Water, air and fire at work in Hero's machines

Known as the Michanikos, Hero of Alexandria is considered the inventor of the world's first steam engine and of many other sophisticated devices. Here we discuss three of them as described in his book "Pneumatica". These machines, working with water, air and fire, are clear examples of the deep knowledge of fluid dynamics reached by the Hellenistic scientists.Comment: Hero of Alexandria, Hellenistic physic

Habent sua fata libelli: Aristotle's Categories in the first century BC

A re-examination of the question why, in the revival of interest, in the first century BC in Aristotle’s esoteric works, as opposed to his doctrines, the work Categories played so large a part. The answers suggested are that the work aroused interest just because it did not easily fit into the standard Hellenistic divisions of philosophy and their usual agendas, and that, more than Aristotle’s other works with the possible exception of the Metaphysics , it revealed aspects of Aristotle’s thought that had become unfamiliar during the Hellenistic period

Arab-Islamic reception of Hellenistic science

This article is an overview of the Arab-Islamic reception and development of Hellenistic science. It particularly refers to mathematics, physics and astronomy. It focuses on the following topics: 1) Two interpretative models of this reception in the 19th, 20th, and 21st century scholarship: the “Indo-European model” (which supposes a cultural heterogeneity between Greece and Islam) and the “cosmopolitan Hellenistic model” (which supposes homogeneity between the two). 2) The channels through which Hellenistic science was transmitted to the Islamic world: the philological channel, and the oral channel which implies the pre-existence of a common Greek-Semitic cultural ground that made this transmission possible. 3) Three features of the Arab-Islamic sciences that highlight their essential contribution to the emergence of modern science in 16th and 17th century Europe: 3.1. The “democratising” character of the Arab-Islamic sciences resulting from a larger diffusion of literacy. 3.2. The higher precision of measurements and calculations. 3.3. The experimental approach of Muslim scientists. A positive role in the accomplishment of these advances has been played by the non-metaphysical character of orthodox Islamic monotheism. According to Muslim orthodoxy, there are no Neo-Platonic intermediaries between the almighty God and his creation. The whole universe is submitted to the same physical laws. I argue that today it is important to open an interdisciplinary debate on the Arab-Islamic sciences. It would certainly lead to a better appreciation of their historical contribution. It could also suggest answers to contemporary epistemological impasses deriving from the growing gap between the humanities and the sciences.status: publishe

the Example of Rhodes

Für das hellenistische und kaiserzeitliche Rhodos sind verschiedene Gymnasiarchien bezeugt: ein gymnasiarchos der presbyteroi, einer der neoteroi und ein Phylenamt, das mit Fackelläufen verbunden war. Innerhalb der vorwiegend epigraphischen Quellen sind hellenistische Lebenslaufinschriften, eine Besonderheit des rhodischen epigraphic habit, am aufschlussreichsten. Denn sie erlauben es, Ämter innerhalb der Abfolge öffentlicher Funktionen einzelner Individuen zeitlich zu verorten, und zeigen dabei, dass jede der Gymnasiarchien in einem bestimmten Alter ausgeübt wurde. Ein Vergleich hellenistischer und kaiserzeitlicher Inschriften zeigt eine bemerkenswerte Kontinuität in der Darstellung der rhodischen Gymnasiarchien, wobei die einzige bedeutende Abweichung darin besteht, dass in der Kaiserzeit Ölspenden stärker betont wurden

Horse and Herald: Posidippus' Equestrian Angelia

Posidippus’ epigrams for equestrian victors (the Hippika, AB 71–88) build on epinician convention by maintaining the central role of the herald’s proclamation— the angelia—in the representation of athletic achievement. In a few of these epigrams, however, Posidippus embeds the horse itself in postvictory rituals. For example, the horse brings the crown to the victor, replacing the figure of the herald who announced and crowned victors; or, in a narrative of the race’s aftermath, the horse, incredibly, chooses the victor. Posidippus’ horses, therefore, act as causal agents for the glory of their owners, and his detailed descriptions transform the horse from flesh-and-blood equine to everlasting (literary) monument. Les épigrammes de Posidippe sur les victoires équestres (les Hippiques, 71-88 A.-B.) s’appuient sur une convention poétique propre aux épinicies qui maintient le rôle de la proclamation du héraut – l’angelia – dans la représentation de la réussite athlétique. Cependant, dans quelques-unes de ces épigrammes, Posidippe intègre le cheval lui-même au rituel marquant la victoire. Par exemple, le cheval apporte la couronne au vainqueur en remplacement de la figure du héraut qui annonce et couronne les vainqueurs ; ou encore, dans le récit de l’après-course, le cheval choisit, de façon surprenante, le vainqueur. Les chevaux de Posidippe interviennent donc en tant qu’agents causaux dans la gloire de leur propriétaire. Ses descriptions détaillées transforment ainsi l’être de chair et de sang qu’est le cheval en un monument (littéraire) éternel.https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/mous.16.3.00