The development of Greek science is inseparable from that of philosophy. Like she, sciences seek to answer the fundamental questions of comprehension of the world: with 7th and 6th front centuries J. - C. it is impossible to distinguish the scientists from the philosophers, of the philosophical movement of the Physicists.

However, starting from Socrate and especially from Plato, scientists and philosophers differ by their objects from reflection and the results which they obtain, but also by their statute in the city.

From the 5th century before J. - C., undoubtedly under influences of Mesopotamian origin a major reflection starts, marked by its more rational and more scientific aspects, released from a too great religious suggestion.

The beginnings of this evolution are modest: the first, Parménide (beginning of the 5th century before J. - C.) perceives the Earth like a sphere and it shows that the Moon receives the sunlight; about at the same time, Empédocle understands what are the eclipses. But the first true astronomer is Méton (second half of the 5th century before J. - C.) which, in spite of some errors, understands the cycle the Moon/19 years Egyptian Sun. Then Eudoxe, a mathematician, built a first model based on the geometry which explains the movement of the celestial bodies.

At that time, the image of the universe is that of a kind of fitment of spheres turning around a spherical Ground, motionless and placed at the center; outside, in one day another sphere turns which carries fixed stars; between the two the Sun and the Moon, the planets are turning around the Earth. But this system remained insufficient and the mathematicians could easily question it. With 4th and 3rd century before J. - C., the treaties multiplied and of new models were elaborate; in the same time of the scientists established the first about correct measurements of the Earth's circumference (Eratosthène, 3rd century before J. - C.) or of the distance the Ground-Moon (Hipparque, 2nd century before J. - C.). This slow evolution finally made it possible Aristarque de Samos (fine of 3rd - beginning of the 2nd century before J. - C.) to formulate the assumption of a heliocentric system.

However, sign of times, the Hellenistic time saw the astronomers being directed a little more worms of the developments related to the prediction, astrology and the horoscope. It was necessary to await Claude Ptolémée and his famous Almageste (2nd century after J. - C.) which, while rejecting the heliocentric system of Aristarque, offered vast and brilliant synthesis of knowledge of Antiquity. Translated into Arabic, transmitted to the Occident, this work influenced all Middle Ages and was used until the 16th century. It is only with 17th with Copernic and Kepler that astronomy were going to make decisive progress by radically changing model with the adoption of the heliocentrism.

Asclépios
It is known, these sanctuaries, like famous Asclépiéion (temple of Asclépios) of Epidaure, preserve throughout the history of Greece a leading role. Their operation roughly is known: purification, offerings, sacrifices, but also “incubation” in a abaton (“crowned place”), wandering in the crowned enclosure, then the patient, in his sleep,” is invested “by the god and is cured. The many inscriptions found on the spot tell us these species of ancient miracles. But it is also what tells, in the “crowned Speeches”, this extraordinary permanent patient who was Aelius Aristide (2nd century after J. - C.).

The sanctuary of Epidaure functioned of the 6th century before J. - C. at the 5th century after J. - C., when Théodose II the interdict. There existed many other sanctuaries of Asclépios in Greece (Cos, Cnide, Athens) and the priests of these crowned places gathered certainly a documentation of very first order on the patients and their diseases.

A scientific medicine
As of the 6th century before J. - C., there were medical centres where a medicine was practiced which, concerned of effectiveness, practiced an attentive observation of the patients for better understanding the causes of the diseases and especially choosing the most suitable remedies. This will to understand and to move away from the magic practices, it is not astonishing to see it hatching in this Greece of Asia, already ground of election of philosophy. It is in Cos indeed that the most important “school” of medicine of the Antiquity developed to which remains attached the name of Hippocrates. Of the man one knows little thing, if not that his/her father was priest. But he travelled much: in Athens de Périclès and even in Egypt.

Very quickly there existed rival schools: to Cos (which resorted especially to the food modes) Cnide was opposed (which saw in the drugs the therapeutic principal one). If Hérophile, raises of Hippocrates and doctor in Alexandria, continued the work of the Master, the school of Cos sank in a true dogmatism, with in reaction the birth of an empirical school whose Asclépiade was a representative: he denounced (already) the abuse drugs and recommended hygiene, the cures, the massages and the walks. Then was founded a “methodical” school which saw in the diseases a result of the general state of the body and which recommended the therapeutic founded ones on modes and baths.

