The Ptolemaic system of celestial motion, from Harmonia Macrocosmica, 1661.

In Antiquity, the inquiry into the workings of the universe took place both in investigations aimed at such practical goals as establishing a reliable calendar or determining how to cure a variety of illnesses and in those abstract investegations known as natural philosophy. The ancient peoples who are considered the first scientists may have thought of themselves as natural philosophers, as practitioners of a skilled profession (for example, physicians), or as followers of a religious tradition (for example, temple healers). Mediaeval drawing of the Ptolemaic system. ... It has been suggested that Greco-Roman be merged into this article or section. ... Natural philosophy is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... For a List of scientists, see: List of anthropologists List of astronomers List of biologists List of chemists List of computer scientists List of economists List of engineers List of geologists List of inventors List of mathematicians List of meteorologists List of physicists Scientist pairs List of scientist pairs See...

Greek science

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The history of science investigates the historical record of human events that are pertinent to the cultural context and the secular development of what is currently called science, namely, a body of empirical and theoretical knowledge, produced by a global community of researchers, making use of specific techniques for the... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1020x1508, 359 KB) Book cover Frontispiece of : Tabulae Rudolphinae : quibus astronomicae . ... The sociology and philosophy of science, as well as the entire field of science studies, have in the 20th century been preoccupied with the question of large-scale patterns and trends in the development of science, and asking questions about how science works both in a philosophical and practical sense. ... The historiography of science is the study of the history of science (often overlapping with the history of technology, history of medicine, and history of mathematics), generally in an academic context as part of the discipline of the history of science and technology (HST), history and philosophy of science (HPS... A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ... In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. ... The history of science in the Middle Ages refers to the discoveries in the field of natural philosophy throughout the Middle Ages - the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance. ... In the history of science, the scientific revolution was the period that roughly began with the discoveries of Kepler, Galileo, and others at the dawn of the 17th century, ended with the publication of the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687 by Isaac Newton, and led into a new period... Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... Table of astronomy, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia Astronomy is probably the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with astronomy, and not completely separate from it... The history of biology dates as far back as the rise of various civilization as classic philosophers did their own ways of biology as a system of understanding life. ... Portrait of Monsieur Lavoisier and his Wife, by Jacques-Louis David The history of chemistry may be said to begin with the distinction of chemistry from alchemy by Robert Boyle in his work The Skeptical Chymist, which was written after a long and tearfilled talk with his father, and alchymist... ÛEcology is generally spoken of as a new science, having only become prominent in the second half of the 20th Century. ... The growth of physics has brought not only fundamental changes in ideas about the material world, mathematics and philosophy, but also, through technology, a transformation of society. ... For more, see: Social science#History In ancient philosophy, there was no difference between the liberal arts of mathematics and the study of history, poetry or politics—only with the development of mathematical proof did there gradually arise a perceived difference between scientific disciplines and others, the humanities or liberal... The term economics was coined around 1870 and popularized by Alfred Marshall, as a substitute for the earlier term political economy which has been used through the 18th-19th centuries, with Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx as its main thinkers and which today is frequently referred to as... Efforts to describe and explain the human language faculty have been undertaken throughout recorded history. ... Antecedents of political science While the study of politics is first found in the Western tradition in Ancient Greece, political science is a late arrival in terms of social sciences. ... The history of psychology consists of a prescientific and a scientific epoch. ... Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline among other social sciences including economics, political science, anthropology, and psychology. ... The wheel was invented circa 4000 BC, and has become one of the worlds most famous and most useful technologies. ... Agronomy today is very different from what it was before about 1950. ... The history of computer science began long before the modern discipline of computer science that emerged in the 20th century. ... The History of materials science is rooted in the history of the Earth and the culture of the peoples of the Earth. ... All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for, and responses to, birth, death, and disease. ... Alternative meanings: Timeline is a 1999 science fiction novel by Michael Crichton Timeline is a 2003 film based on the novel. ...

