What if, when the Romans captured Syracuse, Archimedes wasn't killed? Marcellus, the Roman commander, was very interested in keeping him alive and was dismayed to find of Archimedes' death. What might he have been capable of, working for the Romans?
Archimedes not killed
- Thread starter DominusNovus
- Start date
DominusNovus said:
Couple of questions:
-Would he even agreed to work with them? He did, after build weapons to fight off the romans. How intense was his anti-roman feelings?
-He was, what, 75 or so when he died? How much longer could he have lived?
-This is off-topic but--does history record what ever happened to the soldier who killed him?
He'd worked for the Romans in the past, I'd think he'd be willing to work for them again.Doctor What said:
The Romans, being wealthier than the people of Syracause, could tempt him with unlimited funding, gadgets, assistants, etc. for him to play with. Plus perhaps some sort of autonomy for Syracause, if he was a stickler for politics (however, he'd have to be pretty bloody valuable for a concession of that scale).
Well, I'm fairly sure Archimedes would have been prepared to work with the Romans. He was less of a Greek patriotic polis-citizen and more of a Hellenistic court engineer - call him a white-collar mercenary 
What could he have done for them? That's the crux, I'd say. I don't subscribe to 'great man' history when it comes to technology (politics is different), so I'm not predicting any earth-shaking inventions, but Archimedes was something of the Brunel type - not just an engineer but one with a sales pitch. If he had managed to find a protector in Rome, he may well have done some spectacular stuff in his twilight years. With enough people watcvhing, techno-toys could become an accepted status symbol in Rome, and that could give a new boost to innovation that might lead - just about anywhere.
Mind you, we keep being amazed at the technological solutions the Romans found for all kinds of problems, so I'm not sure there was all that much to change. I mean, who today would build two theatres that could swing around 180° to form a stadium while the audience sits inside?
What could he have done for them? That's the crux, I'd say. I don't subscribe to 'great man' history when it comes to technology (politics is different), so I'm not predicting any earth-shaking inventions, but Archimedes was something of the Brunel type - not just an engineer but one with a sales pitch. If he had managed to find a protector in Rome, he may well have done some spectacular stuff in his twilight years. With enough people watcvhing, techno-toys could become an accepted status symbol in Rome, and that could give a new boost to innovation that might lead - just about anywhere.
Mind you, we keep being amazed at the technological solutions the Romans found for all kinds of problems, so I'm not sure there was all that much to change. I mean, who today would build two theatres that could swing around 180° to form a stadium while the audience sits inside?
I actually had a timeline where Archimedes survives and becomes a "guest" of Marcellus, but dies 4 years later when Marcellus himself dies in a Carthaginian ambush. In this timeline, Archimedes doesn't invent anything new, but sets things up so that future generations can readily discover calculus. 200 years later, all sorts of butterflies have happened. Ptolemy is a heliocentrist. Hero invents a more practical steam engine, and by 200 AD, there are Roman steamships and railroads. The Roman Empire gets an economic boost from this limited industrialization and averts the anarchy of the 3rd century. By the time of the barbarian invasions in the 4-5th centuries, the Romans have a military technological advantage again and are able to fend off the barbarian hordes, thus allowing the empire to survive well into the Middle Ages.
The problem with this scenario, as you can see, it many things.
First, the story of Archimedes' death is suspect. This "soldier" is never given a name and Marcellus' admiration for Archimedes is referenced seemingly from nowhere. I suspect that Archimedes had died of natural causes before the Romans even got to his house.
Second, if Archimedes is captured, I doubt he would've been all too concerned about any sense of betrayal for helping the Romans. He was always described as an eccentric, who was more concerned with studying his mathematics than any political interests. Besides, I doubt he could've come up with much to help the Romans.
Third, there's no way to know what he could've come up with because he was already pretty old (75) when he died, so it's not like he's got 1000's of ideas waiting to pop out. Be that as it may, it's amusing to speculate.
The problem with this scenario, as you can see, it many things.
First, the story of Archimedes' death is suspect. This "soldier" is never given a name and Marcellus' admiration for Archimedes is referenced seemingly from nowhere. I suspect that Archimedes had died of natural causes before the Romans even got to his house.
Second, if Archimedes is captured, I doubt he would've been all too concerned about any sense of betrayal for helping the Romans. He was always described as an eccentric, who was more concerned with studying his mathematics than any political interests. Besides, I doubt he could've come up with much to help the Romans.
Third, there's no way to know what he could've come up with because he was already pretty old (75) when he died, so it's not like he's got 1000's of ideas waiting to pop out. Be that as it may, it's amusing to speculate.