Archimedes was a person.
Archimedes . Archimedes of Syracuse ( [ ˌɑːkɪˈmiːdiːz ] Ἀρχιμήδης ) was a Greek mathematician , physicist , engineer , inventor , and astronomer . Although few details of his life are known , he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity . Generally considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time , Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems , including the area of a circle , the surface area and volume of a sphere , and the area under a parabola . He is credited with designing innovative machines , such as his screw pump , compound pulleys , and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion . Mathematicians from Alexandria read and quoted him , but the first comprehensive compilation was not made until by Isidore of Miletus in Byzantine Constantinople , while commentaries on the works of Archimedes written by Eutocius in the sixth century AD opened them to wider readership for the first time .