It has thus seemed more likely that what Archimedes may have discovered was the mathematical formula that allows for the relative density of an object to be ascertained by measuring its mass and volume (i.e. However, using the procedure described it would have been near impossible in practice, given the degree of precision required, for Archimedes to prove that any adulteration of gold with silver had taken place. Would Hieron have commissioned such an object as a dedication? Would a craftsman have dared to steal gold from the tyrant? Why would the king ever suspect such a thing? And if so, would he use such an indirect method as a scientific analysis to discover the truth? The notion that water in a bowl might be displaced by dropping objects in it was in fact long known from a fable by Aesop (sixth century BC) about the thirsty crow encountering a pitcher with water at the bottom, and dropping pebbles in until the water rose to the top. By discovering that more water spilled over the edge when the equivalent weight in silver was submerged than by the original crown, he proved the crown had been adulterated.Įlements of this story have long been considered implausible. According to Vitruvius, he proceeded to apply this principle using weights of gold and silver equivalent to that of the crown and dropping them into a bowl filled to the brim with water. What Archimedes had allegedly discovered was that one can measure the mass of an object by observing the quantity of water it displaces. Realising that this was how he could solve the problem, he jumped out of the bath and rushed home naked, shouting that he had found the answer, yelling in Greek repeatedly as he ran ‘eureka, eureka!’ (‘I’ve got it, I’ve got it’). On getting into a tub he observed how as his body sank into it the water ran out over the tub. While he was pondering the matter, Archimedes happened to go and take a bath.

According to the single ancient source for the story, the Roman author Vitruvius (first century BC), Hieron turned to Archimedes to find a way of ascertaining whether this was the case: He provided a craftsman with the gold to have it fabricated, but when the crown was made the king suspected the craftsman might have purloined some of the gold and replaced it with cheaper silver.

After reading it, it struck me that historians needed to re-evaluate the basis of Archimedes’ famous ‘eureka-moment.’ The story associated with the third-century BC inventor and engineer Archimedes of Syracuse is that Hieron had commissioned a finely-wrought golden crown to dedicate to the goddess Victory.

While some historians concentrate on exploring that tip, others try to use it to extrapolate the contours of the mass lying beneath the surface, and from time to time a new outline of the hidden contour suggests itself.Ī few years ago I came across a fascinating description by an ancient Greek author called Athenaeus (second century AD) of the construction by Archimedes of a huge ship on the orders of the king of Syracuse (Sicily), Hieron II. What we know of the ancient world from surviving evidence is just the tip. When talking about the history of classical antiquity I sometimes use the image of an iceberg.

Archimedes and the golden crown