Eudoxus of Cnidus lived from around 408 BC to about 355 BC. Eudoxus was a Greek mathematician and also an astronomer. He had a significant part in the advancement of the proportion theory and helped identify constellations, which lead to the maturation of astronomy in the Greek world. Eudoxus was also the earliest man to institute the first advanced geometrical representation of astronomical motion. He recorded on geography at that time and provided to theoretical discussions in Plato’s Academy. Although none of his records have sustained, his contributions are frequented from a number of discussions throughout the civilizations of antiquity.
Eudoxus was born in Cnidus, Asia Minor but now known as Knidos, Turkey. Eudoxus got his love of astronomy from his father, Aiskhines of Cnidus, who he would watch the stars with at night. When he was older he traveled to Tarentum where he learned and studied mathematics with Archytas of Tarentum who was a Greek scientist, theoretician and Pythagoras mathematician. Archytas believed that the significance of numbers could explain all phenomena. He also used Eudoxus’ proportion theory to define intervals of pitch in a harmonic scale. He rejected the prior views that the pitch of notes on a string instrument is related to the tension and length of the string used. He showed that pitch is related to the movement of the vibrating air made by plucking or strumming the strings. Archytas did, however, incorrectly assume that the speed of vibrations from the strings that travel to the ear is a factor in determining the pitch of the sound made. Archytas of Tarentum was personally knew with Plato and had studied with him, which also lead to Eudoxus’s presence and contribution to lectures at Plato’s Aca...
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... the medial of the second century, his concept that every celestial motion is uniform and circular around the object in the center endured until the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler was around. If Eudoxus had not done the work that he did, the astronomers and mathematicians that came around after him might not have become the mathematicians and astronomers that they were. Eudoxus completed many great things and without his contributions math and science would not have developed as they did. He set the stage for many great mathematicians and astronomers to create new laws and theories that furthered our comprehension of math and our solar system. Eudoxus was one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers our world has ever known, yet not many know of his name or recognize him as the brilliant man he was. He is deserving of everyones attention and respect.
Geometry, a cornerstone in modern civilization, also had its beginnings in Ancient Greece. Euclid, a mathematician, formed many geometric proofs and theories [Document 5]. He also came to one of the most significant discoveries of math, Pi. This number showed the ratio between the diameter and circumference of a circle.
Greek mathematics began during the 6th century B.C.E. However, we do not know much about why people did mathematics during that time. There are no records of mathematicians’ thoughts about their work, their goals, or their methods (Hodgkin, 40). Regardless of the motivation for pursuing mathematical astronomy, we see some impressive mathematical books written by Hippocrates, Plato, Eudoxus, Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, Hipparchus, Heron and Ptolemy. I will argue that Ptolemy was the most integral part of the history of Greek astronomy.
Hippocrates taught in Athens and worked on squaring the circle and also worked on duplicating the cube. He grew far in these areas and although his work is not lost, it must have contained much of what Euclid later included in Books One and Two of the Elements.
Aristarchus lived from about the year 310 B.C. to about 230 B.C. Aristarchus was the first Greek philosopher and mathematician to make sense of the solar system. Others before him thought that the Earth is a sphere and that it moves, but he was the first to understand the heliocentric theory, which states that the sun is in the middle. In 288 or 287 B.C. he followed Theophrastus as the head of the Peripatetic School established by Aristotle.
Astronomy is a very important field in science. Ancient Greece, China, and India all contributed to our everyday ideas and uses of astronomy. Ancient Greece was the most influential because the Indian’s based most of their astronomy off of Greece. The Greeks created calendars that were based off of the eclipse cycle, which they called by two different names, Hellenic Calendars and Lunisolar Calendars. Because of Ancient Greece, we now have calendars to keep us on track every day. The Greeks observed a celestial object passing through the eastern and western morning sky. After a long time of observations, they came to a realization that it was a planet and now that is the planet is well known as Venus. (Sarton, 75) Plato and Aristotle’s theories were incredible contributions on us today. Both of their theories were all about the behavior and life of the planets, such as their theory that the earth is spherical. (Sarton, 421). Ancient Greece als...
Euclid, who lived from about 330 B.C.E. to 260 B.C.E., is often referred to as the Father of Geometry. Very little is known about his life or exact place of birth, other than the fact that he taught mathematics at the Alexandria library in Alexandria, Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy I. He also wrote many books based on mathematical knowledge, such as Elements, which is regarded as one of the greatest mathematical/geometrical encyclopedias of all time, only being outsold by the Bible.
