Great scientists of the Hellenistic era. Science in the Hellenistic Era: Main Achievements, Names of Major Scientists, General Description of the Level and Specifics of Science
Here is what, in particular, the well-known representative of neo-Kantianism and the historian of philosophy Lange writes in his famous work “The History of Materialism and a Criticism of its Significance in the Present” (1865):
“The libraries and schools of Alexandria, the generosity of its rulers, the zeal of its teachers and students, are world renowned. But this is not what determines the historical significance of Alexandria. Its significance lies in the fact that here for the first time the vital impulse of all science, method, appeared in a form that was decisive for all subsequent time; moreover, these advances in methodology are not limited to the boundaries of this or that science, not even Alexandria alone - they are general hallmark of all Hellenic research after the completion of speculative philosophy. Grammar, substantiated in its initial elements by the sophists, in this era found its representative in Aristarchus of Samothrace - the prototype of all critics, a man from whom the philologists of our days also learned something.
IN stories Polybius began to establish an organic connection between causes and effects. To the chronological studies of Manetho in modern times sought to join the great Scaliger.
Euclid created a method geometry and gave those elements which even today lie at the basis of this science.
Archimedes found in the theory of the lever the foundation for the whole statics: the mechanical sciences, starting with him and up to Galileo, did not move a single step. (62)
Hellenistic science is what can be called ancient science. Exactly what was preserved from it reached the New Age, served as the foundation for the formation of the science of the New Age and is the foundation even now. It was in the era of Hellenism that science was isolated from metaphysics, which, for example, did not happen in China and India.
Scientific activity was local in nature and was carried out in a small amount. cultural centers- in Alexandria, Pergamon, on about. Rhodes and some others. This served as a great reason to say that in the era of Hellenism the development of science had a random character, not defining the general spirit and mentality of the Hellenistic person.
But on the other hand, one might be surprised that with such a small “density” and limited “space” of the Mediterranean “ecumene” of European culture, some centers could still exist in which some kind of scientific research was carried out. Moreover, who can say that the new European culture could boast that with its scientific achievements was familiar with the bulk of the population, which, in accordance with these scientific achievements, corrected their lifestyle? European culture can boast of this only from the second half of XIX century, i.e. only a century and a half European culture is determined by the mentality in which science has a leading position.Nevertheless, the influence of Hellenistic science, however it was, is great. V.S. Stepin writes the following regarding philosophy: “Many ideas developed by philosophy are transmitted in culture as a kind of “drifting genes”, which, under certain conditions of social development, receive their ideological actualization” (Stepin V.S. Theoretical knowledge. 2000. p. 284). I think that this notion of "drifting gene" can be applied not only to philosophy, but to any form of verbalized mentality. Particularly for science. In this case, we can consider the achievements of Hellenistic science (Alexandrian - as the leading one, in particular) as this “drifting gene”, or rather a whole constellation of “genes”, which, falling further into different periods history, gave birth to this or that scientific tradition: and then, in the 19th century, they finally formed the way of life of modern man, hardly overcome by any other alternative tradition.
On what were the reasons based, albeit random for the whole Hellenistic culture that determined Hellenistic science?
First of all, these are internal reasons, which are determined by the very development of the mentality of Hellenistic culture - primarily by the philosophy of Aristotle and the tradition of peripatetism. It is known that Aristotle and his friend and colleague Theophrastus carried out extensive natural science research, primarily research related to descriptive science: zoology, botany, mineralogy.
