Essay On Archimedes

Archimedes is a very well-known physicist, engineer, inventor, astronomer, and a great mathematician. Besides these things, he also had other interests such as poetry, politics, music, art, and military tactics. There is not much known about his life; however, he is known as one the greatest mathematicians of all time. In fact, he is said to be one of the three greatest mathematicians in the world including Carl Gauss and Isaac Newton. Many called him “the wise one” or “the master.” He has made many tremendous contributions to the world of mathematics.

Archimedes was born in the Greece city-state of Syracuse in 287 BC. As a child, he grew up rather poor; however, Archimedes was very intelligent. He skipped three grade levels when he was young. Belonging to a Greek family, he was always encouraged to get an education. It is said by many that Archimedes developed his love for math and science from his father, Phidias. Phidias was an astronomer, but there is not much known about him. Archimedes became so interested in solving problems that it became one of his hobbies. During this time, there was no such thing as paper or anything to draw on. Archimedes used dust, ashes, or anything else that he could find to sketch out his geometric figures. Some say that Archimedes would get so caught up in his work and studies that he would even forget to eat.

It is said that Archimedes was related to the ruler of Syracuse, King Heiro II. An Ancient Greek biographer known by the name of Plutarch states that Archimedes was able to achieve so much of his fame from King Heiro and his son, Gelon. Archimedes was a very good friend of Gelon’s. The king always challenged Archimedes. One of Archimedes famous quotes is “Give me a place to stand and I w...

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...5 when he was killed. When the Roman general found out this distressed news, it is said that he ordered Archimedes to be buried with honors. “A sphere carved within a cylinder covers the tomb of Archimedes. This is based on a remarkable invention made by Archimedes proving that the sphere has two thirds of the volume and surface area of the cylinder.” Because of this, it is very obvious that Archimedes was proud of his discovery about the ratio of the sphere and the cylinder.

I believe that Archimedes was a great mathematician. He was way beyond the time period that he was living in. He has made so many great contributions to the field of mathematics that are still used to this day. He was able to predict much of the modern science and math that is used even to this day. He may be gone, but his memory is still kept alive throughout all of his works and inventions.