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Pappus of Alexandria

This article is about the Greek mathematician. For the flower structure, see Pappus (botany).

Title page of Pappus's Mathematicae Collectiones, translated into Latin by Federico Commandino (1588).

Pappus of Alexandria (/ˈpæpəs/; Greek: Πάππος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; c. 290 – c.  350 AD) was a Greek mathematician of late antiquity known for his Synagoge (Συναγωγή) or Collection (c. 340),[1] and for Pappus's hexagon theorem in projective geometry. Almost nothing is known about his life except for what can be found in his own writings, many of which are lost. Pappus apparently lived in Alexandria, where he worked as a mathematics teacher to higher level students, such one named Hermodorus.[2]

The Collection, his best-known work, is a compendium of mathematics in eight volumes, the bulk of which survives. It covers a wide range of topics that were part of the ancient mathematics curriculum, including geometry, astronomy, and mechanics.[1]

Pappus was active in a period generally considered one of stagnation in mathematical studies, where he stands out as a remarkable exception.[3] In many respects, his fate strikingly resembles that of Diophantus', originally of limited importance but becoming very influential in the late Renaissance and Early Modern periods.

  1. ^ a b Bird, John (14 July 2017). Engineering Mathematics. Taylor & Francis. p. 590. ISBN 978-1-317-20260-8.
  2. ^ Pierre Dedron, J. Itard (1959) Mathematics And Mathematicians, Vol. 1, p. 149 (trans. Judith V. Field) (Transworld Student Library, 1974)
  3. ^ Heath 1911, p. 740.
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