Practical Knowledge

The practical concerns of the ancient Greeks to establish a calendar is first exemplified by the Works and Days of the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around 700 BC. The Works and Days incorporated a calendar, in which the farmer was to regulate seasonal activitities by the seasonal appearances and disappearances of the stars, as well as by the phases of the Moon which were held to be propitious or ominous.^[1] Around 450 BC we begin to see compilations of the seasonal appearances and disappearances of the stars in texts known as parapegmata, which were used to regulate the civil calendars of the Greek city-states on the basis of astronomical observations.^[2] Hesiod (Hesiodos, ), the early Greek poet and rhapsode, presumably lived around 700 BCE. Historians have debated the priority of Hesiod or of Homer, and some authors have even brought them together in an imagined poetic contest. ... A polis (πολις) — plural: poleis (πολεις) — is a city, or a city-state. ...

Medicine provides the other example of practically oriented investigation of nature among the Ancient Greeks. It has been pointed out that Greek medicine was not the province of a single trained profession and there was no accepted method of qualification of licensing. Physicians in the Hippocratic tradition, temple healers associated with the cult of Asclepius, herb collectors, drug sellers, midwives, and gymnastic trainers all claimed to be qualified as healers in specific contexts and competed actively for patients.^[3] This rivalry among these competing traditions contributed to an active public debate about the causes and proper treatment of disease, and about the general methodological approaches of their rivals. In the Hippocratic text, On the Sacred Disease, which deals with the nature of epilepsy, the author attacks his rivals (temple healers) for their ignorance and for their love of gain. The author of this text seems modern and progressive when he insists that epilepsy has a natural cause, yet when he comes to explain what that cause is and what the proper treatment would be, his explanation is as short on specific evidence and his treatment as vague as that of his rivals.^[4]

The Pre-Socratic Philosophers

Materialist Philosophers

This pattern of debate seems to continue with the earliest Greek philosophers, known as the pre-Socratics, who provided alternative answers to the same question found in the myths of their neighbors: "How did the ordered cosmos in which we live come to be?"^[5] But although the question is much the same, their answers and their attitude towards the answers is markedly different. As reported by such later writers as Aristotle, their explanations tended to center on the material source of things. Pre-Socratic philosophers are often very hard to pin down, and it is sometimes very difficult to determine the actual line of argument they used in supporting their particular views. ... The Ancient and Medieval cosmos as depicted in Peter Apians Cosmographia (Antwerp, 1539). ...

Thales of Miletus (624-546 BC) considered that all things came to be from and find their sustenance in water. Anaximander (610-547 BC) then suggested that things could not come from a specific substance like water, but rather from something he called the "boundless." Exactly what he meant is uncertain but it has been suggested that it was boundless in its quantity, so that creation would not fail; in its qualities, so that it would not be overpowered by its contrary; in time, as it has no beginning or end; and in space, as it encompasses all things.^[6] Anaximenes (585-525 BC) returned to a concrete material substance, air, which could be altered by rarefaction and condensation. He adduced common observations (the wine stealer) to demonstrate that air was a substance and a simple experiment (breathing on one's hand) to show that it could be altered by rarefaction and condensation.^[7] Thales of Miletus (ca. ... Anaximander Anaximander (Greek: Αναξίμανδρος)(c. ... Anaximenes (in Greek: Άναξιμένης) of Miletus (585 BC - 525 BC) was a Greek philosopher from the latter half of the 6th century, probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is said to have been. ...

Heraclitus of Ephesus (about 535 - 475 BC), then maintained that change, rather than any substance was fundamental, although the element fire seemed to play a central role in this process.^[8] Finally, Empedocles of Acragas (490-430 BC), seems to have combined the views of his predecessors, asserting that there are four elements (Earth, Water, Air and Fire) which produce change by mixing and separating under the influence of two opposing "forces" that he calls Love and Strife.^[9] Heraclitus by Johannes Moreelse Heraclitus of Ephesus (Greek Herakleitos) (about 535 - 475 BC), known as The Obscure (Greek Ainiktin), was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Ephesus in Asia Minor. ... Empedocles of Agrigentum Empedocles (circa 490 BCE – c. ...

