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Before Eureka! The novel takes the young Archimedes of Syracuse (in Sicily) from the age of nine until he leaves for Alexandria. The many discoveries Archimedes makes in his adult life are prefigured by life-threatening adventures as a child and a teenager-laws of hydrostatics, levers, balance points, and counting theory, and inventions such as concentrating sunlight, screws, catapults, and other devices. These help Archimedes escape sacrifice to a god, drowning, earthquakes, kidnapping, battles, and direct attacks on his life. He is also involved with the well-known great events of the day, events that led to the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage, interacting with kings Pyrrhus and Hiero II (a relative), along with lesser-known politicians and warriors. In another strand that runs through the books, Archimedes, known by his childhood nickname of "Figures" (for his mathematical habits) participates twice in the Syracuse Games pentathlon. His fictional companions include a tomboy of his own age (Phyllis), her younger brother, a distant relative who also is threatened by the villain, and friends and adversaries among the other boys of Syracuse. The story proceeds as a series of adventures, facing a villain who has reasons to kill Archimedes, being trapped in a cave, participation in war and battles, and failure and success as an athlete. Greek culture suffuses the book, with habits, dress, dwellings, and pastimes included. In this fiction, Archimedes and his family are Pythagoreans, who do not believe in Greek gods, while his best friend Phyllis is not only a true believer, but even becomes a priestess of the patron goddess of Syracuse, Artemis. In a number of cases, it might appear that Artemis controls some of the events of the book, rather in the way Athena and other gods control the Trojan War and the adventures of Odysseus, although Archimedes thinks it is just luck. The postlog summarizes Archimedes and his life with the historical event of the Roman Cicero uncovering his grave. An appendix that purports to be the known lost biography of Archimedes by his friend Heracleides concludes the book.
