Math out of Hell

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

MATH OUT OF HELL Did Galileo invent modern physics by contemplating the intricate description of hell in Dante's Inferno? Jerusalem That's what Mount Holyoke College professor Mark Peterson argues. Here's how they connect. DANTE’S VISION In Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” the poet narrates a journey through the underworld and heavens. The first book, “The Inferno,” describes hell as a conical abyss descending through the earth in nine concentric terraces. Hell’s Gate The Dark Forest Acheron River 1st Circle: Limbo 2nd Circle: The lustful Minos 3d Circle: Gluttons Cerberus 4th Circle: Hoarders 5th Circle: The wrathful River Styx Sinners receive eternal punishments in the City of Dis nine circles, each level representing a 6th Circle: Heretics gradual increase in wickedness. Minotaur Centaurs River Jerusalem 7th Circle: The violent Phlegethon Harpies Wood of suicides Hell Great barrier and waterfall Detail Geryon 8th Circle: Panderers, seducers flatterers, simoniacs Giants Mount Malebolge Purgatory 9th Circle: The giant pit terminates in a frozen lake, where Lucifer and Satan himself is held in bondage, trapped in the ice. traitors Cocytus GALILEO’S ANALYSIS Dante’s vivid descriptions inspired Renaissance mathematicians to theorize about the topography and geometry of hell. The most popular were two rival attempts by Antonio Manetti and Alessandro Vellutello. A young Galileo Galilei was asked to offer two lectures to the Florentine Academy, analyzing both descriptions. MANETTI’S HELL VELLUTELLO’S HELL Manetti pictured the Vellutello described Inferno as a cone-shaped the pit as a series of region with its vertex at the truncated cones, where the center of the earth and its lower levels have parallel base on the surface, centered walls. It is much smaller than on Jerusalem. Manetti’s, reaching only 295 miles in depth. Lucifer (Vellutello) Lucifer (Manetti) Galileo favored Manetti’s hell as more plausible, reasoning that Manetti's Inferno could support itself against collapse. He argued that a small-scale model of Manetti's Inferno would support itself, like a dome over walls. Galileo also examined the rival interpretations of the size of the creatures in The giant hell. Again, he dismissed the work of Antaeus Vellutello, who calculated Satan's stature at 3,000 braccia (5,853 feet), while Manetti Dante proposed a slightly more modest 2,000 braccia (3,902 feet) . ... AND COUNTERARGUMENT After he delivered the lectures, Galileo realized that both versions of hell were completely wrong — that the structures and beings described by both scholars would simply collapse under their own weight. He began to reexamine the problem, and in doing so developed the scaling laws and notion of material strength that became the basis for his final book, “Two New Sciences,” and part of the foundation of modern physics. SOURCE: Mark A. Peterson, Mount Holyoke College.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Greek Myths - Creatures/Monsters Bingo Myfreebingocards.Com
Greek Myths - Creatures/Monsters Bingo myfreebingocards.com Safety First! Before you print all your bingo cards, please print a test page to check they come out the right size and color. Your bingo cards start on Page 3 of this PDF. If your bingo cards have words then please check the spelling carefully. If you need to make any changes go to mfbc.us/e/xs25j Play Once you've checked they are printing correctly, print off your bingo cards and start playing! On the next page you will find the "Bingo Caller's Card" - this is used to call the bingo and keep track of which words have been called. Your bingo cards start on Page 3. Virtual Bingo Please do not try to split this PDF into individual bingo cards to send out to players. We have tools on our site to send out links to individual bingo cards. For help go to myfreebingocards.com/virtual-bingo. Help If you're having trouble printing your bingo cards or using the bingo card generator then please go to https://myfreebingocards.com/faq where you will find solutions to most common problems. Share Pin these bingo cards on Pinterest, share on Facebook, or post this link: mfbc.us/s/xs25j Edit and Create To add more words or make changes to this set of bingo cards go to mfbc.us/e/xs25j Go to myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator to create a new set of bingo cards. Legal The terms of use for these printable bingo cards can be found at myfreebingocards.com/terms.
