This book provides a comprehensive overview of the key themes in Greek and Roman science, medicine, mathematics and technology. A distinguished team of specialists engage with topics including the role of observation and experiment, Presocratic natural philosophy, ancient creationism, and the special style of ancient Greek mathematical texts, while several chapters confront key questions in the philosophy of science such as the relationship between evidence and explanation. The volume will spark renewed discussion about the character of 'ancient' versus 'modern' science, and will broaden readers' understanding of the rich traditions of ancient Greco-Roman natural philosophy, science, medicine and mathematics.

‘… this Cambridge Companion is an excellent introductory guide to many areas of science-style inquiry in classical antiquity, and it is especially useful for less well known domains like botany, music, mechanics, or meteorology. In another way its authors’ diverse choices offer a snapshot of our current relationship to Greco-Roman philosophical and scientific activity: our questions about its history are open-ended, even if a high proportion of them are still about Aristotle.’

Philippa Lang Isis Source: Isis, a Journal of the History of Science Society