Hellenism and the birth of Alexandrian science The formation of the empire of Alexander the Great marked the final collapse of the Greek socio-political form of the city-state and was new era not only political but also cultural history ancient world. This era is Hellenism. The campaigns of Alexander far pushed the limits of the world known to the Greeks and, having expanded their horizons, contributed to the establishment of a new worldview, which was not characteristic of the inhabitants of Hellas of the classical era. Previously, the Greeks also did not stay without a break in their cities: they went on sea voyages and founded colonies on the shores of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. These colonies were purely Greek settlements in a barbarian environment and, with the exception of isolated cases (Naucratis in Egypt), it was impossible to speak of any significant influence of this environment on the customs, ideas about the world and cultural interests of the Greek settlers. Now, under the rule of Alexander, there were great ancient civilizations, in many aspects superior to the Greek, and direct contact with them could not but lead to the most serious consequences for Greek culture, and first of all for the attitude of the Greeks to the world around them. Features of particularism, national pride and a sense of their exclusivity inherent in the Greeks of the classical era were replaced by cosmopolitanism, which later became a characteristic feature of all late antiquity; the emergence of the Roman world power and the victory of Christianity did not extinguish, but only strengthened these cosmopolitan tendencies. Another important point consisted in the loss by old Greece of its former cultural hegemony. If Athens still continued to be the seat of the most important philosophical schools, then the special sciences that had taken shape by that time found more favorable ground for their development in the capitals of the new states into which the empire of Alexander broke up after the death of its creator. These states were a kind of conglomeration of Greek and local elements, and the cultural elite in them almost entirely consisted of Greeks, and Greek language became the language of the educated strata of society and at the same time international language new era. Alexandria quickly advanced to the first place among the new capitals, where the founder of the dynasty, Ptolemy I Soter (323--283 BC) sheltered the disciple of Theophrastus Demetrius of Phalers, who can be considered the first "carrier" to Alexandria of Aristotelian traditions. Somewhat later, Straton of Lampsakus was invited to Alexandria to participate in the upbringing of the heir to the throne, the future Ptolemy II (just as Aristotle participated in the upbringing of Alexander the Great). Strato was in Alexandria until the death of Theophrastus (in 287), after which he returned to Athens to take over the leadership of the school. Under the first rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the famous Library of Alexandria was founded, the beginning of which was laid by Demetrius, and the Musaeus (Moisesp) was also established - a scientific institution in which lived the largest scientists and writers who received a state salary sufficient to enable them to devote themselves entirely to scientific pursuits. great development book publishing activity reached there, which was largely facilitated by the monopoly of Egypt on papyrus - the only book material that received at that time wide use; as a result, Alexandria soon became the largest center of the book trade. All this led to the fact that already in the III century. BC e. Alexandrian science flourished in almost all areas of knowledge that had taken shape by that time.
Not only Ptolemy Soter and his successors, but also other "Diadochi" (as they were called former commanders Alexander the Great, who divided his empire among themselves) were patrons of sciences and arts. They were motivated to do this by considerations of prestige, and sometimes by personal interest. So, large libraries, and with them scientific centers, arose in Pella (Macedonia), Pergamon (western Asia Minor), Antioch (Syria), as well as in cities that were not the capitals of the Diadochi - in Rhodes (on the island of the same name), Smyrna, Ephesus. Interest in the sciences was also shown by the Sicilian tyrants, with whom, at the beginning of the 4th century. BC e. unsuccessfully tried to flirt with Plato. Later, one of them - Hieroi - who seized power in Syracuse in 269 BC. e., became the patron of Archimedes.
What were the distinguishing features of the sciences that developed with greater or lesser success in the scientific centers listed above and enjoyed the patronage of the royal rulers there? These sciences no longer resembled the early Greek science of "nature." They were characterized, on the one hand, by a sharp delimitation from philosophy, and on the other, by a clear differentiation and specialization. Mathematics and astronomy, mechanics and optics, physiology and embryology, geography and history, finally, whole line humanitarian disciplines - they all developed independently, each possessing specific problems and research methods inherent in this science. This, of course, was not contradicted by the fact that some of the greatest scientists of the Hellenistic era (Euclid, Archimedes, Eratosthenes) glorified themselves for achievements not in one, but in several areas of knowledge.
In this regard, in the subsequent part of our book, the method of presentation will also change somewhat: we will no longer consider the material according to the teachings, each of which is a product of the creativity of a certain person, but according to the disciplines.
In contrast to the special sciences, the philosophy of the Hellenistic era did not find favorable soil in the capitals of the new states and continued to remain basically Athenian. In addition to Platonism and the Peripatetics, in the III century. BC e. new schools of philosophy arose, arguing with each other and fighting for success and influence.
From the point of view of the history of science, only two of these schools are of interest - Epicureanism and Stoicism. The founder of the first of them, Epicurus (342-270 BC), was the son of the Athenian Neocles, who lived on the island of Samos. At the age of eighteen, he became a student of Navzifan, who adhered to the atomistic doctrine of Democritus, and accepted the basic provisions of atomism. He was also greatly influenced (especially in the ethical part) by the teachings of the founder of the skeptical school, Pyrrho, who lived around the same time with a few students in Elis. Having developed his own system, Epicurus taught for several years in Lampsacus and Mytilene (on the island of Lesbos), and then, in 306, he moved his school to Athens, where he lived with his students and friends in the "garden", which, even after his death continued to serve as the seat of the Epicurean school. Having accepted the atomism of Democritus as a whole, Epicurus tried to improve it in those matters that caused the sharpest criticism of its opponents. So, he recognized the existence of an absolute opposite of top and bottom; according to his ideas, in the infinite abyss of space, countless multitudes of atoms rush from top to bottom, carried away by gravity. The gravity of atoms is proportional to their size, but differences in gravity do not affect the speed of their fall in the void; this thesis was derived by Epicurus from ideas about the discrete structure of space (he believed that the infinite divisibility of spatial intervals would inevitably follow - in accordance with the arguments of Zenon of Elea - the impossibility of any movement). Atoms in their fall with the same speed can deviate from a strictly vertical direction. These deviations (later designated by Lucretius by the Latin term cipatep) are small, but arbitrary. Deviating, atoms can collide with each other, interlock and form clusters and vortices, leading to the emergence of worlds.
