Character Catalog

A major treatise in which Archimedes proves that the volume of a sphere is two-thirds that of the cylinder enclosing it. He considered this discovery his greatest achievement.

The founding work of hydrostatics in which Archimedes states the principle of buoyancy (Archimedes' principle), the basis of fluid physics.

A treatise in which Archimedes bounds the value of pi between 3+10/71 and 3+1/7 by inscribing and circumscribing regular 96-sided polygons in a circle.

A work in which Archimedes invents a numeration system to express very large numbers and calculates how many grains of sand would fill the universe.

A treatise on static mechanics in which Archimedes establishes the law of the lever and the theory of centers of gravity, foundations of rational mechanics.

A treatise rediscovered in 1906 in the Archimedes Palimpsest. In it he reveals his heuristic method using concepts close to infinitesimal calculus, two millennia before Newton and Leibniz.

A treatise defining the curve known as the Archimedean spiral and demonstrating the properties of this curve, still studied in mathematics today.

Archimedes demonstrates that the surface area of a sphere equals four times that of its great circle, and that the volume of the sphere is two thirds of that of the circumscribed cylinder.

Any body immersed in a fluid at rest experiences a vertical upward force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by that body.

Archimedes proposes a numeration system capable of expressing immensely large numbers, and calculates the number of grains of sand needed to fill the universe as it was conceived in his time.

Marcellus was grieved by the death of Archimedes; he turned his eyes away from his killer as from a sacrilegious act and had the scholar's relatives sought out in order to honor them.

Archimedes, upon stepping into the bath and observing that water overflowed as he sank into it, understood the method to solve the problem of the crown, and ran out crying Eureka.

Greek city in Sicily where Archimedes was born, lived, and died. It was here that he carried out the bulk of his scientific work in the service of King Hiero II.

Great intellectual center of the Hellenistic world. Archimedes likely stayed there in his youth to study under the successors of Euclid, and forged connections with Eratosthenes.

Natural harbor of Syracuse where Archimedes deployed his war machines against the Roman fleet of Marcellus during the siege of 214–212 BC.

Peninsula forming the historic heart of ancient Syracuse, home to its temples, the royal palace of Hiero II, and likely the residence of Archimedes.

The tomb of Archimedes was located on the outskirts of Syracuse. Cicero rediscovered it in 75 BC by recognizing the cylinder and sphere engraved on the stele, in accordance with the scholar's own wish.

Common writing instruments in ancient Greece, used by Archimedes to record his calculations and geometric proofs in his daily work.

Fundamental tools of the Greek geometer, essential for drawing the complex figures Archimedes studied, such as spirals, parabolas, and conic sections.

Archimedes is said to have built a mechanical planetarium reproducing the movements of celestial bodies. Cicero mentions this object as a marvel of ingenuity brought to Rome after the fall of Syracuse.

A mechanical system perfected by Archimedes to multiply forces. He used it to demonstrate to King Hiero II that a single man could move a ship.

A helical device attributed to Archimedes, used to raise water for irrigation. It is still used today in certain hydraulic systems.

Archimedes would often draw his geometric figures in sand or ash on the ground. It was while drawing in the sand that he is said to have spoken his last words, according to tradition.