Leonid Zhmud The Origin of the History of Science in Classical Antiquity

DK 40),
music (Damon,
DK 37), rhetoric (Tisias, Protagoras, Gorgias, and Critias), mathe-
matics (
Elements by Hippocrates of Chios, 42 A 1), and harmonics (Archytas, 47
B 1).

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1. The invention of técnh
51
From the late fifth century on, the topic
origo artis becomes a regular part of the
‘introductions’ to various técnai and ëpist4mai
28
and continues to be repro-
duced in various forms until the end of Antiquity (8.4). Depending on the avail-
ability of the respective material and the interests of the author, this topic could
be limited to a eulogy of a legendary or real founder of a particular branch of
knowledge
29
or to a brief survey of precursors’ achievements;
30
it could take the
form of a
Kulturentstehungslehre, as in the case of VM, or that of a short history
of the técnh in question, as in Aristotle’s Tecnõn sunagwg2,
31
Aristoxenus’
On music, or Celsus’ De medicina. The rich legendary and historical tradition
concerning the inventors of music and poetry gave to these técnai an advantage
over such disciplines as, for example, medicine. Even if he had attempted to,
the author of
VM would hardly be able to write the history of his técnh starting,
say, with the time of Homer. No wonder his ‘history’ took the shape of the
Kul-
turentstehungslehre and did not mention a single name. By the time of Celsus
(first century AD), Greek medicine had a long and glorious history marked by a
line of famous physicians starting with Asclepius and his sons Podalirius and
Machaon.
The synchronization, already traditional by the fifth century, of the origin of
music and poetry with the several generations immediately preceding and fol-
lowing Homer may have helped to form an opinion of the order in which vari-
ous técnai emerged. According to Democritus, it is the necessary técnai that,
under the pressure of need, emerge first. Later, when a surplus of wealth has
been gained, these are followed by técnai that serve pleasure – namely, music
(68 B 144). Since Democritus considers Musaeus to be the inventor of the most
ancient hexameter poetry (68 B 16),
32
he must have dated the invention of
music and poetry to the time of Homer’s predecessors, i.e., at the very end of
the ‘prehistoric’ epoch. According to Cole’s reconstruction of Democritus’ the-
ory, the emergence of astronomy should be dated to the same period.
33
Thus,
surplus of wealth and the leisure that results from it were put at the service not
only of pleasure, but also of knowledge. The simultaneous emergence of arts
28
Heinimann,
op. cit., 117 n. 55.
29
Radermacher, L.
Artium scriptores (Reste der voraristotelischen Rhetorik), Vienna
1951, 1ff.
30
E.g. Isoc.
Antid. 180–181; Arist. SE 183b 29f. See Mansfeld. Prolegomena, the ru-
bric
historical note/overview in the index, 173.
31
Fr. 136–141 Rose = fr. 123–134 Gigon. Much historical evidence on the first steps of
rhetoric contained in the late introductions into this discipline might be traced to this
treatise (Rabe, H., ed.
Prolegomenon Sylloge, Leipzig 1931, VIIIf.; Radermacher,
op. cit., 11ff.).
32
Kleingünther,
op. cit., 107f.; Luria, S. Democritea, Leningrad 1970, 568f.; Cole, op.
cit., 42f., 57.
33
Cole,
op. cit., 42f. This idea, though not occurring as such in Democritus’ fragments,
is found in the theories of Diodorus (I,16.1) and Lucretius (V, 1437f.), which prob-
ably go back to Democritus.

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Chapter 2: Science as técnh: theory and history
52
and sciences distinguishes Democritus’ theory from that of Aristotle, which in-
cluded three stages: 1) necessary técnai; 2) arts (music, in particular); 3) sci-
ences and philosophy aimed at pure knowledge.
34
We do not know whether the
notion of scol2, so important for Aristotle, figured in Democritus, but it is this
notion that, from the early fourth century, marked the transition from the inven-
tion of necessary crafts to arts and sciences.
In