The source of all knowledge, according to the teachings of Epicurus, are sensory perceptions; in this respect, Epicurus was the representative of consistent sensationalism in Greek philosophy. The adequacy of perceptions to the external objects that caused them was substantiated by Epicurus with the help of the Democritanian theory of outflows and images. In accordance with the views of the creators of atomism, Epicurus considered the soul to be corporeal, consisting of the lightest and most mobile atoms; while dividing it into several constituent parts with different functions. The unity of the soul is due to the corporeal shell that restrains it; in the event of the death of the latter, the soul escapes, disintegrating into individual atoms. In general, the doctrine of the soul was developed by Epicurus very thoroughly, for it served as the foundation for his ethics, which constituted the core and most important part of his entire philosophical system. Like Democritus, Epicurus recognized the existence of the gods, but denied that they in any way influence the course of the world process: living in the spaces between the worlds, the gods are in a state of eternal bliss, not disturbed by any worries or passions.
Only a few texts have come down to us from Epicurus: three philosophical letters (to Pythocles, Herodotus and Menekey), a collection of the most important Epicurean maxims, and a number of fragments. The influence of Epicureanism in later epochs was determined not by the writings of Epicurus himself, but by the poem "On the Nature of Things", written by a follower of Epicurus, the Roman poet Lucretius. If Epicureanism was still in all respects a product of the Hellenic spirit, then the most powerful philosophical school of this era - Stoicism - absorbed many Eastern elements. It is characteristic that almost all the leading figures of this school were in one way or another connected with the East. Its founder Zeno (c. 366-264 BC) was a native of the Phoenician colony of Kition in Cyprus. His school was named after the place where classes took place (zgoa - a covered gallery with columns). The Stoic school reached great influence at the end of the 3rd century. BC e., when the outstanding scientist Chrysippus from Sol (Cilicia) became its leader. Chryssis's successor was Diogenes of Babylon, and the last great thinker of Greek Stoicism, Posidonius of Rhodes (first half of the 1st century BC), came from Syria.
Philosophy, according to the Stoics, is divided into three main departments - logic, physics and ethics. In contrast to Aristotle, who recognized the value of logic only as an instrument of any knowledge, the Stoics considered logic to be an independent science. This science, in their opinion, studies both verbal signs (sounds, syllables, words, sentences) and what they denote (concepts, judgments, conclusions). Thus, the Stoics attributed both grammar and the philosophy of language to logic. In the reasoning of the Stoics, relating to logic, there are many very interesting thoughts, on which we have no opportunity to dwell here.
The physical and cosmological views of the Stoics also have a significant originality. The Stoics recognized four elements as elements of all things, but from them they singled out the “higher” elements - fire and air, contrasting them with the lower ones - water and earth. The combination of fire and air forms "pneuma" - something like a soul that penetrates all things and the world as a whole; although this soul is material, it has an activity and a formative power; on the contrary, water and earth are passive, inert, and receive form from pneuma. The interpenetration of pneuma and matter has a peculiar character; pneuma is continuous and fills the entire space, including those of its points that are already occupied by material things. In this sense, pneuma can be compared with the ether (or field) of modern physics. This comparison is all the more appropriate because, by virtue of internal movements, occurring in it, pneuma is always in a state of known tension (bopoz); the degree of this tension determines the various gradations of forms of pneuma. The size and shape of bodies, as well as all their qualities, are all the result of the action of pneuma. In the world of organic nature, pneuma determines the vital activity of living beings, and the degree of organization of a given class of animals or plants depends on the subtlety of the "pneumatic" form. The cosmos as a whole is united by pneuma, which gives it unity and embraces everything that it contains. There is only one cosmos: it is spherical and surrounded by infinite empty space. Cosmos is a living intelligent being, going through a cyclic path of development. It arises from the primary fire, passes through the stages when all the diversity of beings is revealed in it, and then again resolves into the element of fire as a result of general ignition (ekrubz1z). This process is necessary and causally conditioned, just as all single events of the world process are causally conditioned, including the seemingly arbitrary Actions of living beings. The Stoics called this single and necessary causal connection of everything that happens by the term "fate" or "fate" (pegtagtepyo).
Ethics occupied a central place in the philosophy of the Stoics. And although the problems of ethics, as well as those of the humanities in general, lie outside the scope of our consideration, it is nevertheless necessary to say a few words about the basic principles of the ethics of the Stoics.