All these theories imply that matter is a continuous substance. Two Greek philosophers, Leucippus (first half of the Fifth century, BC) and Democritus of Abdera (lived about 410 BC) came up with the notion that there were two real entities: atoms, which were small indivisible particles of matter, and the void, which was the empty space in which matter was located.^[10] Although all the explanations from Thales to Democritus involve matter, what is more important is the fact that these rival explanations suggest an ongoing process of debate in which alternate theories were put forth and criticized. This article is about the philosopher. ... Hendrick ter Brugghen, Democritus Laughing (1629) Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace around 450 BC; died in about 370 BC). ... In natural philosophy, atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small, indestructible elements - atoms. ...

The Pythagoreans

The materialist explanations of the origins of the cosmos seems to miss an important point. It doesn't make much sense to think that an ordered universe comes out of a random collection of matter. How can a random assemblage of fire or water produce an ordered universe without the existence of some ordering principle?

The first step in this emphasis upon a model was that of the followers of Pythagoras (approximately 582 – 507 BC), who saw number as the fundamental unchanging entity underlying all the structure of the universe. For Pythagoras and his followers matter was made up of ordered arrangements of point/atoms, arranged according to geometrical principles into triangles, squares, rectangles, and the like. Even on a larger scale, the parts of the universe were arranged on the principles of a musical scale and a number. For example, the Pythagoreans held that there were ten heavenly bodies because ten is a perfect number, the sum of 1 + 2 + 3 + 4. Thus with the Pythagoreans we find number emerging as the rational basis for an orderly universe — as the first proposal for a scientific ordering principle of the cosmos.^[11] Bust of Pythagoras, Vatican Pythagoras (approximately 582 BC–507 BC, Greek: Πυθαγόρας) was an Ionian (Greek) mathematician and philosopher, founder of the mystic, religious and scientific society called Pythagoreans. ... The Pythagoreans were a Hellenic organization of astronomers, musicians, mathematicians, and philosophers who believed that all things are, essentially, numeric. ...

Plato and Aristotle

Plato (pointing up to heavenly things) and Aristotle (gesturing down to Earth). From Raphael, The School of Athens (1509)

Like the Pythagoreans, Plato (c. 427–c. 347 BC) found the ordering principle of the universe in mathematics, specifically in geometry. A later account has it that Plato had inscribed at the entrance to his school, the Academy, "Let no man ignorant of geometry enter."^[12] The story is a myth, but like all myths it has a grain of truth, for in his writings Plato repeatedly tell us of the importance of geometry. Download high resolution version (804x1052, 186 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (804x1052, 186 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Raphaels portrait of Plato, a detail of The School of Athens fresco An an institution for the study of (usually) higher learning. ...

Plato is known more for his contributions to the philosophical basis of scientific method than to particular scientific concepts. He maintained that all things in the material world are imperfect reflections of eternal unchanging ideas, just as all mathematical diagrams are reflections of eternal unchanging mathematical truths. Since Plato believed that material things had an inferior kind of reality, he considered that we don't achieve demonstrative knowledge – that kind of knowledge we call science — by looking at the imperfect material world. Truth is to be found through rational demonstrations, analogous to the demonstrations of geometry.^[13] Applying this concept, Plato recommended that astronomy be studied in terms of geometrical models^[14] and proposed that the elements were particles constructed on a geometrical basis.^[15] Platonic idealism is the theory that the substantive reality around us is only a reflection of a higher truth. ... In natural philosophy, atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small, indestructible elements - atoms. ...