Another important individual who drove history was the Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei. Galileo discovered something so important that it changed the selfish perspective that humans were the center of the universe and led to the growth of human knowledge. Utilizing mathematics and a telescope he had developed, Galileo observed that the planets revolved around the sun and not the Earth. This was a significant discovery because not only did it contradict what the church had taught, it also showed that the universe was not what it seemed. With this truth uncovered, many people began to fascinate over the universe. This triggered people to begin studying space extensively and eventually lead to present day space exploration. Galileo also left a lasting impression upon many great minds, such as Sir Isaac Newton, who used Galileo's research and theories to further his own studies such as the physical laws, and their properties.
Archytas of Tarentum, Italy, was born in 428 BC, and passed away in 347 BC. He universally identified himself as Pythagorean, even though other teachers and philosophers had not referred to him by that name. In the span of his life, he had multiple teachers. Aristotle was one of the first, who never named him, and Plato referred to him as the Seventh Letter. Cato, another famous philosopher, stated that he was the pupil of Philolaus, making it probable that he was taught in the Pythagorean theory, and that he would also take up that name. Only one pupil among possibly countless others is known, and that is Eudoxus, another prominent mathematician. It is stated that he was a contemporary of Plato, but others still speculate
Eratosthenes was a Greek mathematician, geographer, and astronomer. He was the first person to calculate the circumference of the Earth and the tilt of the Earth.
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and scientist. He was born in Syracuse, Sicily in the year 287 B.C. He was educated in Alexandria, Egypt. Due to the lack of information about Greek mathematics, many Greek mathematicians and their works are hardly known. Archimedes is the exception. Archimedes was very preoccupied with mathematics. For instance, he often forgot to eat and bathe because of his always wanted to solve problems.
Despite the widespread belief the theory was correct, he still decided to study the movements of the planets. Strangely, Ptolemy’s ideas made less sense to him. Copernicus decided to test a different theory, the idea that the sun was the center of the universe, and the planets orbited the sun instead. After testing his theory, Copernicus’ observations started to make sense. Instead of simply taking in an old idea, Copernicus questioned authority and found the truth. However, the main importance of his discovery was not the idea, but the beginning of the Scientific Revolution, when people started to question the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Copernicus’ fame and importance in our lives is not because he just found a new discovery, but because of his questioning of authority. Without questioning the ideas or decisions of authority, the people under authority will never correct the unknown issues with authority, and the old ideas assumed to be correct will remain and continue to corrupt
In this short paper, I will be discussing the history of geometric thought surrounding the Greeks. I will also include what the Greek culture contributed to geometry and how they used it. It is almost unavoidable for a student in nearly any math course, regardless of level, to hear about famous Greek mathematicians. This is because they made so many discoveries that are directly related to many of the math principles in use today. A small example of this idea is that we are in an entire course dedicated to geometry. This is for a good reason, because as I will now discuss, the geometry discoveries of the Greeks are invaluable to the world of mathematics. Looking through all the most famous mathematicians, you will find that quite a few of them
Carl Friedrich Gauss is revered as a very important man in the world of mathematicians. The discoveries he completed while he was alive contributed to many areas of mathematics like geometry, statistics, number theory, statistics, and more. Gauss was an extremely brilliant mathematician and that is precisely why he is remembered all through today. Although Gauss left many contributions in each of the aforementioned fields, two of his discoveries in the fields of mathematics and astronomy seem to have had the most tremendous effect on modern day mathematics.
Euclid of Alexandria was born in about 325 BC. He is the most prominent mathematician of antiquity best known for his dissertation on mathematics. He was able to create “The Elements” which included the composition of many other famous mathematicians together. He began exploring math because he felt that he needed to compile certain things and fix certain postulates and theorems. His book included, many of Eudoxus’ theorems, he perfected many of Theaetetus's theorems also. Much of Euclid’s background is very vague and unknown. It is unreliable to say whether some things about him are true, there are two types of extra information stated that scientists do not know whether they are true or not. The first one is that given by Arabian authors who state that Euclid was the son of Naucrates and that he was born in Tyre. This is believed by historians of mathematics that this is entirely fictitious and was merely invented by the authors. The next type of information is that Euclid was born at Megara. But this is not the same Euclid that authors thought. In fact, there was a Euclid of Megara, who was a philosopher who lived approximately 100 years before Euclid of Alexandria.
Galileo was probably the greatest astronomer, mathematician and scientist of his time. In fact his work has been very important in many scientific advances even to this day.