Like the Epicureans (and in full accordance with the generally accepted point of view in antiquity), the Stoics considered happiness (eiyaipo-sha) to be the main goal of human life. But if the Epicureans understood pleasure as happiness, then for the Stoics, the highest happiness of a person was considered life, consistent with his “nature”. This meant that a person should strive for the maximum degree of perfection, developing his natural inclinations and abilities. The maximum degree of human perfection is identical with virtue; therefore, according to the teachings of the Stoics, a life consistent with "nature" is nothing but a virtuous life. In this matter, the Stoics radically differed from another school of their time - the Cynic, the founder of which was one of the students of Socrates, Antisthenes. According to the Cynics, agreement with "nature" was equivalent to the rejection of all kinds of human norms and regulations; therefore, the Cynics preached unrestrained adherence to “natural” instincts and impulses (we note, in this regard, that there are numerous anecdotes about Aitisthenes’ student Diogenes of Sinope, the most prominent representative of the Cynic school).
Thus, if the Cynics brought the doctrine developed by the Sophists about the opposition of “nature” and “law” to extreme conclusions, then among the supporters the concept of “nature” was radically rethought. By identifying "nature" with the striving for virtue, the Stoics essentially eliminated this sophistical opposition.
The hallmarks of the Hellenistic culture are syncretism, cosmopolitanism, individualism and the predominance of natural-mathematical and technical disciplines over the humanities.,
As a common feature of Hellenistic culture, characteristic of all scientific disciplines, it should be noted: the wealth of actual
Arsnal in Pergamon. 111 c. BC e. Found 894 cores, among them reaching
demon up to 73 kg.
scientific material, its systematization, a solid scientific apparatus with comparative poverty original ideas. The heyday of Hellenistic culture refers to the first centuries of Hellenism (IV-III). From the 2nd century the weakening of scientific and artistic activity is already felt, which was due to the general disorder economic life, the growth of despotism and the dying of public and private initiative.
Of all branches of scientific knowledge in Hellenistic era one of the first places military And construction machinery
and related disciplines. The progress of military technology and military art was caused by the growing needs of military production and equipment. Large quantities of items of military equipment were made - arrows, bows, swords, shells, shields, war chariots, wall-beating machines (ballistas and catapults), fortresses were built and warships were equipped. Items of military equipment were supplied by artisans or made in special royal workshops. The more complex military tasks and the transition to a professional mercenary army led to major shifts in the field of military equipment and weapons. Even during the Peloponnesian war, siege instruments, battering rams (for breaking through walls) and tortoise sheds appeared, protecting the besiegers from spears and arrows, stones and lead besieged, and large throwing weapons - catapults And ballista, throwing long arrows and large stones over a long distance.
Siege weapons were used not only during the siege of cities, but also during naval battles, which led to changes in the design of ships. Old ships, insufficient to transport huge fighting vehicles and a large crew, are being replaced by multi-oared and multi-tiered ships, twenty-, thirty- and fifty-oared ships, five, eight or more tiered ships that replaced the former triremes.
The nature of the warships of the new type can be judged from the description of one of these giant ships, built by Ptolemy Fila del phi. By order of the king, a forty-oared ship (tessarokontera) was built, 280 feet long, 38 feet wide and 48 feet high to the bow, from the pennant to the underwater part 53 feet. The ship had two bows and two sterns and eight rams. The oars were filled with lead and easily slid in the oarlocks. The ship accommodated 4,000 rowers, 400 servants, 3,000 crew members and a large supply of provisions.
The example of Philadelphus was followed by his contemporary, the tyrant of Syracuse, Giero II (269-214). Hieron gathered shipbuilders from everywhere, put the Corinthian architect Archius at their head and ordered the ship to be built according to all the rules of the then science and technology. After a lot of work, a twenty-oared multi-tiered ship was built with three corridors for cargo, passengers and a military crew. The ship had special cabins for men and women, a well-equipped kitchen, a dining room, covered porticoes, galleries, gymnastic palaestras, sheds, cellars and mills. The ship was painted with paintings. There were eight towers on its sides, a combat vehicle (catapult) was placed on the parapets, throwing stones and spears of great weight. The entire mechanical part (parapets, blocks, instruments and levers) was carried out under the direct supervision of the famous Sicilian mechanic Archimedes.
Along with warships, combat vehicles and siege weapons acquire paramount importance in the Hellenistic era.
During the siege of Rhodes (304), Demetrius Poliorketus launched a giant siege engine helopolis(taking cities). The gelola had nine floors, was put on wheels and required 3 1/2 thousand people for its movement, whose duties were laying roads, making ditches and clearing spaces for siege weapons. This alone is enough to indicate the level of military technology and military science Hellenistic states that spent huge amounts of money on military affairs.
Against offensive guns were invented defensive weapons. During the siege of Syracuse by the Romans (213), the besieged Syracusans set in motion the mechanical devices of Archimedes, hooking Roman ships with hooks and sinking them.
The construction of fortresses, palaces, giant ships, lighthouses, the preparation of paints, the extraction of ores, the manufacture of machines and tools, etc., assumed a high level of technical knowledge and exact sciences.
