# Greek Science: Foundations of Western Scientific Thought

### Key Figures

- Pythagoras: Mathematics and geometry (c. 570-495 BCE)
- Hippocrates: Medicine and medical ethics (c. 460-370 BCE)
- Euclid: Systematic geometry (c. 300 BCE)
- Archimedes: Physics and engineering (c. 287-212 BCE)

Ancient Greek science revolutionized human understanding of the natural world by replacing mythological explanations with rational inquiry and systematic observation. Greek thinkers established methodologies, posed fundamental questions, and achieved discoveries that shaped Western science for two millennia. Their emphasis on logical reasoning, mathematical proof, and empirical observation created the foundation for modern scientific thought.

### Pythagoras and Mathematical Philosophy

Pythagoras of Samos founded a philosophical and religious movement that viewed mathematics as the key to understanding reality. His famous theorem about right triangles was known to earlier civilizations, but Pythagoras and his followers developed mathematical proof, demonstrating truths through logical reasoning rather than mere observation. Pythagoreans believed numbers were reality's fundamental nature and discovered mathematical ratios in music and astronomy. They recognized the Earth was spherical and developed early heliocentric theories, though these remained speculative. Their fusion of mathematics, philosophy, and mysticism profoundly influenced Plato and later Western thought.

### Hippocrates: The Father of Medicine

Hippocrates transformed medicine from religious ritual and superstition into a rational discipline based on observation and natural causes. The Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of medical texts attributed to him and his followers, emphasized careful patient observation, detailed record-keeping, and natural explanations for disease rather than divine punishment. Hippocratic medicine developed the theory of four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) to explain health and disease. While incorrect, this represented systematic theorizing about bodily function. The Hippocratic Oath established ethical principles for medical practice that influence medicine today, emphasizing patient welfare and professional conduct.

### Euclid's Elements: Systematic Geometry

Euclid of Alexandria compiled and systematized Greek mathematical knowledge in his masterwork "Elements," one of history's most influential books. This thirteen-volume work presented geometry as a logical system built from definitions, axioms (self-evident truths), and postulates, then derived hundreds of theorems through rigorous proof. Euclid's axiomatic method, building complex truths from simple foundations through logical deduction, became the model for mathematical and scientific reasoning. "Elements" was used as a textbook for over two thousand years and established standards of mathematical rigor still recognized today. His parallel postulate sparked mathematical inquiry that eventually led to non-Euclidean geometry in the nineteenth century.

### Archimedes: Engineering Genius

Archimedes of Syracuse was antiquity's greatest mathematician and engineer. He discovered the principle of buoyancy (Archimedes' Principle), reportedly while bathing, explaining why objects float or sink. He calculated pi with remarkable accuracy, developed methods anticipating integral calculus, and explored the mathematics of levers and centers of gravity. His famous quote, "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth," expressed the lever's mechanical advantage. Archimedes designed war machines defending Syracuse against Roman siege, including catapults and possibly focusing mirrors to burn ships. He pursued mathematics for intellectual beauty rather than practical application, yet his work had enormous practical impact.

### Broader Contributions and Legacy

Beyond these giants, Greek science encompassed many fields. Eratosthenes calculated Earth's circumference with remarkable accuracy by measuring shadow angles at different latitudes. Aristarchus proposed a heliocentric solar system eighteen centuries before Copernicus. Galen's medical works dominated Western medicine until the Renaissance. Aristotle created systematic biology, classifying hundreds of species, though his physics, based on philosophical reasoning rather than experimentation, would later require Galileo and Newton to overturn.

### The Scientific Legacy

Greek science's most important contribution was methodological: the belief that nature operates by discoverable laws accessible to human reason, that knowledge requires systematic investigation and logical proof, and that natural phenomena have natural rather than supernatural causes. These principles, transmitted through Islamic scholars and recovered in medieval Europe, sparked the Scientific Revolution. Modern science's emphasis on mathematical description, empirical observation, and logical reasoning directly descends from Greek pioneers who first demonstrated that human intellect could unlock nature's secrets.