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) disagreed with his teacher, Plato, in several important respects. While Aristotle agreed with Plato that truth must be eternal and unchanging, he maintained that we come to know the truth through the external world which we perceive with our senses. For Aristotle, directly observable things are real; ideas (or as he called them, forms) only exist as they express themselves in matter or in the mind of an observer or artisan.^[16]

This theory of reality led to a radically different approach to science:

• First, Aristotle emphasized observation of the material entities which embody the forms.
• Second, he played down the importance of mathematics.
• Third, he emphasized the process of change where Plato had emphasized eternal unchanging ideas.
• Fourth, he reduced the importance of Plato's ideas to one of four causal factors.

As this last point suggests, Aristotle's concept of causes was less limited than ours. Among causes he included:

• the matter of which a thing was made (the material cause).
• the form into which it was made (the formal cause; something similar to Plato's ideas).
• the agent who made the thing (the moving or efficient cause).
• the purpose for which the thing was made (the final cause).

Aristotle's emphasis upon causes fundamentally shaped the later development of science by insistng that scientific knowledge, what the Greeks called episteme and the Romans scientia, is knowledge of necessary causes. He and his followers would not accept mere description or prediction as science. In view of this disagreement with Plato, Aristotle established his own school, the Lyceum, which further developed and transmitted his approach to the investigation of nature. A lyceum can be an educational institution (often a school of secondary education in Europe), or a public hall used for cultural events like concerts. ...

Most characteristic of Aristotle's causes is his final cause, the purpose for which a thing is made. He came to this insight through his biological researches, in which he noted that the organs of animals serve a particular function.

The absence of chance and the serving of ends are found in the works of nature especially. And the end for the sake of which a thing has been constructed or has come to be belongs to what is beautiful.^[17]

Thus Aristotle was one of the most prolific natural philosophers of Antiquity. He made countless observations of nature, especially of the structure andhabits of plants and animals. He also made many observations about the large-scale workings of the universe, which led to his development of a comprehensive theory of physics. For example, he developed a version of the classical theory of the elements (earth, water, fire, air, and aether). In his theory, the light elements (fire and air) have a natural tendency to move away from the center of the universe while the heavy elements (earth and water) have a natural tendency to move toward the center of the universe, thereby forming a spherical earth. Since the celestial bodies - that is, the planets and stars - were seen to move in circles, he concluded that they must be made of a fifth element, which he called Aether.^[18] A habit is the usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Observation is an activity of an intelligent living being, to sense and assimiliate the knowledge of a phenomenon in its framework of previous knowledge and ideas. ... Aristotles Physics, frontispice of a 1837 edition Physics (or Physica, or Physicae Auscultationes meaning lessons) is a key text in the philosophy of Aristotle. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Water is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The aether (also spelled ether) is a substance concept, historically used in science and philosophy. ... Our solar system - the Sun, the currently accepted eight planets and the three newly designated dwarf planets. ... The Pleiades, an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus. ...

Aristotle could point to the falling stone, rising flames, or pouring water to illustrate his theory. His laws of motion emphasized the common observation that friction was an omnipresent phenomenon - that any body in motion would, unless acted upon, come to rest. He also proposed that heavier objects fall faster, and that voids were impossible. Motion involves change in position, such as this perspective of rapidly leaving Yongsan Station In physics, motion means a change in the position of a body relative to a reference point, as measured by a particular observer in a particular frame of reference. ... It has been suggested that Frictional force be merged into this article or section. ... Look up Void in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Void can refer to: Aether as the source of all elements, the quintessence. ...

