Eratosthenes and Pliny, Greek geometry and Roman follies

2010/06/13 by Khristo N. Boyadzhiev, Boyadzhiev, Khristo N.
Arts and Humanities · Mathematics · Social Sciences · #01A20 #FOS: Mathematics #Historical Studies in Science #Historical and Literary Studies #History and Overview (math.HO) #History and Theory of Mathematics #math.HO #msc:01A20

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1006.2504

9 pages

openalex publication_date 2010/06/13 · arxiv created 2012/05/03 · arxiv updated 2012/05/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Supportive attitudes can bring to a blossoming science, while neglect can quickly make science absent from everyday life and provide a very primitive view of the world. We compare one important Greek achievement, the computation of the Earth meridian by Eratosthenes, to its later interpretation by the Roman historian of science Pliny.

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