Greece

Exhibit items related to Greece.

Exhibit Items

	Astronomical Poem Hyginus, (1485) Greek writers compiled ancient stories of the constellations, often in poetic form, with memorable instructions for locating bright stars and zodiac constellations. Constellations of the zodiac contain the wandering courses of the planets and the annual path of the Sun.
	Elements of Geometry, 1570 Euclid, (1570) Euclid was the starting point for any further study of optics and perspective. Optics combined geometry, experiment, vision and art. In the presentation of the geometrical solids, this copy retains the original pop-ups.
1	Works of Hippocrates Hippocrates, (1588) Greek edition of Hippocrates by a friend of Galileo: Mercuriale collected the various Greek texts of the Hippocratic corpus and published them here in Greek with parallel Latin translations.
1	Elements of Geometry, 1482 Euclid, (1482) Euclid was the starting point for a mathematical approach to physics. This is the 1st printed edition. The beautiful woodcuts are hand-colored in this copy. The text of the first page was printed in both black and red ink. The geometrical diagrams were quite difficult to prepare.
1	Works of Hesiod Hesiod, (1559) In Works and Days, the poet Hesiod, a roughly contemporary of Homer, compiled guidelines for conducting life and forecasting the weather according to the stars.
1	The Divine Plato Plato, (1491) In his dialog entitled The Timaeus, Plato taught that the cosmos is constructed from regular geometrical figures known as the Pythagorean solids. Wherever one finds an emphasis upon mathematical demonstrations in science, one may credit Plato and the Pythagoreans.
2	Works in Greek, vol. 1 Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
2	Meteorology, 1556 Aristotle, (1556) In a discussion of optical effects of the atmosphere, Aristotle here addresses the formation of a halo around the Moon. This is one of the most interesting uses of mathematics in all of Aristotle’s writings.
2	Appearances of the Sky Aratus, (1547) Aratus, a Greek scientist and poet of the 3rd century B.C.E., offered practical advice for predicting the weather by learning to recognize the seasonal appearances of constellations.
2	On Animals Aristotle, (1476) This is the first publication of Aristotle’s biological works. While Plato emphasized astronomy as the ennobling science, Aristotle insisted that biology, including the study of even the lowliest organisms, is beautiful to one who understands natural causes.
3	Works in Greek, vol. 2 Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
3	Euclide Tartaglia, Niccolo (1543) Tartaglia, a teacher of a teacher of Galileo, produced the first vernacular translation of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry.
3	The Natural History of Plants, 1549 Theophrastus, (1549) What Aristotle did for animals, his student Theophrastus did for plants, making the study of plants an essential topic for ancient natural philosophers. Theophrastus sought not merely to describe the appearances of plants, but like his mentor Aristotle, to ascertain their causes.
4	Works in Greek, vol 3 pt. A Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
4	Euclid's Elements of Geometry, 1589, vol. 1 Clavius, Christoph (1589) Not all versions of Euclid’s Elements were created equal. Clavius prepared this edition for his students at the Rome College (Collegio Romano). If these editions of Euclid were used in different courses, which course would you take?
5	Works in Greek, vol 3 pt. B Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
5	Euclid's Elements of Geometry, 1589, vol. 2 Clavius, Christoph (1589) Not all versions of Euclid’s Elements were created equal. Clavius prepared this edition for his students at the Rome College (Collegio Romano). If these editions of Euclid were used in different courses, which course would you take?
6	Works in Greek, vol. 4 Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
7	Works in Greek, vol. 5 Aristotle, (1495-1498) In a work entitled “On the Universe,” Aristotle argued that a 5th element, called ether or the quintessence, composes the celestial spheres that naturally rotate in place above the region where the four lower elements mix together beneath the Moon.
7	Works, Archimedes Archimedes, (1543) Archimedes (d. 212 B.C.) developed the law of the lever with his Treatise on the Balance. He contributed to arithmetic by devising methods for expressing extremely large numbers. He deduced many new geometrical theorems on spheres, cylinders, circles and spirals.
7	On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon Samos, Aristarchus of (1572) Aristarchus, the Copernicus of antiquity, proposed in the 3rd century B.C.E. that the Sun lies at the center of the universe and that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.
8	On Conic Sections Apollonius, (1710) Apollonius (3rd century B.C.E.) examined the properties of conic sections; namely, the: • circle (cuts a cone horizontally, perpendicularly to the axis of the cone) • ellipse (cuts a cone to make a closed curve) • parabola (cuts a cone parallel to a side of the cone) • hyperbola (cuts a cone in...
8	On the Sphere, 1511 Proclus, (1511) This work was attributed to Proclus (5th century), one of the most important Neoplatonic philosophers of late antiquity. It became one of the most popular introductions to astronomy during the Italian Renaissance, appearing in more than 70 16th-century editions.
9	The Burning Mirror Cavalieri, Bonaventura (1632) Archimedes died defending the ancient city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, from the Carthaginian navy. Reports attributed the defense of the city to his ingenuity, including giant mirrors capable of setting attacking ships in the harbor on fire.
10	Commentary on Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics Philoponus, (1504) In the 6th century, the Greek physicist and theologian Philoponus constructed an anti-Aristotelian theory of motion. For Philoponus, an “impressed incorporeal motive force” explains the motion of a top, a projectile, and falling bodies.
12	Aristotle’s Masterpiece , (1788) Family medical handbook: Works entitled “Aristotle’s Masterpiece” were family health guides, written in the vernacular, offering practical remedies and advice for life cycle care, sexual relations, prenatal care, birthing and midwifery, hygiene and health.