Genius of our (small) world: Anthemius of Tralles

Now and so often, when I find the time bewteen two markings and student's projects, I will continue to write or point out to written accounts about some very important geniuses of our world.

I will try to attract your attention on the lesser known ones which do not sadly receive the media coverage that they should. Well, why always talk only about Watt or Jacquard as the main inventors of the industrial revolution when there were many others who did contribute and maybe these guys, like Edison, just took advantage of all the others' work but made sure to move aside their less political comrades ? Does that sound familiar ? As far as I am concerned, yes.

Anyway, here is one which I really think is worth mentionning because of all the work he has written about geometry, mechanics and optics. On his very compregensive hellenic world website, Dr. Lahanas, details several great inventors and scientists:
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Medieval/AnthemiusTralles.html
I do suggest it as a good source of information.

When I did visit Instambul, I was so happy to visit the great church of Constantinople times, Saint Sophia. This construction showed the political grandeur of the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople had replaced Rome has the cultural center of Europe and the Mediterranean sea. Well, that is the reason why the Imperator wanted it so vast. Do you know that its vault was never unsurpassed until the actual St-Peter's Basilica was built just after Italian renaissance ? Even, we can see that it has been the inspiration for all great Islam Mosques but they never reached its vastness since the Blue Mosque, next to it, is slightly smaller (but has two more minarets ...).

It is said that:
"Anthemius persecuted a neighbour and rival Zenon by reflecting sunlight into his house. He also produced the impression of an earthquake in Zenon's house by the use of steam led under pressure through pipes connected to a boiler."

This proves that it has always been very difficult to have geniuses living next to each other without getting at each other's thoaths. Intelligence does not replace Wisdom would say Salomon. That is maybe why for each professor in our Universities, we have to set one laboratory with an army of assistants, PhD and post-docs.