[Show full text]
Uscita Data Edicola Titolo Del Libro Elenco Dei Canti Piano Opera Divina Commedia Per Bambini
Piano Opera Divina Commedia per bambini Uscita Data edicola Titolo del libro Elenco dei canti 1 20/08/2021 Dante inizia a scrivere INFERNO - Introduzione e Canto I 2 03/09/2021 Caronte il barcaiolo dell’Inferno INFERNO - Canti II - IV 3 10/09/2021 I due innamorati Paolo e Francesca INFERNO - Canto V 4 17/09/2021 Cerbero e i golosi INFERNO - Canti VI - VIII 5 24/09/2021 La città di Dite e Farinata INFERNO - Canti IX - XII 6 01/10/2021 Pier della Vigna e Brunetto Latini INFERNO - Canti XIII - XV 7 08/10/2021 Tra ruffiani e indovini di Malebolge INFERNO - Canti XVI - XX 8 15/10/2021 La zuffa dei diavoli cuochi INFERNO - Canti XXI - XXII 9 22/10/2021 Le trasformazioni dei ladri INFERNO - Canti XXIII - XXV 10 29/10/2021 Ulisse l’eroe ingannatore INFERNO - Canto XXVI 11 05/11/2021 Il condottiero Guido da Montefeltro INFERNO - Canto XXVII 12 12/11/2021 I seminatori di discordia INFERNO - Canto XXVIII 13 19/11/2021 I falsari Sinone e mastro Adamo INFERNO - Canti XXIX - XXX 14 26/11/2021 Il pozzo di Cocito e i giganti INFERNO - Canti XXXI - XXXII 15 03/12/2021 Il conte Ugolino INFERNO - Canto XXXIII 16 10/12/2021 Lucifero e il passaggio al Purgatorio INFERNO - Canto XXXIV 17 17/12/2021 Catone, il custode del Purgatorio PURGATORIO - Canti I - II 18 24/12/2021 L’incontro col re Manfredi PURGATORIO - Canto III 19 31/12/2021 Gli spiriti pigri e il liutaio Belaqua PURGATORIO - Canto IV 20 07/01/2022 Iacopo del Cassero e Bonconte da Montefeltro PURGATORIO - Canto V (parte 1^) 21 14/01/2022 Pia de’ Tolomei e Sordello PURGATORIO - Canto V (parte 2^) -
[Show full text]
The Twelve Labors of Herakles
The Getty Teacher Resource Villa The Twelve Labors of Herakles Herakles was a universal hero, celebrated by the Greeks, the Etruscans (who called him Hercle), and the Romans (who knew him as 1. The Lion Hercules). He was the son of Zeus (king of the of Nemea gods) and a mortal woman, Alkmene. Ironically, his name means “the glory” (kleos) of Hera (queen of the gods), his jealous stepmother, who drove him mad and caused him to kill his wife and children. As penance, the hero was bound to serve King Eurystheus of Mycenae and Tiryns. The king sent him on a series of The Lion of Nemea had an impervious hide difficult tasks, or labors, twelve of which and could not be killed with traditional weapons. Herakles strangled it and then became standardized in art and literature. used its own claw to skin it. Afterward he wore its pelt as a talisman. 2. The Hydra of Lerna 3. The Hind of Keryneia The Hydra of Lerna was a serpentlike, multiheaded monster. Every time a head was cut off, two more grew in its place. With the aid of his nephew Education Iolaos,Educ Heraklesation killed the beast by cauterizing each wounded neck with a torch. 6/8 point The J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center The Hind of Keryneia was sacred to Artemis ducation (goddess of the hunt and wild animals). Herakles E was ordered to bring the deer, or its golden The J. Paul Getty Museum horn, back to Eurystheus without harming it.
[Show full text]
Reading Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red As a Modern
There Are No Words for a World Without a Self: Reading Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red as a Modern-Day Myth Alyssa Huisman 2362546 Leiden University First reader: Prof. P. Liebregts Second reader: Dr. M. Newton MA Thesis Literary Studies: English Literature and Culture 15 June 2020 Huisman 2 Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 1 – Theoretical Framework: Defining the Modern Myth ................................................8 1.1 Defining Mythology ...................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Transtextuality ........................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Semiotics and Mythology ............................................................................................ 14 1.4 Defining the Modern Myth .......................................................................................... 19 Chapter 2 – Reading Autobiography of Red as a Modern Myth ................................................ 22 2.1 Geryon ....................................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Geryon’s Monstrosity ................................................................................................. 26 2.3 Immortality and Time ................................................................................................
