We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Their thought and writings laid the essential foundations for the revivals of science in medieval Baghdad and renaissance Europe. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction to c.100 scientific authors active from 320 BCE to 230 CE. The book begins with an outline of a new socio-political model for the development and decline of Greek science, followed by eleven chapters that cover the main disciplines: * the science which the Greeks saw as fundamental - mathematics * astronomy * astrology and geography * mechanics * optics and pneumatics * the non-mathematical sciences of alchemy, biology, medicine and 'psychology'. Each chapter contains an accessible introduction on the origins and development of the topic in question, and all the authors are set in context with brief biographies.

We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction.

We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction.

Noted scholar's brilliant recapitulation of an especially fertile period for Greek astronomy, physics, mathematics, other sciences. Also illuminating discussions of art, religion, literature, more. "A wonderful book." ? Scientific American.

The development of science in the modern world is often held to depend on such institutions as universities, peer-reviewed journals, and democracy. How, then, did new science emerge in the pre-modern culture of the Hellenistic Egyptian monarchy? Berrey argues that the court society formed around the Ptolemaic pharaohs Ptolemy III and IV (reigned successively 246-205/4 BCE) provided an audience for cross-disciplinary, learned knowledge, as physicians, mathematicians, and mechanicians clothed themselves in the virtues of courtiers attendant on the kings. The multicultural Greco-Egyptian court society prized entertainment that drew on earlier literature, mixed genres and cultures, and highlighted motion and sound. New cross-disciplinary science in the Hellenistic period gained its social currency and subsequent scientific success through its entertainment value as court science. Ancient court science sheds light on the long history of scientific interdisciplinarity.

In Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, renowned scholars address questions about what the ancient science of the heavens was and the numerous contexts in which it was pursued.

From the demise of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the rise of the Roman Empire, marked notably by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the subsequent conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, the Hellenistic period unfolds across Mediterranean history. Classical Greece denotes the epoch preceding the Hellenistic era, while Roman Greece characterizes the period succeeding it. The term "Hellenistic" originates from the Ancient Greek word Hellas (, Ellás), the widely recognized name for Greece. The distinction lies in the fact that "Hellenistic" pertains specifically to Greece, while "Hellenic" encompasses all regions under direct ancient Greek influence. In this context, "Hellenistic" extends to anything influenced by Greek civilization, particularly in the East post-Alexander the Great's conquests. The Hellenistic period witnessed the zenith of Greek cultural influence and power, commanding the Mediterranean, large portions of West and Central Asia, and even segments of the Indian subcontinent. Progress flourished in arts, astrology, exploration, literature, theater, architecture, music, mathematics, philosophy, and science. Despite these achievements, it is often viewed as a transitional phase, marked by some as decadence or degeneration in comparison to the enlightenment of the Greek Classical era. Notable developments during the Hellenistic period include New Comedy, Alexandrian poetry, the creation of the Septuagint, and the emergence of Stoic, Epicurean, and Pyrrhonian ideologies. Euclid and Archimedes made significant contributions to Greek science. The religious landscape expanded to include new deities like the Greco-Egyptian Serapis, eastern figures such as Attis and Cybele, and a synthesis of Hellenistic culture with Buddhism in Bactria and Northwest India.