This work provides a synoptic survey of all “ancient,” i.e., Greek and Greek-based, natural science, broadly defined, from its beginnings through the end of late antiquity, for the benefit of anyone interested in the history of science. Greek science is a central field for the understanding of antiquity – more of Greek science survives than does any other category of ancient Greek literature, and yet much of that is obscure even to classicists.

It is proper to describe the work of the people included herein as “science,” with no more risk of anachronism than in using any modern term to refer to a corresponding ancient practice, because the ancient models of nature, whether correct or not, were indeed attempts at models. That is, they were created and debated as abstracted descriptions of phenomena, intended to give a naturalistic and self-consistent causal account, of a world viewed as regular or constant in its behavior. Their methods and aims were scientific, even when their theoretical entities or intellectual achievements are ones we now perceive as inadequate. Histories of science must be comprehensive, including all abandoned paths, since roads not taken seem evitable only in hindsight.