Product Description

We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #844562 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
"In terms of both the selection and arrangement of material, the book presents an excellent overview of later Greek science in its various aspects. The editors are especially to be praised for devoting individual chapters to astrology and alchemy. A great strength of the volume is the inclusion of a large amount of material from fragmentary or relatively obscure sources, much of which is newly translated into English."
-Mark J. Schiefsky, Harvard University, "New England Classical Journal, 2004
"Irby-Massie and Keyser have produced a very useful and welcome resource for teaching and studing Hellenistic science....The volume is greatly enhanced by indices, a timeline, and maps....There are many enjoyable and engaging passages included in the volume, which strengthens its appeal as a teaching resource."
-Classical World

From the Back Cover
We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Their thought and writings laid the essential foundations for the revivals of science in medieval Baghdad and renaissance Europe. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction to c.100 scientific authors active from 320 BCE to 230 CE.
The book begins with an outline of a new socio-political model for the development and decline of Greek science. Eleven chapters of fully translated source material follow, with the disciplines covered ranging from the science which the Greeks saw as fundamental - mathematics - through to astronomy, astrology and geography, mechanics, optics and pneumatics, and then on to the non-mathematical sciences of alchemy, biology, medicine and 'psychology'. Each chapter contains an accessible introduction on the origins and development of the topic in question, and all the authors are set in context with brief biographies.
No other one-volume survey is as up-to-date, has such broad yet detailed coverage, or offers as many primary sources - several of which are not available elsewhere. With clear, accurate translations, and numerous illustrations, this is an essential resource for the history of science in general, and ancient science in particular.