HIS20780

Shauna Rankin
21463464
HIS20780
17th March 2023
Mid Term Assignment
What were the most important influences of the Greeks on Roman science, in
your opinion?

Throughout the period of antiquity, the development of knowledge among Greek philosoph-
ers, mathematicians and physicians are greatly reflected upon in the historiography of Roman
understanding science, comprising a vast and comprehensive depth of knowledge in areas
such as nature, medicine, philosophy, mathematics, zoology and human biology.
Emphasis is placed particularly on the prevalence of Greek philosophy throughout the histori-
ography of the period, outlining the importance in such schools of thought in the develop-
ment of science is both Greece, and subsequently, Rome. This essay will attempt to highlight
the significance of such figures in Ancient Greece, providing an understanding for the prolif-
eration of such ideas, influencing scientific and technological developments throughout the
period of Ancient Roman history.
One particular area in which the Greeks held major influence on the Roman under-
standing of science was in philosophy, the period producing some of the most prominent
philosophers of which scientific ideas proliferated into the Roman empire. One such philo-
sopher that greatly influmced both the Greek and subsequently Roman understanding of nat-
ural science was Thales, who was part of a line of philosophers that rose to prominence in
Ionia throughout the period of the sixth century.1 Thales produced an argument surrounding
the science of nature, believing that water was the primary element around which the natural
world was constructed, and also aided in reinforcing the belief that the earth was spherical,
floating on a celestial sea.2 Thales played a major role in the rise to prominence of succeeding
philosophers, such as Anaximander, who was instrumental in the Greek and Roman under-
standing of animals, cosmology and human development.3 This interest in natural philosophy
is reflected upon in the Roman establishment of philosophical schools such as the Garden of

1
Ede, McCormack, A History of Science in Society, 17.
2
Ede, McCormack, A History of Science in Society, 17-18.
3
Ede, McCormack, A History of Science in Society, 18.
 HIS20780 2

Epicurus and the Stoa,4 all which placed a particular emphasis on the understanding of the
knowledge of the Greeks. Aristotle was also prominent in the assessment of natural science,
his ideas of the earths elements, as developed in the Lyceum, creating a foundation for the
Greeks to base further knowledge upon, such as his assertion of the Earth being the center of
the universe, most famously.5 The use of syllogistic logic also originated from Aristotle, a
scientific method that is still prevalent today in assessing and verifying statements.6 Also pre-
valent is Aristotles hand in the development of zoology, establishing such knowledge in Libri
de animalibus of Theodore Gaza, analysing the systemic study of animals and their anatomy
through the lens of his previously developed philosophy of the natural world.7
The Greek scientific influence is also evident in the Roman understanding of mathem-
atics, most notably their findings coming from Pythagoras, centering the conception of the
universe around the notion of numbers, emphasising the belief that all natural life can be ex-
pressed as a number, proportion, ratio and geometry, as well as developing a further under-
standing of cosmology. The Pythagorean theorem also became prevalent in not just Rome,
but was also of significant use to the Egyptians and Babylonians.8
The field of medicine was a third aspect in which the Greeks became an influencing
power within the Roman worldview, as well as worldwide. Most significantly was the philo-
sophy of Hippocrates, commonly described as being the ‘father of medicine,’9 who provided
a notable contribution to the scientific understanding of human anatomy, diagnosis and pro-
gnosis, disease, therapeutics, prevention and mental illness.10 The findings and subsequent
teachings of Hippocrates accumulated in the formation of the collection of scientific writings,
the corpus.11 The progression of Hippocrates’ medical philosophy into Rome took place
through the vehicle of Galen, described as the ‘prince of physicians’, who arrived in Rome in

4
Taub, Science after Aristotle, 252.
5
DeWitt, the History and Philosophy of Science, 8.
6
Ede, McCormack, A History of Science in Society, 32.
7
Lennox, Aristotle and the Origins of Zoology, 215.
8
Ede, McCormack, A History of Science in Society, 19.
9
French, Hippocrates and the philosophers, 9.
10
Van der Eijk, Medicine in Early and Classical Greece, 307-312.
11
French, Hippocrates and the philosophers, 10.
 HIS20780 3

162, where he subsequently became the physician to Commodus, the son of emperor Marcus
Aurelius.12 Galen was successful in transferring the knowledge of anatomy and respiration to
the Romans, performing vivisections to demonsrate such knowledge.13 Such ideas were then
spread throughout Rome by various authors, translating Greek into Latin, most prominent of
these being figures such as Cicero, Lucretius and Seneca.14 Seneca was of particular import-
ance, a Stoic following Greek philosophers surrounding the theory of the natural world and
its relation to human nature and morality, stating that ‘the investigation of this subject has
many benefits, but none is finer than the fact that it captivates people with its own magnifi-
cence, and their motives for studying it are not gain but wonder’.15
The afforementioned developments in Roman science are evidence of the Greek influ-
ence, the followers and pupils of such philosophers seeking a foundation in their teachings to
further develop their knowledge in fields such as nature, cosmology, mathematics and medi-
cine. As Ede and McCormack conclude, the philosophies of the Greek was instrumental in
establishing the separation of the natural and supernatural world in the study of the scientific
world.16 Although initally distrusting of the Greeks and often deliberately opposing their
views as a result of this,17 the impact of the Greeks within the scientific field is evident in
areas previously mentioned, such as that of Galen and Hippocrates, as well as the ideas of Ar-
istotle to develop further understanding, instrumental in our understanding of science in mod-
ernity.

Bibliography
DeWitt, Richard, Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science
(Malden, MA, 2003), 7-16.

12
French, Medicine before Science, 35-6.
13
French, Medicine before Science, 40.
14
Taub, Science after Aristotle, 268-9.
15
Seneca NQ 6.4.2, translated in Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Natural Questions, trans. H

M. Hine (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010), p. 92.

Ede, Andrew and Cormack, Lesley B., A History of Science in Society: From Philosophy to
Utility (Plymouth: University of Toronto Press, 2009), 11-39.

French, Roger, Medicine before Science: The Business of Medicine from the Middle Ages to
the Enlightenment (Cambridge, 2003), 9-56.

Henry, John, A Short History of Scientific Thought (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 14-
25.

Lennox, James G., ‘Aristotle and the Origins of Zoology’ in The Cambridge History of Sci-
ence, Volume 1: Ancient Science, ed. Alexander Jones & Liba Taub, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2018), 215-237.

Taub, Lisa, ‘Science after Aristotle: Hellenistic and Roman Science’ in The Cambridge His-
tory of Science, Volume 1: Ancient Science, ed. Alexander Jones & Liba Taub, (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2018), 248-277.

Van der Eijk, Philip, ‘Medicine in Early and Classical Greece’ in The Cambridge History of
Science, Volume 1: Ancient Science, ed. Alexander Jones & Liba Taub, (Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 2018), 293-315.