ABSTRACT
About 2,200 years ago a Roman soldier, engaged in mopping-up operations in the captured city of Syracuse, accidentally killed the mathematical philosopher Archimedes under circumstances which have remained obscure to this day. The death of Archimedes marked the end of a very bright era in human thought, but it also gave birth to a curious legend which is still in circulation. The story of Archimedes symbolises rather than demonstrates that there are phases in the history of science: the interpretations of science are different in different ages. The historian of science must therefore remember that his historical sources do not automatically record everything that the modern mind would regard as important. But the history of science is more difficult than such a simple theory would suggest. Many explanations can be put forward to account for the change in the idea of science which must have begun in the renaissance and which culminated in the mechanical philosophy of the seventeenth century.