Progress is noticeable not only in military, but also in production technology.
A whole revolution was made by the invention of the infinite archimedean screw, a water scoop wheel with ladles, the so-called Egyptian snail, set in motion by animal power, and a water mill. All these inventions were the product of a long development, the result of a long chain of small improvements in mining and flour-grinding, the two main branches of ancient production.
No less important than the invention of the Archimedean screw was the appearance water mill(hydraulic), which, however, did not receive wide application in the conditions of ancient production.
Progress in the weaving industry in Egypt is associated with the transition from a vertical to a horizontal loom; kilns. Many achievements were also made in the production of paints, glass blowing and leather dressing. The introduction of the trispasta, a lifting mechanism representing a system of blocks and levers, also goes back to the Hellenistic East.
On the interest in mechanical inventions gives an idea automaton theater And dolls Alexandrian mechanic Heropus. In Alexandria there were theaters reminiscent of our marionette theatres. In these theatres, everything was done automatically. In them, automatism was carried out from first to the end: the puppets that took part in the performance automatically appeared, the lights were automatically lit and extinguished, etc.
Nevertheless, such a brilliant beginning did not have its continuation. Technological progress in the conditions of the ancient world remained on the surface and did not go deep. He did not create an industrial revolution. The reason for this was, as has been pointed out more than once above, the totality of all the conditions of the slave-owning mode of production.
It is no coincidence that in the Hellenistic technique, most of the improvements were made in structural mechanics, hoists, power transmission over a distance, i.e., in areas associated with war, large buildings, etc., and manual (working) ones were little affected. mechanisms, meanwhile, the industrial revolution in Europe went precisely with the improvement of working tools.
Science is inseparable from technology. In classical Greece, the first place among the sciences was occupied by philosophy, which covered all other sciences. In the Hellenistic era, philosophy differentiated. On the one hand, it turns into a special system of knowledge about the world, close to physics, and on the other hand, it merges with the science of human behavior (ethics) and with religion.
The basis of scientific knowledge was mathematics with related disciplines - mechanics and natural science in a broad sense. The center of the natural and mathematical disciplines was the Egyptian Alexandria with her famous Alexandrian musion. At the head of the Alexandrian school of mathematicians was Euclid(111 century), who gained world fame with his "Elements of Mathematics", distinguished by simplicity and clarity of thought and an elegant form of transmission. The "elements" of Euclid were divided into three sections: 1) planimetry, 2) geometric algebra, that is, algebra on a geometric basis, and 3) stereometry of rectangular bodies. Of the theoretical problems put forward by Euclid, the most interesting is the doctrine of infinity (“the theory of exhaustions”), where the features of ancient mathematics come out more clearly.
In addition to Euclid, from the Alexandrian school came Eratosthenes from Cyrene (275-195), famous mathematician, geographer and philologist, head of the Library of Alexandria. Eratosthenes determined the length of the earth's meridian, the volume of the earth and proved the possibility of going around the earth on a ship. A contemporary of Eratosthenes was the mentioned Archimedes(287-212), founder of the theory of mechanics and hydraulics, who created the stereometry of round bodies, determined the ratio of circumference to diameter (number i), created the theory of levers, and many others. others
An outstanding mathematician and astronomer of Hellenistic Greece is considered Hipparchus(160-125), who lived in Rhodes and Alexandria. Through complex mathematical calculations and observations, Hipparchus determined the magnitude, distance and movement of the sun, moon and earth and laid the foundation for the heliocentric system, which formed the basis of the Copernican system.
Hipparchus compiled a manual on spherical, and the Alexandrian Heron- Planar trigonometry. The same
Heroi anticipated Papin by discovering the property of steam and investigating the movements of automata. In the field of physics, the Peripatetic deserves to be noted. Strato(III century). Outstanding mathematician and a physicist, Strato largely freed Aristotelian natural philosophy from its inherent metaphysical elements. Straton derived all phenomena of the world from internal (immanent) necessities, explaining world processes by mechanical laws. He also established the importance of scientific experiment in physics.
At a high level in the Hellenistic period was medicine, which enjoyed the special patronage of the sickly Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was looking for a "vital elixir". In addition to material support, Ptolemy allowed the dissection of the corpses of criminals, which greatly expanded the scope of experimental medicine. The theoretical progress of medicine was not to a small extent facilitated by the competition between the various medical schools of Cossus, Cnidus, dogmatic and empirical. Each of these schools had a swap of achievements in the field of anatomy and physiology, in the study of the functions of the heart, blood circulation and brain activity.
