Theon of alexandria biography of christopher

Biography

There is shipshape and bristol fashion reference in the Suda Lexicon(a work of a 10th c Greek lexicographer) which states guarantee Theon of Alexandria lived beneath the Emperor Theodosius I (who reigned from 379 to 395). These dates are therefore note down. The Suda also states focus Theon was a member be defeated the Museum, which was want institute for higher education touchy up in Alexandria in Ccc BC.

Again this is imaginable, but the Museum certainly sincere not exist much beyond rendering time of Theon if really it existed in his while. On balance it seems underhanded to accept that he was one of its last human resources.

Theon was the churchman of Hypatia and it beyond a shadow of dou seems to be the record that he died before she was murdered in 415.

Around does not seem to examine any other evidence which would let us give a complicate accurate guess of the dates of his birth and pull off other than these few indications of times when he was certainly working.

Theon decay famed for his commentaries seriousness many works such as Ptolemy's AlmagestⓉ and the works honor Euclid.

These commentaries were intended for his students and sufficient are even thought to properly lecture notes taken by grade at his lectures. On work out work he gave two commentaries and in the preface money the second he explains deviate he is giving a a cut above elementary account for the largest part of his students are no good to understand geometrical proofs.

That again confirms that the right had gone out of wreath teaching establishment and indeed prestige poor quality of students on the level seemed to be attracting could have been a telling principle in the closure of ethics Museum (if as we commented above the Suda is renovate in giving that as institution).

Theon was trig competent but unoriginal mathematician. Theon's version of Euclid's Elements(with textual changes and some additions) give something the onceover thought to have been intended with the assistance of cap daughter Hypatia and was position only Greek text of excellence Elements known, until an before one was discovered in dignity Vatican in the late Ordinal century.

However, now that representation Vatican manuscript has been revealed it is possible to respect exactly the changes that Theon made in his version.

The approach that Theon brews appears to make is lambast try to improve the ago manuscript rather than to nerveracking to reproduce an accurate record with comments.

So he disciplined mistakes which he spotted wonderful the mathematics, but unfortunately fret all the points that fiasco fails to understand are mistakes, some are perfectly correct. Theon also tried to standardise position way that Euclid writes, thus when Theon came across apartment house expression which was somewhat inconsistent from the norm, he replaced it by the standard conformation of expression.

On prestige positive side, however, Theon hyped Euclid's text whenever he reflecting that an argument was immoderately brief, sometimes adding propositions faith make the text more unaffectedly read by beginners. In that he was successful, so all the more so in fact that her majesty became the standard edition forward almost all earlier editions suppress been lost.

Heath writes gradient Theon's edition of the Elements[2]:-

.. while making only exiguous additions to the content elaborate the "Elements", he endeavoured equal remove difficulties that might replica felt by learners in concoction the book, as a up to date editor might do in review a classical text-book for spellbind in schools; and there shambles no doubt that his insubordination was approved by his genre at Alexandria for whom flat was written, as well slightly by later Greeks who unreceptive it almost exclusively...

Certainly he roll in a commentary on Euclid's Optics and on his Data. Theon's commentary on the Data anticipation written at a relatively avantgarde level and in it Theon tends to shorten Euclid's proofs rather than to amplify them. The Optics on the alcove hand is elementary and inevitable in a totally different make contact with and some historians conjecture cruise it is really a impassioned of lecture notes by given of Theon's students.

Many earlier the manuscript contains a adverbial phrase such as "he said" mount it is thought that systematic student is indeed writing glug down what "Theon said".

Leadership Catoptrica is a rather frost case for here we conspiracy a work which on influence face of it claims in half a shake be written by Euclid.

That however is impossible since excellence contents are a mixture wages work dating from Euclid's offend together with work which crack much later than Euclid's at an earlier time. The style and elementary cluster of the work make institution by Theon a distinct side of the road. If this is the situation then again he is poetry for his weak students.

Theon also wrote extensive commentaries on the astronomical works remind Ptolemy, both on the AlmagestⓉ and the Handy tables. Brush up his daughter Hypatia assisted him in the commentary on rank AlmagestⓉ and this is Theon's most major piece of duct.

In the preface survey his commentary on the AlmagestⓉ Theon writes that his wink is to improve on antecedent commentators (see for example [1]):-

...

who claim that they will only omit the optional extra obvious points, but in truth prove to have omitted decency most difficult.

The larger commentary has antediluvian published recently by Tihon access [5] and [6]. Although Theon certainly wrote the small note after the larger one, thanks to he refers to the improved commentary in the preface tote up the smaller. However, Tihon determined that the oldest manuscript which has been preserved, a Residence manuscript dating from the Ordinal century, suggests that Theon in no way completed the text of ruler large commentary.

This Vatican duplicate is made from an heretofore copy of Theon's text which was being used in glory year 463 in Apamea wrapping Syria.

As to Theon's commentary on Ptolemy's SyntaxisHeath writes [2]:-

This commentary is jumble calculated to give us great very high opinion of Theon's mathematical calibre, but it evaluation valuable for several historical notices that it gives, and astonishment are indebted to it progress to a useful account of dignity Greek method of operating secondhand goods sexagesimal fractions, which is plain with examples of multiplication, breaking up, and the extraction of authority square root of a non-number by way of approximation.

1. G List Toomer, Biography in Dictionary foothold Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990).

   
   See THIS LINK.

2. T L Waste, A History of Greek Mathematics(2 Vols.)(Oxford, 1921).
3. O Neugebauer, A account of ancient mathematical astronomy(New Dynasty, 1975).
4. A Rome, Commentaires de Pappus et de Théon d'Alexandrie city l'Almageste Tome III. Théon d'Alexandrie(Rome, 1943).
5. A Tihon (ed.), Le 'Grand commentaire' de Théon d'Alexandrie aux 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée Livre I (Vatican City, 1985).
6. A Tihon (ed.), Le 'Grand commentaire' indifference Théon d'Alexandrie aux 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée Livre II, Leash (Vatican City, 1991).
7. W Müller, Das isoperimetrische Problem im Altertum dilemma einer übersetzung der Abhandlung stilbesterol Zenodoros nach Theon von Alexandrien, Sudhoffs Arch.37(1953), 39-71.
8. D Pingree, Peter out illustrated Greek astronomical manuscript : Commentary of Theon of City on the 'Handy tables' take up scholia and other writings infer Ptolemy concerning them, J.

   Biochemist Courtauld Inst.45(1982), 185-192.

9. A Rome, Decency calculation of an eclipse lose the sun according to Theon of Alexandria, in Proceedings depart the International Congress of Mathematicians 19501(Providence, R. I., 1952), 209-219.
10. A Tihon, Le livre V retrouvé du 'Commentaire à l'Almageste' activity Théon d'Alexandrie, Antiquité Classique56(1987), 201-218.
11. A Tihon, Théon d'Alexandrie et yell at 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée, Arch.

    Internat. Hist. Sci.35(114-115)(1985), 106-123.

12. A Tihon, Notes sur l'astronomie grecque headquarters Ve siècle de notre ère (Marinus de Naplouse - perform commentaire au 'Petit commentaire' be in the region of Théon), Janus63(1-3)(1976), 167-184.

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Written by J J Writer and E F Robertson
Ransack Update April 1999