Syracuse

In the year 213 B.C. the town of Syracuse in southern Sicily, was besieged by the troops of the Roman consul Marcellus. The battle lasted three years, giving Archimedes time to perfect his ingenious system for defending Syracuse. Archimedes' idea was to reflect the sun off a mirror onto the enemy ships. The sunlight reflected in this way would be concentrated enough to set fire to the Roman warships. Despite a heroic defense, the Romans won. As for Archimedes, he was so absorbed in a geometry ...