1. Biography

Anthemios was born in Tralles of Lydia in the late 5th century. He was born into a family whose contribution in the development of science was significant. His father was Stephen, a prominent doctor in Tralles. He had four younger brothers: the doctors Alexander and Dioskoros, the grammarian and mathematician Metrodoros and the legist Olympios. Circa 500, Anthemios attended the classes of the famous teacher of philosophy Ammonius Hermiae in Alexandria, where he met eminent scientists of the time. As a mathematician, he applied himself to the construction of ellipses and parabolas. He contributed greatly to the formulation of the theory of conical sections. He wrote a commentary on the work of Nicomachus of Gerasa, while he studied and developed the theories of Archimedes and Apollonius on ellipses and concave mirrors. Anthemios wrote the mathematical treatise «De admirabilis machinis» (On admirable machines). The main object of his studies was the application of geometric laws in engineering. He was known for his original mathematical and geometrical propositions. Anthemios also became very famous as an architect. In 532, Emperor Justinian I invited Anthemios to undertake, with the help of the engineer Isidore of Miletus, the reconstruction of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, which had been ruined during the Nika riots («Nika»— a Greek exhortation meaning to "win" or "conquer" — was the cry of the rioters). The church was rebuilt on the plan of a three-aisled basilica. The most original element of the church is its immense dome. The church, inaugurated on 27 December 537 by Justinian I, impressed enormously the people of the time and became a landmark in the history of architecture. The exact date Anthemios died is not known. He probably died before the strong earthquake of May 7th, 558, when the dome of Hagia Sophia collapsed.¹

2. Work

2.1. Writings: About Mathematics

Anthemios made a great contribution to the development of mathematics and the application of mathematical laws in engineering. He became known in his time for the original engineering studies he carried out. It is said that he devised an engine powered by steam with which he caused an artificial earthquake in order to frighten his neighbour, the orator Zeno. The historiographers of the time, Prokopios and Agathias, as well as the poet Paulus Silentiarius admire and praise the knowledge and achievements of Anthemios in mechanics. He must have written treatises on hydraulics as well. His main work, which has survived until today, is the mathematical treatise De admirabilis machinis («On admirable machins»). This work is included in the edition of ‘On burning mirrors’ by Diocles, which is annotated by Anthemios. In the treatise De admirabilis machinis, Anthemios was the first to develop and document the theory of concave mirrors and, in particular, the way the sunbeams may be concentrated by means of a concave mirror at a particular point regardless of season and time. Anthemios is also said to have written another treatise known under the title Fragmentum mathematicum Bobiense.²

2.2. Architecture

The most important architectural work of Anthemios is the construction of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. This building became the reference point for both the city and the entire Byzantine Empire in the following centuries. The conception of the architectural type of the dome was the result of the thorough research of Anthemios on concave mirrors. The architectural type of the church greatly influenced, directly or indirectly, Byzantine architecture, as well as Orthodox Slav and Ottoman architecture. The historiographer Agathias reports that Anthemios also supervised the construction of numerous other structures within and outside Constantinople. According to De Aedificiis of Prokopios, Emperor Justinian I assigned Anthemios and his assistant Isidore with the task of planning and supervising the construction of flood control structures at the Dar’ā stronghold in Mesopotamia.