The murder of Archimedes at the Roman capture of Syracuse

Archimedes (c287-212 BC) is one of the most celebrated scientists of the ancient world. He is probably most famous for his shout of ‘Eureka’ when he realised that the level of water in his bath rose when he got into it.

His major contribution to mathematics was his discovery of formulae for the areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, parabolas and other plane and solid figures.

The methods he used anticipated the theories of integration that were developed 1800 years later. He also pioneered the science of hydrostatics, the study of the pressure and equilibrium of fluids. The Archimedean screw developed by him as a means of raising water is still used for irrigation purposes today.

Archimedes was killed when the Romans captured Syracuse in 212 BC. The Sicilian city had held out against the besieging Romans for 3 years, aided by various military engines built to Archimedes’ designs.

The last words attributed to Archimedes are “Do not disturb my circles” (Latin, “Noli turbare circulos meos”; Katharevousa Greek, “μὴ μου τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε”), a reference to the mathematical drawing that he was supposedly studying when disturbed by the Roman soldier. There is no reliable evidence that Archimedes uttered these words and they do not appear in Plutarch’s account.

A similar quotation is found in the work of Valerius Maximus (fl. 30 AD), who wrote in Memorable Doings and Sayings, “… sed protecto manibus puluere ‘noli’ inquit, ‘obsecro, istum disturbare'” (“… but protecting the dust with his hands, said ‘I beg of you, do not disturb this'”).

The article first appeared in History Vista.

READ MORE: Smyrna: The History of Asia Minor’s Greatest Greek City.