Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.07.14

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Nicholas Nicastro, Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008. Pp. xi, 223. ISBN 9780312372477. $23.95.

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Reviewed by T. E. Rihll, Swansea University, Wales, UK (T.E.Rihll@Swansea.ac.uk)

This book is not written for academics. It is more ambitious than its title: besides Eratosthenes, we meet all the famous scientists of the period, and beside ancient attempts to measure the globe, we are told about many of the famous achievements of ancient science. Having lamented (in the Preface) classicists' relative neglect of ancient scientists, Nicastro seems to want to rectify the situation by introducing as many of them as possible between the covers of this book. The intended readership is general, and the author's experience in writing novels is apparent throughout. Nicastro provides an easy introduction to ancient science in the Hellenistic era. Production quality is good. Most of the text is supported with notes at the back, and the notes identify the sources of quotes.

The book is divided into five chapters. The first describes Athens and Alexandria and sets the tone for the whole, conjuring up a picture of people going about their daily lives in two busy Greek ports. A huge amount of imagery is piled on. Between pages 1 and 3, for example, we meet reputable shipping companies, good profits, bulk exports, intellectuals as the most important exports from Athens, passengers pitching tents on the deck of merchant ships on which they bought passage, and smelly cities with buildings high enough to cut off the sunshine and street crime such as to deter residents going out at night. The ancient world thus brought to life is not a familiar one. The chapter ends with Eratosthenes' computation.

Full review here:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009-07-14.html