ Claw.” It is also said that Archimedes, during the siege of Syracuse, invented the weapon known as the “Archimedes’ Ray,” which focused sunlight onto enemy ships—likely using mirrors—causing the ships to catch fire. He also excelled in mathematics, having calculated the open neighborhood of a point and provided a very accurate value for the number π. One of his discoveries is the determination of the volume of an object with an indefinite shape. That was the moment when Archimedes uttered the famous exclamation, "Eureka!", which is still well-known today.
On the island of Syracuse, the tyrant Hiero wants a golden crown made for him and gives the city’s best goldsmith gold to craft it. The cunning goldsmith adulterates the golden crown with a little silver and keeps some of the gold for himself. Then Hieron, suspecting the goldsmith of trickery, summoned Archimedes to the palace to find out if the goldsmith had deceived him. Archimedes solves the problem by determining the volume and then the density of the irregularly shaped crown based on an observation he made while taking his bath…
Narration: George Evgenikos
Music composition: Mara Kaisari
Research – Text editing: Christina Ververidou
Duration: 11:03"
You can listen to and/or download the podcast from the Eugenides Foundation’s channel on Spotify HERE.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bachman, Frank P. ([19--]). The Great Inventors. Athens: Pella
Bachmann, Ingeborg. (1976). Great inventors. Athens: Astir
Bunt, Lucas N., & Jones, Phillip S. (1981). The historical roots of elementary mathematics. Athens: Spiritual G.A.
Dunham, William. (2013). The Great Theorems of Mathematics: A journey into genius. Athens: Alexandria
Eves, Howard. (1989). Great Moments in Mathematics: until 1650. Athens: Pulleys
Fortey, Jacqueline & Tsagaratou, Emilia. (2009). Great scientists. Athens: Researchers: Katz, Victor J. (2013). History of Mathematics: An introduction. Heraklion: University of Crete Press
Lafferty, P., & Salariya, D. (2004). Inventions: that changed the world. Athens: Modern Times
Loria, Gino (1971). History of Mathematics. Athens: Hellenic Mathematical Society
Mankiewicz, Richard (2002). The History of Mathematics. Athens: Alexandria
Netz, Reviel & Noel, William. (2007). Archimedes' Code: the secrets of the world's most important palimpsest. Athens: Alexandria
Platt, Richard. (2004). Eureka!: great inventors and their ingenious way of thinking. Athens: Savvas
Anapolitanos, Dionysios A., & Karasmanis, Vasilis (eds.). (1993). Ancient Greek mathematics: texts on history and philosophy. Athens: Archimedes Pulley
. (1970). All: an ancient text. Athens: TEE
Archimedes. (2001–2002). All of them. Athens: Cactus
Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. (1995). Ancient Greek scientists. Athens: Georgiadis, A.
Exarchakos, Ioannis G. (1993). Archimedes: his life and work. Mathematical Review, 40 (4)
Lazos, Christos D. (1995). Archimedes: the brilliant engineer. Athens: Aeolus
Lazos, Christos D. (1999). Hydraulic instruments and mechanisms in Ptolemaic Egypt. Athens: Aeolus
Natsoulis, Takis. (1996). Ancient Greek spirit: Jokes - aphorisms - proverbs - witticisms - various anecdotes and snapshots from the lives of the ancient Greek sages. Athens: New Thesis
Spandagos, Vangelis, K. ([19--]). The natural scientists of ancient Greece: Biographical information and works of natural scientists in ancient Greece from the 9th century B.C. through the 6th century A.D. Athens: Aithra
Spandagos, Vangelis, K., Spandagou, Roula, & Traoulou, Despoina. (1994). Mathematicians of Ancient Greece: Biographical information and works by mathematicians of Ancient Greece from 900 B.C. to 550 A.D. Athens: Aithra
Stamatis, Evangelos S. (1968). Greek Science. Athens: See
Nikolaidou, Eleni & Fragou, Maria (2006). Archimedes: the divine mind. Athens: Greek Letters
Tsimourakis, Dimitris (2004). Trigonometry in Ancient Greece. Athens: Atrapos
Christianidis, Yannis (2003). Topics from the history of mathematics: Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek mathematics. Heraklion: University of Crete Press