The growing interest in agriculture and agronomy is evidenced by big number agronomic treatises written in the Hellenistic era. In the first place are consolidated treatises on botany, agronomy and general natural science Theophrastus(372-287), a student of Aristotle and head of the peripatetic school. Theophrastus explores in detail the qualities of the soil, its water capacity and water permeability, the chemical composition, the quality and weight of seeds, various plant species, varieties of natural and artificial fertilizers, the construction of dams and dams, describes different types of agricultural implements, and much more. Theophrastus can rightfully be considered the founder of the science of soil science and botany in ancient world. But, unfortunately, only small fragments of the writings of Theophrastus on botany, zoology and mineralogy have been preserved. The treatise “On Ethical Characters” by Theophrastus, which describes the types of people’s characters (ambitious, superstitious, boastful, etc.), was very famous among contemporaries and subsequent generations. The Opinions of the Philosophers by Theophrastus is considered the first philosophy of the history of the ancient world.
The rapid development of both the humanities and the natural sciences is a characteristic feature of the Hellenistic era. The ruling monarchs for the management of powers, for the conduct of long and numerous wars, needed the use of new effective methods and means and could get them only by using the results of scientific knowledge. At the courts of the Hellenistic rulers, teams of scientists are created, generously subsidized by the government, engaged in solving scientific problems. Naturally, the rulers were interested not so much in science as such, but in the possibility of its practical application in military affairs, construction, manufacturing, navigation, etc. Therefore, one of the features of the scientific thought of the Hellenistic era was to increase the practical application of the results of scientific research in various fields. government controlled and life. The rapid development of science and the practical application of its results contributed to the separation of science from philosophy and its separation into an independent sphere of human activity. If in classical times every major thinker (Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, etc.) was engaged in philosophy proper and many specific sciences, then in Hellenistic times, differentiation and specialization of scientific disciplines is observed. Mathematics and mechanics, astronomy and geography, medicine and botany, philology and history began to be regarded as special scientific specialties with their own specific problems, their own research methods, and their own development prospects.
Bust of the famous Hellenistic scholar Plato. Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen
Mathematics and astronomy achieved great success. These sciences developed on the basis laid down in the classical period by Pythagoras and his school, Anaxagoras and Eudoxus. At the same time, the rich experience of mathematical research and astronomical observations carried out by representatives of ancient Eastern science, in particular Babylonian and Egyptian scientists, contributed to the development of Hellenistic mathematics, astronomy and other scientific disciplines.
Outstanding mathematicians (and at the same time representatives of a number of branches of physics) were three giants of Hellenistic science: Euclid from Alexandria (late 4th - early 3rd centuries BC), Archimedes from Syracuse (287–212 BC). ) and Apollonius from Perge in Pamphylia (second half of the 3rd century BC). The most famous work of Euclid was his famous "Elements", a true mathematical encyclopedia of his time, in which the author systematized and gave formal completeness to many of the ideas of his predecessors. The mathematical knowledge expounded by Euclid formed the basis of the elementary mathematics of modern times and, as such, is used in high school still.
Archimedes was a versatile scientist and made a huge contribution to the development of ancient mathematics and physics: he calculated the value of the number p (pi) (the ratio of the circumference to the diameter), laid the foundations for calculating infinitesimal and large quantities, solved the ratio of the volume of a ball to the volume of the cylinder describing it, became the founder of hydrostatics. Archimedes, perhaps more than any other scientist of Hellenism, did for the practical application of scientific conclusions. He became the inventor of a planetarium, driven by water and depicting the movement of celestial bodies, a complex block (the so-called “barulka”) for moving weights, an endless (so-called Archimedean) screw for pumping water from mines, ship holds. A number of his conclusions were used to improve the design of siege devices and throwing machines.
Apollonius of Perge's greatest contribution was his theory of conic sections, the foundations of geometric algebra, and the classification of irrational quantities, which anticipated the discoveries of modern European mathematicians.
The achievements of Hellenistic scientists in the field of astronomy are remarkable. The largest of them were Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 BC), Eratosthenes of Cyrene (275-200 BC) and Hipparchus of Nicaea (c. 190-c. 126 BC). e.). The greatest achievement of Hellenistic astronomy was the development by Aristarchus of the heliocentric system of the world, the search scientific evidence such a device of the Universe, which assumed the enormous size of the Sun. All the planets revolve around it, including the Earth, and the stars are bodies similar to the Sun, located at great distances from the Earth and therefore seeming motionless. Eratosthenes was an encyclopedically educated scientist, whose versatility and depth of knowledge can be compared with the great Aristotle. His works on historical criticism and chronology, mathematics and philology are known, but Eratosthenes made the greatest contribution to astronomy and theoretical geography, closely related to the study of celestial bodies. Using a mathematical apparatus, including elements of trigonometric calculations, observations of celestial bodies, Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth's equator, determining it at 39,700 thousand km, which is very close to the actual size (about 40 thousand km), determined the length and width of the inhabited part of the Earth - the then ecumene, the inclination of the plane of the ecliptic. The study of the surface of the globe led Eratosthenes to the conclusion that it was possible to reach India by sailing west from Spain. This observation was subsequently repeated by a number of other scientists, and the famous Christopher Columbus was guided by it when he set off on his famous voyage to India at the end of the 15th century.