To become doctor was long, the training understood courses, clinical studies, a hands-on training: in very several years. Already the doctors were specialized: surgeons, dentists, gynecologists. The profession was not closed besides with the women who occupied however primarily the fields of gynecology and pediatry. Moreover, the great majority of the midwives were not doctors: they were often old women, having given birth to they-even several times. Pharmacy did not constitute a discipline except for and had developed a powerful pharmacopeia made up of many drugs, the pharmaka (word which at the same time means “remedy” and “poison”). In the large cities like Athens, one recruited public doctors, after a long examination relating not only on the doctrines but more especially the therapeutic processes which were theirs.

However it is necessary well to keep in mind which if this scientific medicine took its rise and obtained tangible results, successes remained limited, especially because of ignorance of the reality of the human body as testifies some, inter alia, this passage drawn from Aristote (Of the dreams, 459b) and speaking about the rules about the women:

“On the mirrors completely Nets, when the women at the time of their rules look towards their mirror, it occurs on the surface of the mirror like a bloody cloud. And if the mirror is new, it is not easy to remove by rubbing this spot. If it is old, it is easier”.

Mathematics

One owes all to the Greeks in this field. Initially, our manner of conceiving the mathematical reflection, the idea of the mathematics conceived like a form of knowing theoretical. It is to the Greeks indeed that one owes this essential transformation which makes pass mathematics of the statute of praxis (“together of practical exercises”) to that of théoria (“general reflection theoretical”) One passes then from a technê (“art”) to practical purpose (trade, land surveying, etc) to a épistêmê (“science”), a gnôsis (a “pure knowledge”). And this constitution of mathematics as science is an old fact: as of the time of Plato, indeed, this knowledge rests on the deductive reasoning.

The notation of the numbers
The Greeks used two marking systems of the numbers:
a) The system attic or acrophonic, used the first letter of the name of the numbers, system at base 10; it is comparable with the systems hieroglyphic Egyptian or Roman; it made it possible to write all the numbers up to 100 ' 000 but, badly adapted, it did not allow complex calculations.
a) The system known as “hérodien” (also bases 10 of them), set up at the end of the traditional time uses the letters of the alphabet. Less powerful system certainly than our system indo-Arabic, it offers however true capacities of calculations with regard to the elementary forms of the arithmetic one.

Théon of Alexandria, for example, can thus measure the volume of the Earth in cubic units of length. Among all the Greek mathematicians who illustrated themselves, four names emergent: Pythagore, Thalès, Euclide, Archimedes.

Pythagore and the Pythagorean ones
One knows finally only little thing about Pythagore. This mystical philosopher was born in Samos towards 580 before J. - C., it travels much and settles in Crotona in Italy of the South towards 530 before J. - C. where it founds a school. This species of sect was as a convent where one was to respect, in addition to a strict mode vegetarian, a set of severe taboos. The Pythagorean ones dedicated to the numbers a quasi mystical value: “all is number”. Their importance seems however to be largely rebuilt by the Neoplatonists, in particular Proclus (5th century after J. - C.) and their contribution to mathematics remains in fact rather modest. Their attraction of the numbers their fact of reaching some tangible results into arithmetic and geometry: illustrated numbers, geometrical configurations, harmonic reports, intervals. Proclus allots to them celebrates it theorem on the hypotenuse and that on the sum of the angles of the triangle. The Pythagorean ones would as well have progressed in the construction of the regular polygons and they would have even discovered the irrational numbers.

Thalès and the Ionian ones
Thalès de Milet (first half of the 6th century before J. - C.) is most famous of Milésiens. Philosopher “physicist”, it made water the basic principle, it travelled much and grew rich while speculating in harvests by olives. Its contribution with mathematics is famous though modest. According to Proclus, it would have been the first to understand the diameter of the circle, the equal angles of the isosceles triangle as well as the equality of the vertical angles. This work enabled him to work out its famous theorem on the proportionality.

The other Ionian ones were illustrated in geometry: Oenopide (perpendiculars), Théon (polygons), Eudème (segments) or Hippocrates (the quadrature of the circle).

Always according to Proclus, it is to Plato and with the Academy that one owes a decisive impulse in the development of mathematics, mainly by the figure of Théétète, a friend of Plato (of which one of the Dialogs bears the name like titrates). During the 4th century before J. - C. the reflection deepens: the irrational numbers (Théétète), the method of analysis (Hippocrates), the reflection by assumption (Plato) or the statute of infinite are as many questions explored with the Academy. The rival school of the College (disciples of Aristote) does not remain strokes about it, although working on a little different bases: the proportionality (Eudoxe), curves and the cones (Ménechme). But it is Euclide which dominates.

