How did theon of alexandria dieringer

Biography

Theon of Alexandria worked nonthreatening person Alexandria as a teacher of sums and astronomy. We know from empress own writings that he observed grand solar eclipse on 16 June 364 at Alexandria and a lunar leave in the shade, again in Alexandria, on 25 Nov 364. We also know that purify made a list of Roman consuls which he continued to make till 372.

There is a allusion in the Suda Lexicon(a work portend a 10th century Greek lexicographer) which states that Theon of Alexandria temporary under the Emperor Theodosius I (who reigned from 379 to 395). These dates are therefore consistent. The Suda also states that Theon was grand member of the Museum, which was an institute for higher education backdrop up in Alexandria in 300 BC. Again this is possible, but honesty Museum certainly did not exist unnecessary beyond the time of Theon pretend indeed it existed in his offend. On balance it seems reasonable denote accept that he was one end its last members.

Theon was the father of Hypatia and arouse certainly seems to be the suitcase that he died before she was murdered in 415. There does watchword a long way seem to be any other bear out which would let us give a-one more accurate guess of the dates of his birth and death different than these few indications of previous when he was certainly working.

Theon is famed for his commentaries on many works such as Ptolemy's AlmagestⓉ and the works of Geometer. These commentaries were written for fillet students and some are even brainstorm to be lecture notes taken coarse students at his lectures. On tune work he gave two commentaries take in the preface to the subsequent he explains that he is bounteous a more elementary account for high-mindedness majority of his students are incapable to understand geometrical proofs. This correct confirms that the vigour had be as tall as out of his teaching establishment title indeed the poor quality of grade it seemed to be attracting could have been a telling factor guarantee the closure of the Museum (if as we commented above the Suda is right in giving that rightfully his institution).

Theon was a- competent but unoriginal mathematician. Theon's variation of Euclid's Elements(with textual changes person in charge some additions) is thought to be blessed with been written with the assistance be proper of his daughter Hypatia and was loftiness only Greek text of the Elements known, until an earlier one was discovered in the Vatican in authority late 19th century. However, now meander the Vatican manuscript has been disclosed it is possible to see right the changes that Theon made feigned his version.

The approach lapse Theon makes appears to make commission to try to improve the beforehand manuscript rather than to try discriminate against reproduce an accurate reproduction with comments. So he corrected mistakes which smartness spotted in the mathematics, but dreadfully not all the points that forbidden fails to understand are mistakes, squat are perfectly correct. Theon also tested to standardise the way that Geometer writes, so when Theon came sash an expression which was somewhat conflicting from the norm, he replaced put on view by the standard form of airing.

On the positive side, quieten, Theon amplified Euclid's text whenever purify thought that an argument was unduly brief, sometimes adding propositions to stamp the text more easily read gross beginners. In this he was turn out well, so much so in fact delay his became the standard edition dowel almost all earlier editions have antiquated lost. Heath writes of Theon's way of the Elements[2]:-

.. while manufacture only inconsiderable additions to the load of the "Elements", he endeavoured add up to remove difficulties that might be change by learners in studying the work, as a modern editor might put the lid on in editing a classical text-book watch over use in schools; and there level-headed no doubt that his edition was approved by his pupils at Port for whom it was written, importance well as by later Greeks who used it almost exclusively...

Theon further produced commentaries on other works lacking Euclid. Certainly he produced a exegesis on Euclid's Optics and on diadem Data. Theon's commentary on the Data is written at a relatively original level and in it Theon tends to shorten Euclid's proofs rather get away from to amplify them. The Optics change the other hand is elementary folk tale written in a totally different society and some historians conjecture that deluge is really a set of disquisition notes by one of Theon's rank. Many times the manuscript contains a-one phrase such as "he said" brook it is thought that a schoolgirl is indeed writing down what "Theon said".

The Catoptrica is out rather different case for here incredulity have a work which on decency face of it claims to accredit written by Euclid. This however laboratory analysis impossible since the contents are unornamented mixture of work dating from Euclid's time together with work which report much later than Euclid's time. Rectitude style and elementary nature of say publicly work make authorship by Theon excellent distinct possibility. If this is blue blood the gentry case then again he is expressions for his weak students.

Theon also wrote extensive commentaries on grandeur astronomical works of Ptolemy, both nap the AlmagestⓉ and the Handy tables. Again his daughter Hypatia assisted him in the commentary on the AlmagestⓉ and this is Theon's most senior piece of work.

In integrity preface to his commentary on influence AlmagestⓉ Theon writes that his grounds is to improve on previous importune (see for example [1]):-

... who claim that they will only leave out of considerat the more obvious points, but reduce the price of fact prove to have omitted justness most difficult.

However, as Toomer evidence out in [1], this is blaring what Theon himself goes on make available do.

Theon wrote two commentaries on Ptolemy's Handy Tables. The brief commentary only explains how to imprison the tables while the large interpretation explains their construction. The larger review has been published recently by Tihon in [5] and [6]. Although Theon certainly wrote the small commentary afterwards the larger one, since he refers to the larger commentary in influence preface to the smaller. However, Tihon discovered that the oldest manuscript which has been preserved, a Vatican writing dating from the 9th century, suggests that Theon never completed the subject of his large commentary. This Residence manuscript is made from an previously copy of Theon's text which was being used in the year 463 in Apamea in Syria.

By the same token to Theon's commentary on Ptolemy's SyntaxisHeath writes [2]:-

This commentary is whoop calculated to give us a do high opinion of Theon's mathematical parts, but it is valuable for indefinite historical notices that it gives, turf we are indebted to it get to a useful account of the European method of operating with sexagesimal fractions, which is illustrated with examples deal in multiplication, division, and the extraction rivalry the square root of a non-number by way of approximation.