One of the most famous scholars of Hellenism was Hipparchus. He did not accept the heliocentric system of Aristarchus of Samos and, using the ideas of his predecessors, gave the most detailed development of the so-called geocentric system of the universe, which was borrowed by Claudius Ptolemy and, consecrated by the authority of the latter, became the dominant system in the Middle Ages, right up to Copernicus. Hipparchus made a number of important discoveries: he discovered the phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes, more accurately established the duration solar year And lunar month and thereby made adjustments to the current calendar, more precisely determined the distance from the Earth to the Moon. He compiled the best catalog for antiquity - it includes more than 800 stars with the definition of their longitude and latitude and dividing them into three classes according to brightness. The high accuracy of Hipparchus' conclusions was based on a wider use of trigonometric ratios and calculations than other scientists.
The founder of the science of plants is the closest student of Aristotle, Theophrastus of Lesbos (372–287 BC), a versatile scientist, author of numerous works in various specialties. However, the highest value for further development sciences had his works on botany, in particular "The Study of Plants" and "The Origin of Plants". Based on the careful research of Theophrastus in the III-I centuries. BC e. several special treatises on agriculture and agronomy appeared.
Great advances have been made in medicine. Here are the achievements of Greek scientists of the 5th-4th centuries. BC e., in particular the famous Hippocrates, and the richest traditions of ancient Eastern medicine gave fruitful results. The major luminaries of Hellenistic medicine were Herophilus of Chalcedon and Erasistratus of Keosak, the founders of two influential medical schools of the 3rd century BC. BC e. They own such major discoveries as the phenomenon of blood circulation, the presence of a nervous system, the establishment of a distinction between motor and sensory centers, and a number of other important observations in the field of human physiology and anatomy, which were forgotten and rediscovered only in modern times. Asklepiades from Prusa in the 1st century. BC e. famous effective treatment sick with the help of diet, walks, massages and cold baths and achieved such great success that even a legend arose that he resurrected a dead person.
Of the humanities, philology, historical criticism and textual criticism successfully developed in the Alexandria Museum. It was during the Hellenistic time that the texts were verified and the classification of many classical works of ancient authors was made, which later became canonical and in this form have come down to our time. Callimachus owned an interesting bibliographic manual of great value, a real historical and literary encyclopedia (the so-called "Tables") in 120 books. They collected information about the most famous writers beginning with Homer, with brief annotations on the content of their works. The "Tables" of Callimachus became the basis for subsequent philological, historical and literary research by scientists of the Hellenistic period.
The science.
Science has completely separated from philosophy. At the Ptolemaic palace in Alexandria, Museyon (a place under the auspices of the Muses) was created, where many scientists and philosophers worked. Mathematics developed, Euclid created the famous "Beginnings", which underlie the later ideas of Europeans about geometry. Many scientists of that time were prone to invention, as evidenced by the wonders of the world. Archimedes, who worked for some time in Museion, laid the foundations of rational mechanics and hydrostatics, invented a special type of lever and the famous screw for raising water during artificial irrigation. Eratosthenes created scientific geography and was the first to measure the length of the earth's meridian. In the field of astronomy, the heliocentric (Aristarchus from Samos) and geocentric (Hipparchus from Nicaea) systems arose. The idea of Aristarchus that the Sun is at the center of the universe, and the Earth revolves around it, formed the basis of the theory of Copernicus.
In Alexandria, there was a school of natural sciences, where the dissection of corpses was carried out, the secrets of mummification were studied, there were zoological and botanical gardens. Medicine has taken serious steps here: nervous system(Herophilus of Chalcedon) and the circulatory system, while anatomy and surgery separated into separate branches.
Science was still limited by the conditions of the time, since there were no convenient Arabic notations for numbers, precise instruments of observation, etc. But the flowering of science became at the same time the limiting point of its development, since in this area the Romans never caught up with the Greeks. Europe until the Renaissance will live off the scientific baggage acquired during the Hellenistic period. "He who understands Archimedes and Apollonius," said Leibniz, "is less admired by modern scientists."
Military equipment.
In connection with the development of the exact sciences, military equipment was also improved. In the Hellenistic era, new types of throwing weapons arose: catapults and ballistae, which fired large arrows and stones, with a range of up to 350 m. Their design used a stretched elastic rope made from animal tendons. Women's hair, anointed with oil, which patriotic wives themselves sacrificed in difficult military situations, was considered the best material for retracting the levers of throwing machines. Modernized types of siege towers (helepol) appeared. He also had a hand in the development of certain types of defensive structures and machines. great technician antiquity Archimedes.
Religion.
