In an accurate historical treatment, it is impossible to pinpoint a definition of science that applies to multiple moments in time. Science is a living, organic activity, and the meaning and understanding of science has evolved incrementally over several centuries. This book, the first in a series of broadly focused and comprehensive histories of science, explores the origins and nature of scientific methodology from ancient history to the decline of classical civilizations in roughly 300 A.D. It includes details specific to the histories of specialized sciences including astronomy, medicine and physics--along with Roman engineering and Greek philosophy. Individuals described include Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Seneca, Pliny the Elder, and Galen.