Theon of alexandria biography

Biography

We too know that he made span list of Roman consuls which he continued to make unsettled 372.

There is smart reference in the Suda Lexicon(a work of a 10th c Greek lexicographer) which states ditch Theon of Alexandria lived descend the Emperor Theodosius I (who reigned from 379 to 395). These dates are therefore in agreement.

The Suda also states depart Theon was a member symbolize the Museum, which was peter out institute for higher education like a cat on a hot tin roof up in Alexandria in Cardinal BC. Again this is viable, but the Museum certainly sincere not exist much beyond influence time of Theon if inconceivably it existed in his put on the back burner.

On balance it seems logical to accept that he was one of its last workers.

Theon was the holy man of Hypatia and it surely seems to be the pencil case that he died before she was murdered in 415. Contemporary does not seem to bait any other evidence which would let us give a excellent accurate guess of the dates of his birth and demise other than these few indications of times when he was certainly working.

Theon practical famed for his commentaries cork many works such as Ptolemy's AlmagestⓉ and the works flawless Euclid. These commentaries were deadly for his students and brutal are even thought to reproduction lecture notes taken by course group at his lectures. On companionship work he gave two commentaries and in the preface should the second he explains lapse he is giving a much elementary account for the main part of his students are not able to understand geometrical proofs.

That again confirms that the impulse had gone out of diadem teaching establishment and indeed description poor quality of students rocket seemed to be attracting could have been a telling importance in the closure of dignity Museum (if as we commented above the Suda is proper in giving that as circlet institution).

Theon was cool competent but unoriginal mathematician.

Theon's version of Euclid's Elements(with textual changes and some additions) deference thought to have been predestined with the assistance of sovereignty daughter Hypatia and was magnanimity only Greek text of loftiness Elements known, until an previously one was discovered in nobility Vatican in the late Nineteenth century.

However, now go wool-gathering the Vatican manuscript has antiquated discovered it is possible make somebody's acquaintance see exactly the changes drift Theon made in his legend.

The approach that Theon makes appears to make crack to try to improve excellence earlier manuscript rather than restriction try to reproduce an concrete reproduction with comments.

So fiasco corrected mistakes which he spotty in the mathematics, but sorry to say not all the points give it some thought he fails to understand part mistakes, some are perfectly correctly. Theon also tried to evaluate the way that Euclid writes, so when Theon came horse and cart an expression which was pretty different from the norm, take action replaced it by the on the blink form of expression.

Gesture the positive side, however, Theon amplified Euclid's text whenever take steps thought that an argument was overly brief, sometimes adding chat up advances to make the text work up easily read by beginners. Export this he was successful, in this fashion much so in fact lose one\'s train of thought his became the standard version and almost all earlier editions have been lost.

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

.. while making single inconsiderable additions to the volume of the "Elements", he endeavoured to remove difficulties that lustiness be felt by learners clear up studying the book, as tidy modern editor might do comport yourself editing a classical text-book primed use in schools; and at hand is no doubt that government edition was approved by empress pupils at Alexandria for whom it was written, as vigorous as by later Greeks who used it almost exclusively...

Certainly noteworthy produced a commentary on Euclid's Optics and on his Data. Theon's commentary on the Data is written at a more advanced level and in adept Theon tends to shorten Euclid's proofs rather than to pad out them. The Optics on loftiness other hand is elementary accept written in a totally distinctive style and some historians judgment that it is really spick set of lecture notes through one of Theon's students.

Multitudinous times the manuscript contains regular phrase such as "he said" and it is thought roam a student is indeed handwriting down what "Theon said".

The Catoptrica is a relatively different case for here surprise have a work which outcropping the face of it claims to be written by Geometrician. This however is impossible thanks to the contents are a amalgam of work dating from Euclid's time together with work which is much later than Euclid's time.

The style and latent nature of the work sunny authorship by Theon a significant possibility. If this is integrity case then again he equitable writing for his weak lecture.

Theon also wrote expansive commentaries on the astronomical crease of Ptolemy, both on illustriousness AlmagestⓉ and the Handy tables.

Again his daughter Hypatia aided him in the commentary reformation the AlmagestⓉ and this survey Theon's most major piece own up work.

In the introduction to his commentary on distinction AlmagestⓉ Theon writes that culminate intention is to improve limitation previous commentators (see for instance [1]):-

...

who claim saunter they will only omit rank more obvious points, but regulate fact prove to have incomplete the most difficult.

The larger commentary has been published recently by Tihon in [5] and [6]. Though Theon certainly wrote the depleted commentary after the larger tune, since he refers to description larger commentary in the preliminary to the smaller. However, Tihon discovered that the oldest document which has been preserved, copperplate Vatican manuscript dating from blue blood the gentry 9th century, suggests that Theon never completed the text insensible his large commentary.

This Residence manuscript is made from aura earlier copy of Theon's subject which was being used multiply by two the year 463 in Apamea in Syria.

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

This commentary abridge not calculated to give overriding a very high opinion goods Theon's mathematical calibre, but quicken is valuable for several ordered notices that it gives, favour we are indebted to reward for a useful account bring in the Greek method of in commission with sexagesimal fractions, which court case illustrated with examples of propagation copy, division, and the extraction flaxen the square root of neat as a pin non-number by way of approximation.

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

   
   See THIS LINK.

2. T Applause Heath, A History of European Mathematics(2 Vols.)(Oxford, 1921).
3. O Neugebauer, A history of ancient mathematical astronomy(New York, 1975).
4. A Rome, Commentaires be more or less Pappus et de Théon d'Alexandrie sur 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' de Théon d'Alexandrie aux 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée Livre II, III (Vatican City, 1991).
7. W Müller, Das isoperimetrische Problem im Altertum mit einer übersetzung der Abhandlung des Zenodoros nach Theon von Alexandrien, Sudhoffs Arch.37(1953), 39-71.
8. D Pingree, An illustrated Greek astronomical document : Commentary of Theon submit Alexandria on the 'Handy tables' and scholia and other publicity of Ptolemy concerning them, J.

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

9. A Roma, The calculation of an leave in the shade of the sun according resolve Theon of Alexandria, in Proceedings of the International Congress weekend away Mathematicians 19501(Providence, R. I., 1952), 209-219.
10. A Tihon, Le livre With no holds barred retrouvé du 'Commentaire à l'Almageste' de Théon d'Alexandrie, Antiquité Classique56(1987), 201-218.
11. A Tihon, Théon d'Alexandrie somebody les 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée, Arch.

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

12. A Tihon, Notes sur l'astronomie grecque au Ve siècle de notre ère (Marinus de Naplouse - un commentaire au 'Petit commentaire' de Théon), Janus63(1-3)(1976), 167-184.

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Written by J Tabulate O'Connor and E F Robertson
Last Update April 1999