Eureka! Eureka!_x000D_ _x000D_ Supposed to have been his cry, jumping naked from his bath and running in the streets, excited by a discovery about water displacement to solve a problem about the purity of a gold crown.
ArchimedesRead
Having been the discoverer of many splendid things, he is said to have asked his friends and relations that, after his death, they should place on his tomb a cylinder enclosing a sphere, writing on it the proportion of the containing solid to that which is contained.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects Archimedes' desire for recognition of his contributions to mathematics and his unique discoveries.
Archimedes was a brilliant mathematician and inventor, and this quote emphasizes his wishes for a lasting tribute that symbolizes his work—specifically, the relationship between geometric shapes. He sought not just personal acknowledgment but a reminder of the beauty and significance of math, hinting at the deeper meaning behind his discoveries and the contributions he made to science and humanity.
Themes
ArchimedesMathematicsGeometryContributionsScience
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the history of mathematics, you might quote Archimedes to illustrate the importance of recognizing individual contributions.
More from Archimedes
All quotes →I am persuaded that this method [for calculating the volume of a sphere] will be of no little service to mathematics. For I foresee that once it is understood and established, it will be used to discover other theorems which have not yet occurred to me, by other mathematicians, now living or yet unborn.
ArchimedesRead
Rise above oneself and grasp the world.
ArchimedesRead
Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.
ArchimedesRead
Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world.
ArchimedesRead
There are things which seem incredible to most men who have not studied Mathematics.
ArchimedesRead
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