The Myth of Archimedes

Archimedes was a Greek born in Syracuse on the island of Sicily around the beginning of the 3rd century BC, making him a rough contemporary of Eratosthenes. While he was frequently mentioned in later Roman sources, details are scattered and what we are left with are several mythic stories around his life. For most of these, it is the story of his discovery of the principle of buoyancy while taking a bath. The tale which is usually told was first recounted by Vitruvius, a Roman architect and engineer around 200 years after Archimedes death. He realised that two equal weights of gold take up an equivalent volume. However, if the crown were diluted with silver