Ancient Greek Ideas On Elements and Atom

ANCIENT GREEK
IDEAS ON
ELEMENTS AND
ATOM
STEPHEN LANDERO
RACHEL MICMIC
Democritus` idea of the atom has
been called “ the best guess in
antiquity”. That`s because it was
correct in many ways, yet it was
based on pure speculation. It really
was just a guess. Here`swhat
democritus thought about the atom:
 All maters consists of atoms, which
cannot be further subdivided into
smaller particles.
 Atoms are extremely small– to small to
see
 Atoms are solid particles that are
indestructible
 Atoms are separated from one another
by bemptiness, or “ void “.
 What happens internally when a plant
or animal grows? How do we smell an
aroma almost as soon as someone walks
into a room with flowers?
 Where does the “stuff” go when a plant
decays? These questions may have
occurred to earlier civilizations, but the
Greeks were the first to record answers
them.
Greek philosophers in the sixth and
fifth centuries BCE had many ideas
about substance and how thing
change. However, Leucippus and
Democritus were the first to develop
a model that is similar, in some
ways, to our present ideas of atoms.
 Theyconcluded that all matter was
made of small indivisible and
indestructible objects. These objects
were called atoms, based on the
Greek word atomos, or indivisible.
Leucippus and Democritus
hypothesized that atoms came in
a variety of sizes and shapes.
The atoms combined in different
ways to form the difference that
we see. With this kind of motion,
he could explain the aroma from
flowers.
Democritus, who is sometimes
called the laughing philosopher,
developed the concept further
and stated that these atoms
were in constant motion,
frequently colliding with each
other.
 The atoms from the flowers move across
the room colliding with air atoms and
spreading out through the room along
the way. When the reach our nose, we
smell the roses.
 For atoms to move through the room
Democritus needed to postulate that
empty space existed. Atoms cannot move
unless there is space to move in. This
empty space was called the void.
Two very important philosophers of
the generations that followed
Democritus did not like these ideas.
The void did not exist. Plato never
mentions Democritus. Plato’s
student, Aristotle, was somewhat
more direct in his criticism.
Aristotle’s description of forces and
motion required that all space be
filled with matter. So, he felt the
need to refute Democritus’s ideas.
Aristotle wrote at length describing
Democritus’ concepts about atoms
and what was wrong with them.
We are fortunate that Aristotle did
this.
Most of Democritus’ writings
have been lost. If Aristotle had
not described Democritus’ ideas
so he could tell the world why
Democritus was wrong, we
might not today know how close
to right Democritus was.
 On the other hand, Aristotle’s science
and philosophy dominated Western
thought for most of the next 2,000 years.
So interest in Democritus’ atoms, except
in a few cases, was limited for a long
time. We will look at one of those cases,
an epic poem by Lucretius, next time.
Democritus, as
depicted in
1628 by
Hendrick ter
Brugghen
(public domain
image via
Wikimedia
Commons).
Ideas
on
elements
 According to the Empedocles, a Greek
philosopher, scientist and healer who
lived in Sicily in the fifth century B.C.,
all matter is comprised of four "roots" or
elements of earth, air, fire and
water. Fire and air are outwardly
reaching elements, reaching up and out,
whereas earth and water turn inward
and downward.
 Inhis Tetrasomia, or Doctrine of the
Four Elements, Empedocles described
these elements not only as physical
manifestations or material substances,
but also as spiritual essences. He
associated these elements with four
Greek gods and goddesses - air with
Zeus, earth with Hera, fire with Hades,
and water with Nestis (believed to be
Persephone):
 “Now hear the fourfold roots of
everything:
Enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus
And Nestis, moistening mortal springs
with tears.”
 In Empedocles' philosophy, the
interaction of the four elements is
influenced by the relationship between
the two great life energies of Love and
Strife:
 Empedocles explained that there are two
great living forces in the universe, which
he called Love (Philotês) and Strife
(Neikos) and assigned to Aphrodite and
Ares. According to Hesiod, the Goddess
Love and the God Strife, offspring of
Night (Nux), were ancient deities,
predating the Olympians.
The original Greek golden age was
the Reign of Aphrodite, when all
things were united and
Love permeated the length and
breadth of the well-rounded cosmic
sphere. But Strife, as the River Styx
surrounding the Sphere, broke its
Unity, and cleaved the One into
Many.
Itdivided the four elements, which
ever since combine and separate
under the opposing actions of Love
and Strife to produce the changing
world with its manifold objects and
qualities. As Heraclitus said,
"Through Strife all things come into
being."
Empedocles said that Strife also
divided the one immortal soul of
Love into many individual souls,
each comprising both Love and
Strife in some proportion; these
immortal souls are reborn time and
again into mortal bodies, which are
animated by mortal souls
compounded from the four elements.
 REFERENCE
 from Exercise for Unity by Apollonius
Sophistes
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/EaU.html
http://www.webwinds.com/myth/elemental.htm
https://kimrendfeld.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/a
ncient-greeks-were-the-first-to-hypothesize-
atoms/

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