The important legacy of this period of Greek science included substantial advances in factual knowledge, especially in anatomy, zoology, and astronomy; an awareness of the importance of certain scientific problems, especially those related to the problem of change and its causes; and a recognition of the methodological importance of applying mathematics to natural phenomena and of undertaking empirical research.^[19]

Hellenistic Science

The military campaigns of Alexander the Great spread Greek thought through Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and to the Indus River. The resulting Hellenistic civilization produced seats of learning in Alexandria and Antioch along with Greek speaking populations across several monarchies. Hellenistic science differed from Greek science in at least two ways: first, it benefited from the cross-fertilization of Greek ideas with those that had developed in the larger Hellenistic world, secondly, to some extent it was supported by royal patrons in the kingdoms founded by Alexander's successors. Especially important to Hellenistic science was the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which became a major center of scientific research in the third century BC. Two institutions established there during the reigns of Ptolemy I Soter (reigned 323 - 283 BC) and Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reigned 281 - 246 BC) were the Library and the Museum. Unlike Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, these institutions were officially supported by the Ptolemies; although the extent of patronage could be precarious, depending on the policies of the current ruler.^[20] Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Αλέξανδρος[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC — June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering most of his known world before his death. ... The term Hellenistic (derived from Héllēn, the Greeks traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek peoples that were conquered by Alexander the Great. ... For other uses, see Alexandria (disambiguation). ... Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Δάφνη, Αντιόχεια ή επί Ορόντου or Αντιόχεια η Μεγάλη; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem, also Antiochia dei Siri), the Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch was an ancient city located on the eastern side (left bank) of the Orontes River about 30 km from the sea and its port, Seleucia of Pieria (Suedia, now Samanda... Greek (, IPA - Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest in the Indo-European family if the Anatolian languages are excluded. ... Ptolemy I Soter (367 BC–283 BC) was a Macedonian Greek who became the ruler of Egypt (323 BC - 283 BC) and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. ... Head of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309-246 BC), with Arsinoë II. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309-246 BC), was the ruler of Egypt (he was not technically the pharaoh because he was not ethnically Egyptian) from 281 BC to 246 BC. He was of a delicate constitution, no Macedonian warrior-chief... The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was once the largest library in the world. ... The original Musaeum or Temple of the Muses at ancient Alexandria was the source for the modern usage, which denoted in Early Modern France as much a community of scholars brought together under one roof as it did the collections themselves, which French and English writers referred to as a...

Hellenistic scholars frequently employed the principles developed in earlier Greek thought: the application of mathematics and deliberate empirical research, in their scientific investigations.^[21]

In medicine, Herophilos (335 - 280 BC) was the first to base his conclusions on dissection of the human body and to describe the nervous system. This article is about the field of medical practice and health care. ... Herophilos, sometimes Latinized Herophilus (335-280 BC), was a Greek physician. ... The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ...

Geometers such as Archimedes (ca. 287 BC – 212 BC), Apollonius of Perga (ca. 262 BC – ca. 190 BC) , and Euclid (ca. 325 BC – 265 BC), whose Elements became the most important textbook in mathematics until the 19th century, built upon the work of the Hellenic era Pythagoreans. Eratosthenes used his knowledge of geometry to measure the distance between the Sun and the Earth along with the size of the Earth. Table of Geometry, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Archimedes (Greek: Αρχιμήδης ) (c. ... Apollonius of Perga [Pergaeus] (c. ... Euclid Euclid of Alexandria (Greek: ) (ca. ... Euclid, a famous Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry, is shown here in detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... The Pythagoreans were a Hellenic organization of astronomers, musicians, mathematicians, and philosophers who believed that all things are, essentially, numeric. ... Eratosthenes (Ἐρατοσθένης) Eratosthenes (Greek ) (276 BC - 194 BC) was a Hellenistic mathematician, geographer and astronomer. ... The Sun is the name given to the star of our solar system. ... Earth (often referred to as the Earth, or the earth), is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ...