[Show full text]
Hybrid Monsters
HYBRID MONSTERS IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF HYBRID MONSTERS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, LITERATURE AND ART by Liane Posthumus Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy in Ancient Cultures at the University of Stellenbosch Supervisor: Prof. J.C. Thom Co-supervisor: Dr. S. Thom Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Ancient Studies March 2011 Declaration By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the authorship owner thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: 28 February 2011 Copyright © 2010 University of Stellenbosch All rights reserved i ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to explore the purpose of monster figures by investigating the relationship between these creatures and the cultures in which they are generated. It focuses specifically on the human-animal hybrid monsters in the mythology, literature and art of ancient Greece. It attempts to answer the question of the purpose of these monsters by looking specifically at the nature of man- horse monsters and the ways in which their dichotomous internal and external composition challenged the cultural taxonomy of ancient Greece. It also looks at the function of monsters in a ritual context and how the Theseus myth, as initiation myth, and the Minotaur, as hybrid monster, conforms to the expectations of ritual monsters. The investigation starts by considering the history and uses of the term “monster” in an attempt to arrive at a reasonable definition of monstrosity.
[Show full text]
Singing for Dante in 'Purgatorio'
Bibliotheca Dantesca: Journal of Dante Studies Volume 1 Dante and Music Article 7 2018 SINGING FOR DANTE IN ‘PURGATORIO’ 30–31 Helena Phillips-Robins Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/bibdant Part of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Italian Language and Literature Commons, Medieval History Commons, and the Music Commons Recommended Citation Phillips-Robins, Helena (2018) "SINGING FOR DANTE IN ‘PURGATORIO’ 30–31," Bibliotheca Dantesca: Journal of Dante Studies: Vol. 1 , Article 7. Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/bibdant/vol1/iss1/7 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/bibdant/vol1/iss1/7 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Phillips-Robins: SINGING FOR DANTE Bibliotheca Dantesca, 1 (2018): 127-145 SINGING FOR DANTE IN ‘PURGATORIO’ 30–31 HELENA PHILLIPS-ROBINS, University of Cambridge This essay investigates types of sociality enacted through song, as depicted in Dante’s Earthly Paradise. The first section of the essay argues that the singing of Psalm 30 (In te, Domine, speravi) in Purgatorio 30 is a way of enacting a particular mode of compassion. In the second section of the essay I argue that Dante’s depiction of Psalm 30—together with his depiction of the antiphon sung in Purgatorio 31, the Asperges me—invites a devotional response from the reader. The sociality of prayer can involve not only the characters, but also the readers of the Commedia. I investigate the liturgical context in which Dante and medieval readers would have known and lived the Asperges me. I argue that here, at the end of the narrative of his penitential journey, Dante, with this antiphon, invites the reader to her own performance of penance.
[Show full text]
Combat Trauma in Dante's Inferno Patrick
A Hell of One’s Own: Combat Trauma in Dante’s Inferno Patrick Whalen Must you have battle in your heart forever? —Odyssey 12:132 ante Alighieri was twenty-four years old in 1289 when he saw combat in the Battle of Campaldino as a “feditore”, a cavalry soldier from Florence.1 From what we D know of the battle,2 Dante’s unit would have been one of the first to be engaged by the oncoming Aretine cavalry, and for the first several minutes of the battle, Dante would have faced the prospect of imminent death when he saw the men and horses of his unit dying as their resistance crumbled before the Aretine’s charge. The historian Herbert Oerter notes that the catastrophe of this initial attack actually saved the Florentine forces, and likely Dante with them, because it caused Corso Donati, the flamboyant commander of the Florentine reserves, to disregard his orders and commit to the battle immediately. His orders, on pain of death, were to wait for a signal from one of the senior officers, Guillaume de Durfort. But Guillaume was dying— bleeding out on the plain—and would never give the signal. As it happened, Corso’s reserve position was in defilade to the attacking Aretine’s northern flank. When Corso attacked, his cavalry pierced the unexpecting and unprotected flank of the Aretine force, causing massive chaos and an almost immediate disintegration of the Aretine attack. The battle was over in a few 1 Robert M. Durling and Ronald L. Martinez, Inferno (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 88.