Euclide
One does not know large-thing of the life of Euclide if not which it was born towards 330 before J. - C. and which it died in Alexandria towards 270 before J. - C. It achieved an immense work of compilation and edition, gathering the essence of what was known in sciences. It is famous for its writings: data, Phenomena or especially the Elements which constitute its major work. This editor activity leads it to sometimes adopting a form of simplification of the talk which without giving up the demonstration leads to the constitution of a particular “method”. It proceeds starting from initial statements, “the postulates”, whose demonstration is given to later; the proposals are then shown while being based on what precedes, they are divided into theorems and problems which are connected. The most spectacular example of this method is given by the considerations on parallelism.

Archimedes
Archimedes is certainly most important of all the mathematicians of Antiquity, one could compare it with Newton, Gauss or even Einstein. He lived at the 3rd century before J. - C. and he became a true legend (celebrates it “Eureka”, “I found”).

In geometry, one owes him the calculation of the surface of the circle, a definition of the number?: does it show that this famous constant is the report of the circumference and the diameter, and 1? 4 is smaller than 3 + 1/7 and larger than 3 + 10/71. Its work relates to also physics (highlighted of the concept of center of gravity), mechanics (he invents for example the endless screw), astronomy, the hydrostatic one.

Thus it is brought by demonstration (and not only by experiment) to the statement of its famous principle: “Any floating body moves a quantity of liquid equal to its weight whereas any immersed body moves a quantity of liquid equal to its volume”. It had been put at the service of king de Syracuse for whom it had developed machines of war. It was killed by a Romain during the seat of this city into 212 before J. - C.

Technology

The word technology is composed starting from the Greek “technê”. This last word indicates art, the skill to make, the skill practices, manual, the talent, the knowledge of the processes, but also in a certain way the trick and the artifice. As of the remote times, the technê is implemented by the men and the “Odyssey” gives of it an good example with the construction of the famous wooden horse: if the trick is imagined by Ulysses, the realization is entrusted to a specialist, Epéios. The technê, it is before all the trick, the intelligence, in short the field of Athéna.

But the word technologia, only appears to him more tardily. In fact, it goes from there in this field as in good of others: the contribution of the Greeks as regards technology is much more theoretical than practical. The legacy consists once again of a manner of reflecting, to pose the problems rather than to give solutions. The Greeks actually left few innovations on the matter. And here also we initially find the philosophers who take part of this reflection, in particular Aristote.

A list of the technical fields is provided by the tragic poet Sophocle (in its part “Antigone”): navigation, construction, agriculture, hunting, domestication, social life, the language. But the art of the technical matter Greeks develops in three principal directions: the war, the mechanics and design of machines.

The war
It is well this field which was most prolix. Innovations certainly, but especially a reflection continues modified the manner of making the war. In particular starting from Philippe of Macedonia and Alexandre the Large one: improvement of machines (catapults, turn of attack, weapons of jet, etc). But it is especially the emergence of a new group of men, specialists (military architects, engineers, mechanics) near the military chiefs who accompany the new strategies and their tactical innovations (attacks, seat, fortified camps, fortifications etc) and which characterizes the time. The poliorcétique one - art to take the cities - form the heart of the reflection of authors like Enée the Tactician (4th century before J. - C.?) or Philon de Byzance (2nd century before J. - C.). These authors expose designs on the tactics of the seats, the importance of the military preparations, the questions of intendance and describe technical processes on the weapons flamers the ladders and other machines.

Mechanics
These reflections carried out to wonder about the vaster questions of the mechanical processes. That relates to the levers, the catapults, the tire, the manufacture of automats, toys. It is seen, the concerns are extremely varied. In these treaties the place devoted to mathematics is increasingly important: indeed, the thinkers are generally located on a theoretical ground and endeavor to give to their proposals of machines of the solid and undeniable rational bases; these treaties of mechanics are the first treaties of mathematics applied.

The principal author remains Héron of Alexandria. This mathematician, living at the 1st century after J. - C., continued the work of Philon and wrote a comment of Euclide. He proposed many improvements applicable to architecture (construction of the vaults), which were useful, later, with the manufacturers of Holy-Sophie, it studied the tire (pressure of the air). He designed even a machine with water, kind of fountain which used the properties of the vapor: he had understood the principle of the steam pressure. But it was not found applications concrete productive, the steam engine was to still wait. The contribution of Heron also appeared in the design and the improvement of various machines like the cranes, the levers, the pulleys, screw etc