Archimedes was born in 287 B.C. in Syracuse, Sicily. Being born the son of Phidias, a well-known astronomer, he learned under the teachings of Euclid, the Greek mathematician in his school at Alexandria.
Archimedes spent most of his entire life in his birthplace Syracuse. He was a master at mathematics and spent most of his time contemplating new problems to solve, becoming at times so involved in his work that he forgot to eat. He used any available surface, from the dust on the ground to ashes from an extinguished fire, to draw his geometric figures. Never giving up an opportunity to ponder his work, after bathing and anointing himself with olive oil, he would trace figures in the oil on his own skin.
One famous story was when Hiero ordered a gold crown from the goldsmith and gave the goldsmith the exact amount of gold to make
Throughout Archimedes’ life he showed his genius. His findings in geometry and mathematics would lay the foundation for generations to come. It was clear by reports of his actions and records of his achievements that he was gifted in many fields of science, and was destined to become a lasting legacy to Greek culture.
King Hiero, seeing how skilled Archimedes was with inventions persuaded him to invent and build new weapons to defend the city against the Romans. Archimedes developed many siege weapons ahead of his time. Based on the principle of the pulley along with other scientific theories he constructed catapults capable of hurling giant rocks at approaching troops. Another siege weapon constructed by Archimedes was an invention known as “Archimedes’ Claw.” This weapon worked as a huge crane to take ships and hurl them a
Example Essays Home
