What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
In 212 BC, roman armies invaded the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Archimedes, who was 75 years old, was drawing geometric figures at home when he was disturbed by a Roman soldier who broke in, and Archimedes waved his hand and angrily said, "Go away, don't move my picture!" The Roman soldier listened, and angrily drew his sword and killed him.
Death of Archimedes
This is one of the many versions of Archimedes' death, which are actually much the same, and Archimedes was indeed killed by a Roman soldier. According to legend, during the recent siege of the city, Archimedes had both women and children take out mirrors and stand on the shore to reflect the strong sunlight on the main sail of the Roman warships—the sails soon burned, and the frightened Romans retreated.
Looking at it this way, Archimedes is really a "sworn enemy" of the Romans, and it is normal to be killed, so why is it that his death is "a bit unjust"?
If we start from the beginning, we must talk about Syracuse, which Archimedes defended.
Syracuse's geographical location is important
Syracuse, also translated as Syracuse, is a city on the island of Sicily. As an ancient Greek city-state, Syracuse's geographical location in the Mediterranean was very important, and soon developed into a trading center, very powerful. After that, Syracuse tore Athens and kicked Carthage, becoming the number one power in Sicily.
In 265 BC, Syracuse took a fancy to his neighbor Messina, also on the island of Sicily, and prepared to annex it—Archimedes was about 22 years old at this time, and although he was an Syracuse, his family was well-off, and instead of fighting as a soldier, he went to Alexandria in Egypt to study.
So, the first confrontation between Syracuse and Rome, Archimedes did not catch up.
This year, the inhabitants of Messina knew that they could not beat Syracuse, and turned to Rome for help. The Roman legions soon landed in Sicily and engaged the Syracuse army head-on. It was clear that Syracuse's soldiers were no match at all, and they were defeated all the way.
The following year, the king of Syracuse saw that the situation was not right and took the initiative to negotiate peace with Rome.
As a result of the negotiations, Syracuse formed an alliance with Rome. It must be emphasized that Rome, though powerful, had great respect for Syracuse as an ally. The two sides were on an equal footing, Syracuse had full autonomy, and his greatest obligation was to give priority to selling grain to Rome. With rome's victory in the First Punic War, Syracuse, as an ally, was able to live with peace of mind.
Indeed, from 264 BC to 215 BC, Syracuse experienced 50 years of peace and prosperity.
Hannibal crossed the Alps
In this way, Archimedes lived in Syracuse for many years, conducting his academic research and living a peaceful life.
In 215 BC, something big happened. That year, King Hilo II of Syracuse, a staunch ally of Rome, died at the age of 90, and the new king was his 15-year-old grandson.
The young king was Hieromes, who, as a staunch ally of Rome, could have gone on to live a good life. However, the young monarch saw that a powerful enemy had appeared in Rome at this time: Hannibal.
By this time Hannibal had led his army across the Alps and burned the war to the Italian peninsula. Moreover, Hannibal was in the limelight, and the Roman army could not take advantage of it at all. The young kings and nobles of Syracuse began to imagine: If Hannibal really destroyed Rome, Syracuse, as an ally, would not have a good life, right? If you turn to Hannibal now, your position will be different in the future...
It just so happened that Hannibal also sent people to lobby, as long as Syracuse was willing to turn to himself, he would help them become the overlords of Sicily! In this way, the rulers of Syracuse were hot-headed and put up a banner against Rome.
Not everyone was willing to fight, and the old king, Hiro II, maintained peace for 50 years, making the Syracuses rich. Some of the ruling factions wanted to take this opportunity to rise and become kings of Sicily; those who maintained trade with Rome for many years did not want to go to war; scholars like Archimedes had little idea of the coming war...
Therefore, after the betrayal of Rome, Syracuse did not unite within himself.
Archimedes defended Syracuse
In 213 BC, Rome finally freed its hands and sent an army to kill the ancient city of Syracuse. Unable to resist, the Syracuse army withdrew to the city, completely besieged by the Romans.
At this point, all the Syracuses understood that they were not opponents of Rome, and that unless a Carthaginian army came to relieve the siege, there was no certainty of victory--and the Carthaginian navy was not a rival to the Romans at all, and even Hannibal could not reinforce them, so how could they come to the rescue of Syracuse?
This means that resistance can only die. Of course, if you choose to turn to Rome again at this time, most of them will be safe except for a few who will be punished.
As a result, when the Roman general Marcellus urged Syracuses to surrender, Syracuse refused. Why? First of all, the Syracuses still hope that Carthage can come to the rescue; secondly, after decades of construction, the ancient walls of Syracuse are strong, abundant with grain and grass, and there is no problem in supporting them for many years; more importantly, the Syracuses who have been "rich" for many years, especially scholars like Archimedes, believe that direct surrender loses dignity and must be fought...
So, with no chance of winning, Syracuse chose to resist.
After a year of siege, Syracuse was already at odds. Many aristocrats could not understand why Syracuse had betrayed Rome. Hannibal has been tossing and turning on the Italian peninsula, far from Sicily, even if he wants to take advantage of the opportunity, he does not need to make his position clear so early! This is good, play yourself to death.
As a result, some nobles arranged assassins and killed the young king, and the interior was in chaos. At this point, there was no room for redemption, and the Resistance approached Archimedes and asked him to use his knowledge to help defend the city. Thus, there is a series of stories of Archimedes and the Romans confronting each other.
Eventually, Syracuse was breached and archimedes, 75, died in the rebellion.
Therefore, in the Second Punic War, Syracuse was very reckless. Living in peace with Rome for 50 years and suddenly betraying it is not something to show off. In addition, when the Roman army approached the city and asked for negotiations, Syracuse once again missed the opportunity - it was the belligerents in the Syracuse power faction that caused all this, and Archimedes was really a bit wronged.
In addition, the Roman general Marcellus actually admired Archimedes, and he was very sorry afterwards and executed the Roman soldier. Archimedes was solemnly buried, and if he had only been captured, he would not have been executed...