ePrints

The Catalogus geometrarum from the Corpus Agrimensorum. Part II: The Biography of Euclid the Mathematician

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Richard Marshall

Downloads

• Published version [.pdf]

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

The Catalogus geometrarum from the Corpus Agrimensorum, an early witness to the Aratean commentary tradition, names an author with mathematical interests as Euclid the Sicilian. If this individual is identical with Euclid the geometer, then we are able to move beyond the traditional biographies of Euclid, which rest on the problematic evidence of Proclus and Pappus, and consider an ancient case of mistaken identity which suggests that Euclid may even have been a Geloian by birth. This new identification raises questions about the status of Doric as a scientific language, and Alexandria’s role as a haven for those dislocated by war or civil strife, not merely as a magnet for scientific talent.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Marshall RMA

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Mnemosyne

Year: 2023

Volume: 76

Issue: 5

Pages: 837-856

Online publication date: 02/11/2022

Acceptance date: 09/09/2021

Date deposited: 12/09/2024

ISSN (print): 0026-7074

ISSN (electronic): 1568-525X

Publisher: Brill

URL: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10143

DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10143

Altmetrics

Share