Legend of Archimedes and the lever,historical artwork. Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287-212 BC),Greek mathematician,physicist and engineer,is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of antiquity. He is famous for his claim that given a lever,he could move the Earth. This principle of multiplying the force applied by using a lever was,according to legend,used by him to move a ship. The story says that Archimedes (lower right,red),watched by King Hiero of Syracuse (purple robes),used a system of levers and pulleys to move and launch a ship when all others had failed |