Greeks Go for Biology

Egyptians and many other ancient people knew plenty about plants and animals (including humans). But it was the Greeks who coined the term biology. They smushed together two Greek roots to make the word. Bio- means “life” and –ology­ means “study of.” So biology means the study of life, or all the things that have to do with living things and how they work.

The Greeks spent a lot of time studying medicine. When the Roman Empire conquered them in 146 BCE, the Greeks had a system that explained how people got sick. Though their system was not correct, it was a large step forward in biology.

Aristotle lived around 350 BC and is well known for advancing science, including biology. Before him, no one focused much on studying animals. When Aristotle realized some animals had similar anatomy, he began separating them into groups, such as vertebrates and invertebrates. He eventually classified around 500 species. Aristotle also made many observations about animal physiology and behavior.

Unfortunately, after the fall of Rome in 476 AD, Europe fell into the Early Middle Ages, also called the Dark Ages. This time period lasted until around the 1400s. Much of the knowledge of ancient biology was forgotten. Very little new work went on in any of the sciences, biology included. It was a few hundred years before biology got going again. 

 

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Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. Human mummy modified from image by jalvear.