Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
The “first scientist” measured a pyramid that was already nearly 2,000 years old
Thales of Miletus (c. 624–546 BCE), often called the first scientist, is said by later ancient writers to have measured the Great Pyramid's height from the length of its shadow. Even by his day the monument was already roughly 1,975 years old (built c. 2560 BCE) — a nearly two-millennia-old relic pressed into service for one of the earliest recorded feats of applied geometry.
How we know
Thales c. 624–546 BCE; shadow measurement placed c. 585 BCE; Great Pyramid built c. 2560 BCE. Gap: 2,560 − 585 = 1,975 yrs. The shadow anecdote is attributed by Diogenes Laërtius (via Hieronymus of Rhodes), Pliny (Natural History 36) and Plutarch — hence “is said.”
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.