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Essay about Archimedes and his discoveries
The life and work of the great archimedes
Essay about Archimedes and his discoveries
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Archimedes was born in syracuse in 187 BC. he was the son on the astronomer and mathematician Phidias. Not a lot is known of Archimedes early life or family. Some people think that archimedes was related to hiero II, the king of syracuse. In the third century BC Syracuse was a large hub for trade and communication. When in Syracuse as a kid Archimedes became curious and adept. Archimedes learned a lot from his teachers in Syracuse but soon he found there was more knowledge to be found in Egipt. So in 331 BC he traveled to Alexandria, a place of knowledge and scholarship. King Hiero had commissioned a new royal crown for which he provided solid gold to the goldsmith. When the crown arrived, King Hiero was suspicious that the goldsmith only used some of the gold, kept the rest for himself and added silver to make the crown the correct weight. Archimedes was asked to determine whether or not the crown was pure gold without harming it in the process. Archimedes was perplexed but found inspiration while taking a bath. He noticed that the full bath overflowed when he lowered himself into it, and suddenly realized that he could measure the crown's volume by the amount of water it displaced. He knew that since he could measure the crown's volume, all he had to do was discover its weight in order to calculate its density and hence its …show more content…
The historian Polybius recorded that Archimedes now made such extensive preparations, both within the city and also to guard against an attack from the sea, and that every move of the enemy could be retaliated against instantly by a counter move: ”huge beams were suddenly projected at the [Roman] ships from the walls, which sank some of them with great weights plunging down from on high; others were seized at the prow by iron claws….drawn straight up into the air, and then plunged stern foremost into the depths…. with great destruction of the fighting men on board, who perished in the
Augustus was born in Rome on September 23, 63 B.C. He was originally named Gaius Octavianus, but when his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was murdered, he took his name. Augustus’ real father died when his son was only four. Augustus was adopted in Julius Caesar’s will and was left to be his heir at the age of eighteen. Caesar was very fond of his grand-nephew and he sent him to the College of Pontifices at the age of sixteen. When Caesar was assassinated, Augustus was in Illyria, where he was sent to serve. It was only when he returned to Italy that he learned he was his great-uncle’s heir.
According to the video BC Battles: Caesar Super Siege the Roman military was so successful because they were a nearly professional, very large army consisting of more than 50,000 soldiers, between 10 legions. The Roman military used their technological advances to forge innovative armor and weapons, such as the gladius, a small stabbing sword. They had siege weapons, ballistae, which fires a lead shot, and used catapults to pummel the enemy from afar. They created obstacles for their enemies like sharpened sticks that acted as barbed wire on their walls. They utilized booby traps, such as wooden spikes, and placed them at the bottom of the trenches. They had cavalry, mounted troops, which was very effective against ground soldiers. In the battle of Alesia, Caesar decided to build a 12-foot wall around the
Herman Melville had an interesting life. He was born on August 1st, 1819 to Allen and Maria Melvill of New York. At a young age, he came down with scarlet fever and as a result had weakened eyesight for the remainder of his life. His family was a well-respected one, then their import business fell through and they moved to Albany, New York. Their finances were desperate. During this time they changed the spelling of their last name and added an e, to be spelled, Melville.
Elie Wiesel, or Eliezer which is his formal name, was born on September 30, 1928. The name comes from his grandfather who was killed in World War I. He was born in Sighet, Romania. His parents, Shlomo and Sarah (Feig) Wiesel were also natives of his birthplace. The two married out of love although most couples were arranged instead of choosing who to marry. His father was a grocer and a leader of his community while his mother
According to legend, Euripides was born in Salamis on September 23 480 BCE, the day of the Persian War’s greatest naval battle. Other sources estimate that he was born as early as 485 BCE. His family is believed to be wealthy and influential. Euripides began to question his religion at a young age because of his exposure to famous thinkers, like Socrates and Protagoras. These important men might have influenced Euripides way of thinking, which caused him choose to write about certain issues for his works.
In about 535 BC Pythagoras traveled to Egypt, a few years before Polycrates took over his home town of Samos. While in Egypt Pythagoras visited many temples and entered into the priesthood at Diopolis. Pythagoras would use the customs that he learned at Diopolis in the founding of his philosophical society. Till the day he died he would practice the secrecy of Egyptian priests and strive for purity.
Rome was known for many things, one of the biggest things that they are very skilled in, is warfare. Romans were very skilled in this area, they were known to have great fighting techniques. They would hardly ever lose a war. They were very smart during battle. One of the techniques that they used was that they would fight on higher grounds against their enemies in order to have a height advantage. Of course, they would only do this when the battle was in their territory. Another great technique that they had was making sure that the sun was behind them and that the wind was also behind them. How smart is that? They used many other ways to confuse the enemy. Rome was in a lot of wars.
Knowledge of the lives of ancient philosophers like Archimedes is not prevalent. We know from his writings that he grew up and spent much of his life in Syracuse, a Sicilian port on the Ionian Sea. His life spanned (approximately) the years 287 B.C. to 212 B.C. His father was the astronomer Phidias and he also mentioned his friend and possibly kinsman, King Hieron II (ruler of Sicily from about 270 B.C.). According to other authors, Archimedes traveled to Egypt and there invented the device known as "Archimedes’ screw," a pump that is still used widely around the world.
From what we can gather, Thucydides was an Athenian Greek born in Alimos in c. 460BC–395BC. Although Thucydides is seen as one of the major figures of the known ancient world, we know relatively little about the man and his life. Most of what we do know is revealed in his own writings, particularly through the account of the Peloponnesian War.
Empedocles was born in Acragas, Sicily about 492 BCE to a distinguished and aristocratic family. His father, Meto, is believed to have been involved in overthrowing Thrasydaeus who was the tyrant of Agrigentum in the year 470 BCE. Empedocles is said to have been somewhat wealthy and was a popular politician and a champion of democracy and equality.
Archimedes spent most of his life in Sicily, near Syracuse except for his journeys to Alexandria. He never held any public office but he was faithful to his lifetime of research and experiment. At times, Archimedes became so immersed in his work that he would forget to eat. He used every surface available to do his work on, including oil on his skin to ashes from a fire. Many of Archimedes’ discoveries were put to the test during the Roman conquest of Sicily. His mechanical tools and machines were used, including the legendary catapult which he is credited for making. This was all for the protection of Syracuse.
Rorres, Chris, and Harry Harris. "A Formidable War Machine: Construction and Operation of Archimedes’ Iron Hand." Blackboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. .
Edward Albee was born in Washington, DC on March 12, 1928. When he was two weeks old, Albee was adopted by millionaire couple Reed and Frances Albee. The Albees named their son after his paternal grandfather, Edward Franklin Albee, a powerful producer who had made the family fortune as a partner in the Keith-Albee Theater Circuit.
Information about lifes of Sophocles and Euripides are very limited and hard to verify. However, many sources match about following information about their biographies. Sophocles was born at 497 or 496 BCE in Colonus Hippius, now a part of Athens. His father was a wealthy merchant and weapon producer and an important figure in their society. So, Sophocles had the opportunity of taking the traditional aristocratic education and studying art in his early age which was a pr...
Jeremiah was born in Anathon a small village six miles from Jerusalem. He was born to a priestly family whose origins have been traced back to Moses. Jeremiah was heir to many spiritual heritages and riches. "He was steeped in the finest Hebrew piety and nourished on its sacred traditions (Paterson 141)."