Astronomers like Hipparchus (ca. 190 – ca. 120 BC) built upon the measurements of the Babylonian astronomers before him, to measure the precession of the Earth. Pliny reports that Hipparchus produced the first systematic star catalog after he observed a new star (it is uncertain whether this was a nova or a comet) and wished to preserve astronomical record of the stars, so that other new stars could be discovered.^[22] It has recently been claimed that a celestial globe based on Hipparchus's star catalog sits atop the broad shoulders of a large second-century Roman statue known as the Farnese Atlas.^[23] Hipparchus. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Precession refers to a change in the direction of the axis of a rotating object. ... Timeline of astronomical maps, catalogs and surveys 1800 BC - Babylonian star catalog 350 BC - Shin Shens star catalog has almost 800 entries 300 BC - star catalog of Timocharis of Alexandria 134 BC - Hipparchus makes a detailed star map ca. ... Artists conception of a white dwarf star accreting hydrogen from a larger companion A nova (pl. ... Comet Hale-Bopp For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ... The Farnese Atlas at the Museo Archaeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy. ...

The Antikythera mechanism

The level of Hellenistic achievement in astronomy and engineering is impressively shown by the Antikythera mechanism. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment) The Antikythera mechanism (Greek: Ο μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων transliterated as O mēchanismós tōn Antikythērōn) is an ancient mechanical analog computer (as opposed to digital computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions. ... Radio telescopes are among many different tools used by astronomers Astronomy (Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, astronomia = astron + nomos, literally, law of the stars) is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ... Engineering is the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve human problems. ... The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment) The Antikythera mechanism (Greek: Ο μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων transliterated as O mēchanismós tōn Antikythērōn) is an ancient mechanical analog computer (as opposed to digital computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions. ...

The interpretation of Hellenistic science varies widely. At one extreme is the view of the English classical scholar, F. M. Cornford, who believed that "all the most important and original work was done in the three centures from 600 to 300 B.C."^[24] At the other is the view of the Italian physicist and mathematician, Lucio Russo, who claimed that scientific method was actually born in the 3rd century B.C., to be forgotten during the Roman period and only revived in the Renaissance.^[25] Considering the many contributions of Hellenistic and earlier investigations into nature, the truth certainly lies somewhere in between.

Roman Science

Hellenistic science was disrupted during the 2nd century B.C. by the Roman invasions and other wars, but then revived for a time under Roman rule, though now more concerned with systematizing or compiling existing knowledge than greatly extending it. It was largely the work of these systematizers that would be passed on to later civilizations.

Most notably, Ptolemy systematized the study of astronomy, drawing on the work of his predecessors to build astronomy upon a secure empirical basis and to demonstrate the relationship between astronomical observations and the resulting astronomical theory. His Almagest defined the method and subject matter of future astronomical research and the Ptolemaic system became the dominant model for the motions of the heavens.^[26] An artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus This article is about the geographer and astronomer Ptolemy. ... Almagest is the Latin form of the Arabic name (al-kitabu-l-mijisti, i. ... Mediaeval drawing of the Ptolemaic system. ...

In like manner, the Roman-era physician Galen codified and somewhat built upon Hellenistic knowledge of anatomy and physiology. His careful dissections and observations of dogs, pigs, and barbary apes, his descriptions (based on these and the works of earlier authors) of such structures as the nervous system, heart and kidneys and his demonstrations that, for instance, arteries carry blood instead of air became a central part of medical knowledge for well over a thousand years. Claudius Galenus of Pergamum (129-200 AD), better known in English as Galen, was an ancient Greek physician. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... Binomial name Macaca sylvanus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Barbary Ape (Macaca sylvanus) is a tail-less macaque; despite its name, it is a true monkey and not an ape. ... The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... Section of an artery An arterial road is a class of highway. ...

