ProofWiki:Mathematicians/Pappus of Alexandria

One of the last great Greek mathematicians of antiquity.

Very little is known about him, except that he flourished at around 320 CE through dint of the eclipse of the sun in Alexandria in that year which he discussed in his commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest.

Noted for his multi-volume Collection, and for Pappus's Theorem.

Nationality

Greek

History

• Born: c. 290 CE, Alexandria, Egypt
• Died: c. 350 CE

Theorems and Definitions

• Pappus's Theorem
• Pappus Chain
• Pappus Configuration
• Pappus Graph

Books and Papers

• c. 320: Commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest.

• c. 340: Synagoge (Collection), a work in eight parts:
  • Book I is lost.
  • Book II (the first part of which is lost) concerned the multiplication system of Apollonius of Perga.
  • Book III contains geometrical problems.
  • Book IV contains deep theorems concerning circles and other more complicated curved geometrical figures.
  • Book V contains solid geometry, taking as its starting point the five Platonic solids.
  • Book VI resolves difficulties in various "lesser astronomical works" (i.e. others than Ptolemy's Almagest), including Euclid's Optics and Phaenomena.
  • Book VII discusses books by various authors: Euclid, Apollonius, Aristaeus and Eratosthenes.
  • Book VIII is mainly mechanics, but there are some theorems of pure geometry as well.

• A commentary on Euclid's The Elements.

There are also various other works, now lost, which are mentioned elsewhere in the literature of the time.

Also see

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Pappus of Alexandria": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive

• George F. Simmons: Calculus Gems (1992), Chapter $\text {A}.8$