[Show full text]
Stesichorus' Geryoneis and the Sympathetic Monsters Of
Weird Pathos: Stesichorus’ Geryoneis and the Sympathetic Monsters of Apollonius’ Argonautica This paper argues for the pervasive influence of Stesichorus’ Geryoneis on the representation of monsters in Apollonius’ Argonautica, with a particular focus on the Hesperides episode in Book 4. Stesichorus’ sympathetic, even ennobling depiction of the three-bodied monster Geryon is perhaps the most striking feature of the surviving fragments of his poem, and the subject of much scholarly discussion (e.g., Franzen 2009, Curtis 2011: 43–45, Noussia- Fantuzzi 2013). Equally, scholars have long noted that several of the monsters of Apollonius’ Argonautica, such as the bronze man Talos or the poem’s two sets of earthborn warriors, cut a curiously sympathetic figure, creating a “weird pathos” (Hunter 1993: 42) as they are slain by the poem’s protagonists. To date, the influence of the Geryoneis on Apollonius’ monsters has been tentatively suggested for only one passage (Kouremenos 1996: 237 n. 13, Kauffman 2016: 385– 386): Stesichorus’ striking poppy simile (S 15 col ii.14–17) has been adduced as a potential model for the Apollonian simile comparing the drooping corpses of Jason’s earthborn foes to newly-planted shoots weighed down by heavy rains (Arg. 3.1396–1404). In fact, the suggestion of a link between these similes is borne out by other parallels between these passages, most notably the fact that both Heracles and Jason initiate combat by crouching stealthily and throwing a stone at their unsuspecting monstrous opponents (S 15.7–14; Arg. 3.1369; cf. 1057). This evidence shows that it is not only appropriate to read Jason’s ruthless slaughter of the sown men in light of Heracles’ brutal execution of Geryon, but furthermore, it invites consideration of the influence of the Geryoneis on other Apollonian monsters.
[Show full text]
Hercules Characters: Narrator
Hercules Characters: Narrator: Hercules was half man and half god. His mother was human. But his father, Zeus, was the king of all the gods. Narrator 2: Hercules had a very special gift. He had super strength just like his father, Zeus! Because Hercules was only half god, he could not live on Mt. Olympus with his father. He had to live on Earth. Narrator 3: Hera and King Eury were both very jealous of Hercules. They were both very sneaky and wanted to trick Hercules into dying. Hera: King Eury….Hercules is becoming more impatient each day. He will not stop asking if he can live on Mt. Olympus with Zeus! I am growing tired of him asking nearly every day! King Eury: Yes, this is becoming a nuisance…. I know! I have a plan that will get rid of Hercules altogether. Let’s give him some impossible tasks to do. We will tell him if he does them all, he will get to live on Mt. Olympus. We will make them so hard, he may even die doing them and then we will never have to see him and his muscles again! Hera: Yes! Excellent idea! Let’s begin planning the tasks right away!!!! And let’s give him twelve. He probably will not even get past the first three! (villainous laughter) Next Day: Hercules: I have finally gotten my wish. The tasks set before me are very dangerous. But I am strong and I will try my very best. I will finally get my wish to live on Mt.