However, even though science continued under the Roman Empire, Latin texts were mainly compilations drawing on earlier Greek work; advanced scientific research and teaching continued to be carried on in Greek. Meanwhile, such Greek and Hellenistic works as survived were preserved and developed in the Byzantine Empire and in the Islamic world. Late Roman attempts to translate Greek writings into Latin had limited success and direct knowledge of most ancient Greek texts only reached western Europe from the 12th century onwards.^[27] Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... Byzantine Empire (native Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

Notes

1. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), p. 81; Hugh Thurston, Early Astronomy, (New York: Springer, 1993), p. 21.
2. ^ Hugh Thurston, Early Astronomy, (New York: Springer, 1993), pp. 111-12; D. R. Lehoux, Parapegmata: or Astrology, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient World, PhD Dissertation, University of Toronto, 2000, p. 61.
3. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Magic Reason and Experience: Studies in the Origin and Development of Greek Science, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1979), pp. 38-9.
4. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Magic Reason and Experience: Studies in the Origin and Development of Greek Science, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1979), pp. 15-24.
5. ^ F. M. Cornford, Principium Sapientiae: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought, (Gloucester, Mass., Peter Smith, 1971), p. 159.
6. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 16-21; F. M. Cornford, Principium Sapientiae: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought, (Gloucester, Mass., Peter Smith, 1971), pp. 171-8.
7. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 21-3.
8. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 36-7.
9. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 39-43.
10. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 45-9.
11. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 24-31.
12. ^ A. M. Alioto, A History of Western Science, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prenticre-Hall, 1987), p. 44.
13. ^ D. C. Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science, (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1992), pp. 35-9; G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 71-2, 79.
14. ^ Plato, Republic, 530b-c.
15. ^ Plato, Timaeus, 28b - 29a.
16. ^ D. C. Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1992), pp. 47-68; G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 99-124.
17. ^ Aristotle, De partibus animalium, 645a22-6; quoted in G. E. R. Lloyd, Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1968), p. 70.
18. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd: Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1968), pp. 134-9, 162-70.
19. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), pp. 144-6.
20. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Greek Science After Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1973), pp. 1-7.
21. ^ G. E. R. Lloyd, Greek Science After Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1973), p. 177.
22. ^ Otto Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, (New York: Springer, 1975), pp. 284-5; G. E. R. Lloyd, Greek Science After Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1973), pp. 69-71.
23. ^ Bradley E. Schaefer, "The Epoch of the Constellations on the Farnese Atlas and Their Origin in Hipparchus's Lost Catalogue," Journal for the History of Astronomy, 36(2005): 167-96. But see also Dennis W. Duke, "Analysis of the Farnese Globe," Journal for the History of Astronomy, 37(2006): 87-100
24. ^ F. M. Cornford, The Unwritten Philosophy and Other Essays, p. 83, quoted in G. E. R. Lloyd, Greek Science After Aristotle, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1973), p. 154.
25. ^ Lucio Russo, The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why It Had To Be Reborn, (Berlin: Springer, 2004). ISBN 3-540-20396-6. But see the critical reviews by Mott Greene, Nature, vol 430, no. 7000 (5 Aug 2004):614 and Michael Rowan-Robinson, Physics World, vol. 17, no. 4 (April 2004)[1].
26. ^ Bernard R. Goldstein, "Saving the Phenomena: the Background to Ptolemy's Planetary Theory", Journal for the History of Astronomy, 28(1997): 1-12.
27. ^ William Stahl, Roman Science, (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Pr. 1962), see esp. pp. 120-133.

References

• Alioto, Anthony M. A History of Western Science. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987. ISBN 0-13-329390-8.
• Clagett, Marshall. Greek Science in Antiquity. New York: Collier Books, 1955.
• Cornford, F. M. Principium Sapientiæ: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1952; Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1971.
• Lindberg, David C. The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1992. ISBN 0-226-48231-6.
• Lloyd, G. E. R. Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1968. ISBN 0-521-09456-9.
• Lloyd, G. E. R. Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1970. ISBN 393-00583-6.
• Lloyd, G. E. R. Greek Science after Aristotle. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1973. ISBN 0-393-00780-4.
• Pedersen, Olaf. Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-521-40899-7.
• Stahl, William H. Roman Science: Origins, Development, and Influence to the Later Middle Ages. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Pr., 1962.
• Thurston, Hugh. Early Astronomy. New York: Springer, 1994. ISBN 0-387-94822-8.

See also

• protoscience
• Obsolete scientific theories