Editing Archimedes (section)

===Launching the ''Syracusia''===
A large part of Archimedes' work in engineering probably arose from fulfilling the needs of his home city of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]].{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=14}} [[Athenaeus|Athenaeus of Naucratis]] in his ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' quotes a certain Moschion for a description on how King Hiero II commissioned the design of a huge ship, the ''[[Syracusia]]'', which is said to have been the largest ship built in [[classical antiquity]] and, according to Moschion's account, it was launched by Archimedes.<ref>Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, V.40-45</ref> Plutarch tells a slightly different account,<ref>Plutarch, Life of Marcellus 7-8</ref> relating that Archimedes boasted to Hiero that he was able to move any large weight, at which point Hiero challenged him to move a ship.{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=15}} These accounts contain many fantastic details that are historically implausible, and the authors of these stories provide conflicting about how this task was accomplished:{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=15}} Plutarch states that Archimedes constructed a [[block and tackle|block-and-tackle]] [[pulley]] system, while [[Hero of Alexandria]] attributed the same boast to Archimedes' invention of the ''baroulkos'', a kind of [[windlass]].<ref> Heronis Opera Vol II, 1, 256, III 306</ref> [[Pappus of Alexandria]] attributed this feat, instead, to Archimedes' use of [[mechanical advantage]],{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=15}} the principle of [[lever]]age to lift objects that would otherwise have been too heavy to move, attributing to him the oft-quoted remark: "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth."{{efn|{{langx|el|δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω}}}}<ref>[[Pappus of Alexandria]], ''Synagoge'' Book VIII</ref> 

Athenaeus, likely garbling the details of Hero's account of the baroulkos,{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=16}} also mentions that Archimedes used a "screw" in order to remove any potential water leaking through the hull of the ''Syracusia''. Although this device is sometimes referred to as [[Archimedes' screw]], it likely predates him by a significant amount, and none of his closest contemporaries who describe its use ([[Philo of Byzantium]], [[Strabo]], and [[Vitruvius]]) credit him with its use.{{sfn|Dijksterhuis|1987|p=15}}