[Show full text]
Imagery and Symbolism in Dante's Inferno
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN: 2319-7064 Impact Factor (2018): 7.426 Imagery and Symbolism in Dante’s Inferno: An Analysis Dr. Chona M. Adlawan Department of Languages and Communication, College of Arts and Communication, University of Eastern Philippines University Town, Northern Samar Abstract: This research is an analysis of imagery and symbolisms in Dante’s Inferno. Specifically, it looked into the images and symbols present in the first canticle of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, the Inferno, thereby excluding the last two books – the Purgatorio (Purgatory) and the Paradiso (Paradise). This qualitative research utilized textual analysis in interpreting the different images and symbols found in the book. The analysis also examined figures of speech and other literary devices. This study is anchored on the mimetic or the classical theory which states that a literary work of art is a re-creation, a re-presentation, and a re-combination of what is found in reality. Dante’s Inferno gives readers an insight of the reality and the nature of sin.Based on the analysis, it was found out that people, beasts, monsters, and places in mythology are found in the Inferno, and used by Dante allegorically in the poem. Dante in the epic was himself a Florentine poet but allegorically, he is the image of a Christian sinner who journeyed through hell, purgatory and finally to paradise where he can find peace and salvation. Virgil, his companion in hell, is the image of Human Wisdom, while Beatrice, the Divine Wisdom. Beatrice also symbolizes the “Blessed Virgin” or one of the “God-bearers”.
[Show full text]
Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy – Inferno
DIVINE COMEDY -INFERNO DANTE ALIGHIERI HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND NOTES PAUL GUSTAVE DORE´ ILLUSTRATIONS JOSEF NYGRIN PDF PREPARATION AND TYPESETTING ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND NOTES Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ILLUSTRATIONS Paul Gustave Doré Released under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ You are free: to share – to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work; to remix – to make derivative works. Under the following conditions: attribution – you must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work); noncommercial – you may not use this work for commercial purposes. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. English translation and notes by H. W. Longfellow obtained from http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/new/comedy/. Scans of illustrations by P. G. Doré obtained from http://www.danshort.com/dc/, scanned by Dan Short, used with permission. MIKTEXLATEX typesetting by Josef Nygrin, in Jan & Feb 2008. http://www.paskvil.com/ Some rights reserved c 2008 Josef Nygrin Contents Canto 1 1 Canto 2 9 Canto 3 16 Canto 4 23 Canto 5 30 Canto 6 38 Canto 7 44 Canto 8 51 Canto 9 58 Canto 10 65 Canto 11 71 Canto 12 77 Canto 13 85 Canto 14 93 Canto 15 99 Canto 16 104 Canto 17 110 Canto 18 116 Canto 19 124 Canto 20 131 Canto 21 136 Canto 22 143 Canto 23 150 Canto 24 158 Canto 25 164 Canto 26 171 Canto 27 177 Canto 28 183 Canto 29 192 Canto 30 200 Canto 31 207 Canto 32 215 Canto 33 222 Canto 34 231 Dante Alighieri 239 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 245 Paul Gustave Doré 251 Some rights reserved c 2008 Josef Nygrin http://www.paskvil.com/ Inferno Figure 1: Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark..
[Show full text]
Cari Dantisti: I Very Much Enjoyed Our First Session Together on 9/30 And
Cari Dantisti: I very much enjoyed our first session together on 9/30 and am grateful to those of you who’ve written with your own reactions. There was nothing tentative about our beginning; we are already well on our way. That said, I know from Sharon Small that there were raised hands that were not acknowledged. Also, because text largely occupied the screen, you were not able to see one another. And we were only looking at snippets of text rather than the entire canto under discussion. So, I’d like us to try something different on 10/7. Please have your Durling-Martinez text available so that we can work from it: can read from the text, paraphrase it, comment on it, draw your attention to this or that line. All of this by way of setting you up for Q&A and discussion. A great additional resource is Columbia University’s dedicated Dante website (https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/). where you can find for each canto the text (along with Longfellow and Mandelbaum translations), a written commentary by Teodolinda Barolini, a taped hour-long lecture by Barolini (select “video”), and a reading of the poem in Italian by a native speaker (“audio”). This site is a treasure trove. Another treasure is Lino Pertile’s “Introduction to the INFERNO” in the Cambridge Companion to Dante, 2nd ed. I’ve just gotten a pdf of the chapter and attach it to this email. It’s comprehensive and beautifully written. All of these are extras, which I draw your attention to while we are proceeding at a leisurely pace compared to our velocity in the succeeding weeks, Although you may not have time or inclination to pursue them now, I want you to know that they are there if and when you are interested in going further.
[Show full text]