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Science in the Roman Empire
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Science in the Roman Empire
$1.25
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Molly Kammann
Roman Astronomy
Roman Medicine
A new calendar was adopted as Sosigenes of Alexandria found each solar year to contain 365.25 days. Accounting for the extra 6 hours, Sosigenes recommended the addition of a day every 4 years.
Claudius Ptolemy
A strong believer in the geocentric theory, Ptolemy hypothesized that each planet had a layer encircling Earth.
Listing 48 constellations, his work Almagest (an astronomical manual) also described the trigonometry needed to predict the locations of the Sun, Moon, and planets.
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth.
- Ptolemy
- Galen (AD 129 - circa 200/216)
- Learned about the human body by dissecting corpses and wrote medical books regarding bone structure.
- Furthermore, by dissecting animals, Galen was able to learn about the circulatory, respiratory, and nervous system.
- Galen also discovered the difference between dark and bright blood.
- Public Health
- Romans believed that hygiene prevented the spread of disease.
- According to Marcus Terentius Varro, disease was caused by 'miniature creatures' (now known as bacteria and viruses)
- Anesthetics
- Using opium and scopolamine as painkillers, the Romans would perform surgical procedures.
- Advancements in Battlefield Surgery
- Innovations like hemostatic tourniquets and arterial surgical clamps were used to prevent deadly blood loss
- Battlefield surgeons found it important to sterilize tools in boiling water before use.
- Sanitation in military camps limited spread of disease.
Five Facts
1. Galen, a Roman surgeon, educated himself about the human body by dissecting animals.
2. Marcus Terentius Varro proposed that disease was spread through creatures that are not visible to the naked eye.
3. Battlefield surgeon pioneered tools used for minimizing blood loss while others employed anesthetics during surgery.
4. Using math and astronomy, the Romans calculated how many days are in a solar year and added the leap year.
5. Ptolemy used math to support his theory of a geocentric universe although it was flawed.