In the field of religious life, the polis religion was gradually dying out: previously imbued with the spirit of civic collectivism, now it acquired a personal character and, in this sense, paved the way for the spread of Christianity.
The people of the Hellenistic time were characterized by skepticism, which found expression in the cult of the goddess Tyukhe (Chance, Fortune), who embodied the complete denial of divine providence: the world is ruled by a ruthless blind chance, therefore history does not have an ordered and purposeful movement subordinate to some system or the discretion of God .
The period of the collapse of the policy resulted in people turning to kings as the highest intercessors in earthly life. "Other gods are far away, or they have no ears, or they do not exist. You, Demetrius, we see here in the flesh, and not stone or wooden," as one of the panegyrics to the eastern ruler said. This is how the royal cults spread and strengthened - the core of the power of the rulers, who had the corresponding epithets Soter (Savior), Everget (Benefactor), Epifan (Who appears like a god).
In the era of Hellenism, there was a mixture of traditional Greek cults with oriental, exotic ones. For example, in Asia Minor, in Pergamum, the great mother of the gods, the three-headed Cybele, was revered. Her cult was accompanied by frenzied, frantic orgies characteristic of the East. Egypt enjoyed special prestige among the Greeks, in particular, the mysteries of Isis, identified with Demeter. Such correlations of Egyptian deities with Greek ones were often encountered: Amon - Zeus, Osiris - Dionysus, Thoth - Hermes. The renewal of the cults of the Egyptian gods was connected either with the active propaganda of the Ptolemies, or with the excessive spiritual zeal of the Greeks who lived in Egypt.
Egypt is associated with the emergence of Hermeticism, a new form of religious and philosophical consciousness. This teaching was expounded on behalf of Hermes, the Hellenistic analogue of Thoth, who, according to legend, was the creator of the world, the inventor of writing and the distributor of the sacred sciences, since he measured time and recorded fate. Hermeticism is the teaching of the mystery, offering the path of spiritual insights, and not rationalistic reasoning about the world2.
Hermeticism gave magical operations a philosophical basis that justified the spread of the occult sciences. Astrology and alchemy were especially popular. Astrology is a doctrine according to which the movement of the planets influenced the fate of people. According to astrologers, life was ruled by the signs of the Zodiac, so the organs of human senses are distributed among the seven planets, from where the veneration of the number seven as sacred came from: seven wonders of the world, seven days in a week3, the seventh heaven, etc. Astrology in its popularity in the Hellenistic era eclipsed astronomy and hindered the serious development of science.
Alchemists pursued finding a recipe for turning metals into gold and silver. The symbol of alchemy was the dying and reborn from the ashes, the Phoenix bird - the prototype of the famous idea of the philosopher's stone, capable of transforming base metals into precious. Alchemy, like astrology, had no direct relation to science, because empirical experiments for alchemists were the result of their own philosophical doctrine of the world. Alchemists, like natural philosophers, have not yet set themselves the task of rationalistically investigating nature.
The appearance of alchemy and astrology reflected the dynamism and inconsistency of the era, when significant achievements in science and scientific-like occult teachings, which were equally taken seriously by people of the Hellenistic time, could peacefully coexist.
Many small cult communities and brotherhoods appeared, which previously existed only among those who had no full rights to compensate for infringed civil rights, embodying the desire of the "little man" to approach the lifestyle of the aristocracy. Now, in the light of individual moral quests, the association of people into spiritual corporations dedicated to individual deities has become quite natural.
Philosophy.
Hellenistic philosophy refocused on the problems of ethics and morality. The leading positions were occupied by two major schools: the Stoics and the Epicureans. The founder of Stoicism (the word comes from the name of the colored portico in Athens) was considered the philosopher Zeno (c. 335 - c. 262). In addition to a special vision of the universe, the teachings of the Stoics dealt with the problems of external human behavior. Regardless of social status, all people are spiritually equal because of their involvement in the deity, the world logos, therefore, for a person striving for virtue, the ideal should be in accordance with nature. The path to happiness is blocked by affects, human feelings. You can get rid of them only through asceticism, perfect dispassion, apathy. Stoicism has similarities with Buddhism, resembling the path to reach nirvana. The spirit of the East could indeed have influenced the Greeks4.
The founder of another doctrine was Epicurus, who lived at the same time as Zeno, and wrote the Treatise on Nature. Later there was a distortion of the understanding of his philosophy, reduced only to the doctrine of pleasure. According to Epicurus, all living things strive for pleasure, but true pleasure is the absence of suffering and consists in mastering internal instincts, and not in satisfying them, and virtue is a means to achieve happiness. Epicurus preferred a contemplative and apolitical life, paying special attention to overcoming the fear of death. Both the Stoics and the Epicureans considered earthly life as a prelude to the future, since death for a virtuous person, in their opinion, was not an absolute end.
